California legislation (AB705, signed 2017) mandated accelerated community college writing education and implementation to begin just before the COVID-19 pandemic. This study captures faculty experiences with mandated pandemic-era acceleration via analysis of 131 open-ended faculty survey responses representing 60 of the 116 California community…

Research for Action (RFA) in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin is engaged in a five-year mixed-methods study of the reforms associated with California AB 705. Over the course of the study, our team will assess the implementation, impact, and cost effectiveness of reforms associated with the law. This second interim report,…

As a result of California Assembly Bill 705(AB705, 2017) and California Assembly Bill 1705 (AB1705, 2021), most 1st-year students will enroll directly into transfer level math and/or English courses (Baca, 2021; Lopez, 2022; Melguizo et al., 2022; Sims, 2020). Students once placed into remedial coursework before enrolling in transfer level…

Within the CCC system, mathematics has been identified as the most considerable barrier to persistence, transfer, and degree completion (Cooper et al., 2022). Recent research corroborated the notion that mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for Black and Latinx students; historically, this subject has impeded students of color from accessing…

Drawing on qualitative data collected in a sample of colleges as part of a larger study on the implementation and impact of Assembly Bill 705 in California, this paper explores the rollout of corequisite reforms, focusing on the use of embedded tutors in introductory math and English courses as a strategy to meet to the needs of students. This…

The Pullias Center for Higher Education, as part of the USC-LACCD Research-Practice Partnership (RPP), is conducting a mixed-methods evaluation of Assembly Bill 705 (AB705) focused on how community college practitioners are implementing this landmark policy, which directs all 116 community colleges in the California Community College (CCC) system…

The study focused on institutional efforts to retain and support racially minoritized students in higher education. The purpose of the study was to explore the experience of faculty and staff implementing California Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705), a legislative mandate intended to increase student achievement and close equity gaps among Black and…

The COVID-19 pandemic had a far-reaching impact on community colleges. When many campuses closed, students lost the academic and other resources available to them, including financial aid offices. Financial aid provides a crucial source of funding for low- and middle-income students attending community colleges. How has financial aid practice…

The 2007 Head Start Reauthorization Act mandated that all Head Start teachers have at least an associate degree and 50% of teachers within each Head Start program should have a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education. The problem addressed in this study was that Head Start teachers from a Midwestern region encountered barriers as they…

A high incidence of college students required to complete non-credit remedial courses and the associated cost burden for students, colleges and states has been of great public concern. Connecticut legislators have intervened to revamp college remediation by passing the bill, Public Act 12-40 (PA 12-40) which impacts institutions in the Connecticut…

This dissertation examines the aggregate experiences of faculty members from two community colleges who share pedagogical strategies, as well as, opinions on relevant laws and policies as a way to demonstrate best practices for teaching and fostering success for high school students enrolled in dual enrollment classes on the college campus.…

Objective: Community colleges have long made higher education more accessible to students from diverse academic backgrounds, particularly those who are academically underprepared and require remediation. In light of developmental education (DE) reform, our article answers the following questions: How do campus personnel articulate the unique…

Objective: Community colleges have long made higher education more accessible to students from diverse academic backgrounds, particularly those who are academically underprepared and require remediation. In light of developmental education (DE) reform, our article answers the following questions: How do campus personnel articulate the unique…

This study sought to explore faculty members' perceptions of student-veterans' transition at a two-year college compared to a four-year institution. The guiding framework for this study was provided by Schlossberg's (1984) Theory of Adult Transitions. A simple random sample was used to identify 557 academic faculty members for the study. Overall,…

Over the past 50 years, state legislatures have placed mandates on higher education institutions to lower attrition, thereby increasing student retention and completion. This study investigated and sought to understand the relationship between the Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomy for Diplomas Act, or the LA GRAD Act (2010), and…