This dissertation is an exploratory study of student success initiatives in two-year community colleges in the Louisiana. The overarching research question guiding this study was: "What student success and retention initiatives, including academic early alert initiatives are designed to assist in increasing student success and retention among…

As community colleges across the country look for ways to promote student success, the need for scaling effective approaches is critical. This guide builds on a framework of four phases of scaling developed in Job For the Future's (JFF's) previous publication, "Thinking Big: A Framework for States on Scaling Up Community College…

Nearly all young people in the United States aspire to a college degree, but many fail to complete college in a timely manner. Does this lack of attainment reflect abandoned college plans? I analyze mixed-methods data from a five-year study of 700 low-income mothers at two Louisiana community colleges. Hurricane Katrina displaced respondents and…

It is a truism of American social policy that our nation has great success generating innovative programs that improve outcomes for participants--but that we are far less effective at moving from small, "boutique" programs into broadly applied solutions that improve the prospects of large numbers of individuals. This is certainly true in…

"Surprise" is a word and concept seldom associated with higher education policy or with one of its most demanding projects, the development of a statewide articulation and transfer program. Legislators who mandate articulation enterprises and officials who care for these behemoths present themselves as thoughtful managers who cherish…

At its annual joint board and commission meeting (Washington, DC, November 10-11, 2010), American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) focused attention on college completion by presenting two panel discussions on the completion agenda, followed by breakout sessions in which participants were assigned to focus groups tasked with providing…

The integrated online planning and budget development system at Baton Rouge Community College is an innovative approach to systematically link college strategic priorities and unit plan objectives with financial resources. Using two industry standards (Microsoft Access and Sungard Banner), a user-friendly program was developed that has facilitated…

The U.S. Department of Education recently released a "College Completion Tool Kit" intended to support the higher education attainment goals set by the Obama administration. These goals are consistent with the state's Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education. The tool kit lays out strategies for achieving higher levels of attainment…

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, it inflicted wind and flooding damage on all but one of the five campuses and centers of Delgado Community College, the oldest and largest two-year institution in Louisiana. Hardest hit was Delgado's main location, the City Park Campus in New Orleans, where three to six feet of flood…

Organizational culture influences whether or not community colleges maintain local support as well as overall institutional effectiveness. This paper discusses culture and the context of culture at River Parishes Community College (RPCC) a new institution within the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, currently in its fifth academic…