Objective: Transfer student capital (TSC) helps community college students realize the potential for the transfer pathway to serve as a lower-cost option to a bachelor's degree. However, students' accrual of TSC depends on the quality and quantity of information networks and infrastructure; information asymmetry in these networks can impede…

Featuring scientists in classroom materials provides opportunities for students to relate to scientists as role models and see themselves in science. However, it is unclear what information students find most relatable when encountering scientists throughout their education. In this study, we manipulated the amount and type of information provided…

How often do students get to delve deeper into the lives of the scientists that are typically mentioned in a general chemistry class? Most of the time, the scientist's name is mentioned, and then their scientific contribution becomes the main topic of discussion. A Scientist Report writing assignment has been used in a General Chemistry I course…

Background/Context: Community colleges are positioned as a cost-effective way for students to complete the first two years of a bachelor's degree, yet informational barriers to the transfer process are well documented. To transfer, students must overcome informational constraints, navigate bureaucratic hurdles, and resolve conflicting requirements…

This study explores the beliefs of non-science majors in an undergraduate biology classroom as part of a larger study on evolution education. Groups of students (n=12) were given fourteen questions, some potentially controversial and some non-controversial, and asked to create categories based on what type of authority students would turn to as a…

Librarians at a community college in New York City identified that, unassisted, undergraduate students often find it difficult to categorize the various information formats they are locating and citing, such as a newspaper article, a book, a scholarly article, a blog or wiki entry, or a reference source. Due to their untrained approach defining…

Some college, no degree (SCND) students are adults aged 25-64 who have earned college credit but no degree (Shapiro et al., 2019). There are currently 36 million adults in the United States with some college but no degree (Lumina Foundation, n.d.; U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Reengaging this population to complete a degree or credential will assist…

The goal of this study is to have a better understanding of today's general education development (GED) students so proper services and support can be provided to meet their needs. Through students enrolled in GED programs in a health science career pathway--focused city college, the study learned the students' employment status, career intention,…

While limited research on the information behaviors of community college students exists, the theories of Elfreda Chatman have not been used to develop understanding of this population. Community college students are more likely to be people of color and/or lower income than their peers in four-year colleges, making them potentially more likely to…

This brief is part of a broad landscape analysis focused on policy and practice issues related to the recognition of prior learning. The landscape analysis focuses on issues arising in the practice of the recognition of prior learning, policies that encourage or limit its adoption, and key research needs and future directions for the field. This…

Sexual assault is a significant problem on college campuses. To date, much of the research on prevention and response has been conducted with students enrolled at traditional 4-year institutions. Limited research exists on 2-year institutions (also known as community colleges), which enroll a more diverse population (e.g., economic, gender,…

Federal, state, and local initiatives have encouraged education and training providers to build stackable credentials, a series of postsecondary credentials that can be earned over time and that build on each other to prepare individuals for different needs for knowledge and skills throughout a career. By offering flexible pathways that allow…

In 2016, the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched the "Through the Gate" transfer study, aimed to identify strategies for increasing transfer among "high-leverage learners" in the California Community Colleges (CCC)--individuals who have completed all or most of their transfer…

There is documented need for California to produce more bachelor's degree holders. Broad agreement exists that increasing community college transfer is an essential strategy for achieving this critical goal, while at the same time closing equity gaps and promoting mobility for residents of a state plagued with the nation's highest cost of living.…

Minority-serving institutions (MSIs) are considered models of excellence to support underrepresented racial and ethnic students; however, multiple definitions of MSIs complicate the consumption and production of research on these critical institutions. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) uses set criteria to define MSIs, based primarily on…