This longitudinal, qualitative study explores developmental English students' experience of remediation in the context of a first-semester learning community (LC). Conducted at an urban community college in the Northeast, data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted over a 3-year period with a cohort of 15 students who were…

This multiple case study explores factors that shaped the curricular reasoning of mathematics faculty engaged in college algebra reform in community colleges. Overall, the study found that although proposed reform of college algebra is broad in scope and influenced by the student audience, competing influences emerge that can enable or constrain…

The purpose of this study was to answer the research question: What effect does implementing state system wide curriculum in a large, urban, Midwestern two year technical/community college have on retention, graduation, and employment and how do faculty attitudes about state system wide curriculum influence this effect? This question was of…

Students at a large urban community college enrolled in fourteen sections of a developmental algebra class. While cognitive variables are often used to place students, affective characteristics may also influence their success. To explore the impact of affective variables, students took ACT's Engage survey measuring motivation, academic-related…

The number of incoming community college students, including recent high school graduates as well as nontraditional students, requiring remediation has increased dramatically in recent years. As a result, community colleges are mandated by the state to implement developmental programs to address the diverse academic needs of their students.…

The present article derives from a larger study about the academic and social inclusion of adjunct faculty at representative public, 2-year colleges in Texas. The research identified a significant difference in adjunct faculty inclusion by institution type. Subject institutions represented Basic Carnegie Classification categories: rural, suburban,…

Tinto's integration framework is often assumed to be inapplicable to the study of student persistence at community colleges because one of the linchpins of the framework--social integration--is considered unlikely to occur for students at these institutions. Community college students are thought to lack the time to participate in activities, such…

This study hypothesizes that course passing rates in remedial mathematics classes can be improved through early identification of at-risk students using a department-wide midterm, followed by a mandated set of online intervention assignments incorporating immediate and elaborate feedback for all students identified as "at-risk" by their…

Community colleges play a vital role in higher education, enrolling more than one in every three postsecondary students. While the market share of these institutions has grown over the past 50 years, students' success rates remain low. Consequently, community college stakeholders are searching with mounting urgency for strategies that increase…

This dissertation gathers and classifies the self-reported reasons students gave for withdrawing or considering withdrawing from first year composition (FYC) courses at an urban community college on the Gulf Coast of Texas (CCGC) between 2004 and 2008. With an average student attrition rate of 20% in FYC courses at CCGC, the research question…

For students in developmental math, a primary short-term goal of learning communities is to accelerate students' progression through the math sequence and into college-level coursework. A longer-term goal is that enrolling in developmental math learning communities will increase students' ultimate likelihood of earning a credential or transferring…

In 2005, when the Canton City Schools (CCS), Stark State College (SSC), the Canton Professional Educators Association (CPEA) and the Stark Education Partnership (SEP) came together to establish Canton's Early College High School (CECHS), the percentage of the city's young adults with some college or an Associate Degree was 33%. The goal of CECHS…

In 2005, the Canton City Schools (CCS), Stark State College (SSC), the Canton Professional Educators Association (CPEA) and the Stark Education Partnership (SEP) came together to establish Canton's Early College High School (CECHS). The original goal of Canton Early College High School (CECHS) in 2005 was to create an opportunity for urban…

Queensborough Community College and Houston Community College are two large, urban institutions that offer learning communities for their developmental math students, with the goals of accelerating students' progress through the math sequence and of helping them to perform better in college and ultimately earn degrees or certificates. They are…

Queensborough Community College and Houston Community College are two large, urban institutions that offer learning communities for their developmental math students, with the goals of accelerating students' progress through the math sequence and of helping them to perform better in college and ultimately earn degrees or certificates. They are…