The role of intrusive advising in the persistence of community college students has not been well-studied even though intrusive advising has been touted as a practice to improve retention in U.S. community colleges. Student retention is important for sustaining community colleges that serve as open admissions institutions because they are…

One frequently cited yet understudied channel through which funding levels impact college students is course availability--colleges are often forced to respond to budgetary pressure by reducing course offerings. We provide the first causal evidence on this mechanism at a community college, using administrative course registration data and a novel…

A college degree enables upward financial mobility--a college graduate's lifetime earnings are over 80% greater than those without a degree. Yet, systemic societal and educational constructs can create hurdles for students--particularly those who are historically underserved (e.g., Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income students)--to gain…

This study explores the high academic achievement of Excelencia Early College High School (EECHS), located along the Texas-Mexico border. An open-enrollment public school, EECHS serves students who are characteristic of the lower Rio Grande Valley. These include students of low socioeconomic backgrounds, minorities, first-generation, and those…

Studies on student engagement in learning have mainly focused on undergraduate degree courses. Limited attempts have been made to examine student engagement on open access enabling courses, which is targeted to underrepresented students in higher education. Students on open access enabling courses are at high risk due to a low academic achievement…

Today, and historically, the presence of WAC/WID programs in the community college setting remains anemic when compared to Ph.D.-granting institutions. This fact is particularly troubling considering the AAC&U's research on high-impact practices and its correlation with WAC/WID theory and practice. This article empirically investigates the…

Open access is central to the Community College mission. For this reason, any restriction in online enrollments should not be undertaken lightly. This study uses institutional data gathered from a large, urban community college to examine a policy aimed at increasing student retention in online courses by restricting those eligible to enroll based…