This study aimed to explore the connections between student persistence and retention and students who participated in a First Year Seminar (FYS) called the First-Year Experience Course at a Mississippi community college during the 2022 fall semester and students who were enrolled at the college in the fall of 2018 and took the traditional…

In the fall of 2020, ACT and the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB) entered into a data sharing agreement in order to examine the validity of ACT's® WorkKeys® Assessments. WorkKeys Assessments measure students' foundational workplace skills. The focus of this technical brief is to summarize the results of several validity studies using a…

Solar eclipses are a rare phenomenon that everyone should have the opportunity to explore in depth. This article describes two programs developed by a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach center with the goal of bringing the excitement of eclipses to all learners. The STEM outreach center collaborated with local…

The study explored how practitioners perceived the transition to online student support services at a Mississippi community college during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilized the qualitative research approach of a single case study to gather data. Data was collected through open-ended surveys designed to acquire and interpret perceptions on…

The challenges facing higher education institutions across this country continue to increase, becoming more and more complex with each passing semester. Higher education administrators and those who aspire to be such must constantly stay abreast of all potential adverse issues, but especially those that affect the educational success of our…

In "America's Hidden Economic Engines," editors Robert B. Schwartz and Rachel Lipson spotlight community and technical colleges as institutions uniquely equipped to foster more equitable economic growth across America's regions. As Schwartz and Lipson show, these colleges are the best-placed institutions to reverse the decades-long rise…

The purpose of this study is to compare the immediate college enrollment of students who participated in the community college's dual credit program in high school with students who did not participate in the dual credit program. Data from a local community college's dual credit program is analyzed to understand the effects of participation,…

As college education becomes more technology-centric, hybrid instruction that combines face-to-face and online learning has become prominent in programs that seek to serve nontraditional students. As courses offered in the hybrid format become ubiquitous, gathering student feedback regarding satisfaction and success is essential for continuous…

The purpose of this study is to examine the social and economic impact of two-year and community colleges on minorities particularly African Americans who are earning a certificate, transfer credits to a four-year institution, or an Associate of Arts or Science Degree. The proposed research is a qualitative case study investigating the social and…

In comparison to the rest of the United States population, African American women are undeniably inadequately represented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As one of the oldest historically black colleges in Mississippi, Rust College has the social responsibility to increase the presence and contributions…

With the increase of technology in day-to-day lives, online college education is sweeping the nation as numbers of students enrolling online is consistently on the rise. Unfortunately, because of the nature of open enrollment at the community college level, students often enroll without necessary skills to be successful at the college level,…

Statement of Purpose and Method of Study: The purpose of this study is two-fold. One purpose is to examine whether there is a correlation between Mississippi community college instructors' self-reported recollections of their coping self-efficacy and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second purpose is to explore Mississippi community…

At the age of 18, foster youth are considered adults and typically released from the state's custody and left alone to transition into adulthood with little to no support. The lack of support that these youth experience forces many of them to seek refuge at colleges and universities. Prior to completing this study, I discovered that there is no…

This study examined differences in reported campus criminality on selected community college campuses in the years between 2005 and 2016 representing the years preceding and succeeding the implementation of Mississippi's 2011 concealed carry legislation. Each campus included in this study is a public-funded community college in Mississippi. Using…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of community college administrators in Mississippi regarding the early college high schools located on their campuses. While the ECHS model has become prominent in several states, Mississippi's efforts to implement the model have yet to be fully examined. Six administrators from…