In Massachusetts and across the nation, the percentage of community college students who attend part-time averages more than 60% (Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, 2023; AACC, 2023). Additionally, approximately 80% of students have been enrolled part-time for some of their time in community college (CCSSE, 2018). However, despite their…

My Dissertation in Practice concentrated on sexual assault in community colleges with a focus on a mid-western community college. Sexual assault is a pervasive issue that has plagued higher education for years. The purpose of this quantitative descriptive exploratory research study was to explore students' knowledge and awareness of the policies…

Establishing early academic momentum via credit accumulation is strongly associated with community college student success. Using data from one of the nation's largest and most racially diverse community college systems, our quasi-experimental study examined how different first-semester credit loads influenced persistence. For part-time students…

In this multiyear, statewide investigation, the extent to which enrollment rates of male and female, part-time, first-time-in-college students enrolled in Texas community colleges differed from the 2003-2004 academic year to the 2018-2019 academic year was determined. From the 2003-2004 academic year to the 2011-2012 academic year, statistically…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate community college student perceptions of academic advising for 12 first-time first-generation (FTFG) General Studies students attending a rural southeastern community college. The phenomenological research approach was utilized to better understand participant experiences by…

In this study I deployed quasi-experimental methods to explore enrollment responses to a unique statewide college promise program for adult students attending college within the two-year public postsecondary education sector in Tennessee. State policymakers implemented Tennessee Reconnect in 2018 to encourage adult students without a college…

To strengthen teacher preparation in the Republic of Palau, Public Law 10-32 (enacted in 2018) requires all teachers in the country to hold an associate's degree in education or in the subject area they will teach by the end of 2023. This policy change required many current teachers and those interested in the teaching profession to enroll in an…

These appendixes provide the technical details, methods, and results for the accompanying infographic. The importance of the study, including guiding research questions, is addressed in appendix A, while the study's research approach and detailed results are provided in appendix B.

As statewide college promise programs continue to develop, emerging equity concerns necessitate interrogating whom programs benefit and how expense funds can be applied. Critical Policy Analysis (CPA) is used in this chapter to understand how statewide promise programs advance or hinder racial equity across eligibility and financial aid support…

Indiana's economy needs a skilled talent pipeline, which requires students to pursue and complete degrees or credentials that are affordable, high-quality and relevant to students' future careers and the state's economy. It starts with ensuring students have what they need to get their foot in the door. But right now, fewer students are choosing a…

This study addresses the need to better understand community college students' varied enrollment behaviors and experiences in the context of the national college completion agenda, current research, and retention theory. The purpose of this study was to explore the stop-out experiences of part-time and fluidly enrolled, low-income,…

Education Code section 76002 requires the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office to prepare and submit a report each year on the number of special part-time and special full-time full-time equivalent students (FTES) claimed by each community college district for the preceding academic year in each of the following class categories: (1)…

This qualitative study explored the challenges and experiences of part-time enrolled Latina students moving through a Hispanic-serving California community College (HSCCC). Grounded in Schlossberg's transition theory, the 4 S system, and Latino critical race theory (LatCrit), the study captures the testimonios of 12 testimonialistas to examine…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which the rates of students who did not persist or graduate had changed from the 2014-2015 academic year through the 2019-2020 academic year for first-time in college students by their ethnicity/race (i.e., Hispanic, Black, White, and Asian) and enrollment…

Community colleges provide postsecondary education to millions of students in the United States each year, but their graduation rates are low. Many community colleges have implemented interventions to help students persist in college and earn degrees. MDRC has studied many such interventions; several of them improved students' academic outcomes,…