The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the retention and persistence rates of college students from historically excluded backgrounds while also introducing new resources for remote learning experiences. This action research study aimed to examine and improve the resources needed for community college students from historically…

The authors sought to identify the prevalence of food insecurity in a community college district during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team also investigated the association food insecurity had with academic performance. A sample of 238 individuals completed the survey, including a demographic questionnaire and the Adult Food Security Survey Module, a…

In this cross-sectional survey study, we examined the experiences of minority students' involvement and their experiences in cultural clubs and organizations at community colleges. From two community colleges, 204 participants were invited to complete an online survey "Experience with diversity index". The findings indicated a…

Racially minoritized communities in rural areas experience some of the most challenging conditions related to poverty, educational access, and educational attainment in the nation (Farrigan, 2021; Hillman, 2016). For residents in these communities, community colleges are the most common entry point into postsecondary education (Byun et al., 2017),…

Administrative burden, or the frictions individuals experience in accessing public programs, has implications for whether and which eligible individuals receive aid. While prior research documents barriers to accessing federal financial aid, less is known about the extent to which state aid programs impose administrative burden, how administrative…

Community college (CC) students interested in medical school may lack the resources to be successful. CC students represent diverse backgrounds and often more closely reflect underserved populations' demographics than traditional University students. Yet, there is a negative association between attending a CC and being accepted into a medical…

The role of racial diversity at colleges has been debated for over more than a half a century with limited quasi-experimental evidence from classrooms. To fill this void, I estimate the extent that classmate racial compositions affect Hispanic and African American students at a large and oversubscribed California community college where they are…

This dissertation examines the troubling underrepresentation of staff of color in Pacific Northwest community colleges. Despite the proven benefits of racial staff diversity in promoting student success, community colleges face challenges in recruiting and retaining staff of color. Existing literature concerning non-teaching staff at community…

While many community college (CC) students come to higher education with specific career or life goals, these aspirations may be forced to change if students are not able to get past the gatekeeper of remedial mathematics coursework. Racially minoritized students are disproportionately tracked into non-credit-bearing remedial (NCBR) mathematics…

This convergent parallel mixed method study was designed to identify obstacles that prevent historically underrepresented racial and ethnic student groups from taking online classes at Phi Beta County Community College and to determine what aid students perceive as necessary to remove these obstacles. This study included three Calloway Charter…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative analysis was to explore how men of color have experienced stereotype threat in their lives and used community cultural wealth to manage stereotype threat and achieve academic success while persisting at a large urban community college. Racial tensions have manifested through blatant acts of racism,…

The U.S. college presidency remains predominantly white and male. However, trend data over the past several decades have documented increased diversity by race, gender, and race and gender (Green, 1988; Melidona et al., 2023). Still, LGBTQ+ college leadership has not been included in instrumentation resulting in a paucity of literature, with only…

In 2020, students categorized as Black, Hispanic, Asian, and two or more races comprised over 50% of community college enrollment nationwide. However, current internationalization models in community colleges are rarely intentionally designed for and with students of the global majority. This study addresses a gap in the research by exploring the…

The California Community College (CCC) system is the largest higher education system in the United States and serves diverse students. However, CCC's leadership does not mirror the diversity of its student population. Senior-level positions continue to be dominated by White men, highlighting the lack of diversity among leadership at these…

Research shows that despite well-deserved advances and achievements to diversifying and gaining access to higher education institutions in the United States (U.S.), such progress has failed to reduce student perceptions of inferiority and mediocrity towards female teachers and teachers of colour. Most higher education research in the U.S.,…