Community colleges enroll millions of students across the United States in urban, suburban and rural communities. Specifically designed to address the unique needs of the communities they serve, these institutions are often the engines of the local economy and at times the only pathway out of poverty. Community colleges strive to uphold their…

In this interview study, I examine how student affairs administration (SAA) works at rural community colleges as well as how rural senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) function in their leadership roles. The study purports to understand student affairs in the context of "rurality," or what it means to be rural. Two primary research…

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of nursing program students with grant funding investment in a nursing, allied, and physical health program at a rural community college in Western New York. This rural institution is a member institution of the State University of New York…

Adjuncts continue to be an integral part of higher education; however, they are rarely onboarded at higher education institutions. Onboarding involves systematically introducing a new employee to an organization's values, processes, and procedures. For adjuncts, they also need formalized training in pedagogy. Without onboarding adjuncts, higher…

Despite their sizable presence on U.S. college campuses, few institutions have comprehensive programs to support student-mothers' success. However, research suggests that access to even one supportive or encouraging institutional agent can make a difference in a student's college trajectory. Based on interviews with 57 student-mothers at 2- and…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive design study was to explore the perceptions of faculty, staff, and students regarding how academic and social integration affected student retention. The theoretical framework used for this study was Tinto's theory of student integration. The two research questions focused on how faculty, staff, and…

Current research shows that students have the most investment in reaching their educational objectives but have no influence or voice in how their education is provided. This research study explored the lived experiences and lifted the voices of TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) recent community college graduates who reached their academic goals…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) students as they engage in services offered at a Maryland community college and the effect of participation and engagement in those services on their overall success while enrolled at the community…

Undocumented students face a multitude of barriers to access higher education. Academic advisors can support these students as they pursue their college degrees. This hermeneutic phenomenological study used the Undocumented/ DACAmented Status Competency (UDSC) tripartite framework to learn about the awareness, knowledge, and skills of academic…

Two decades of growth in dual enrollment, also accelerated during the COVID pandemic, demands attention to equal opportunities available in rural areas. We use the IPEDS database to explore geographic equality of dual enrollment availability offered by two-year public postsecondary institutions in rural America. Shifts in economies and demographic…

The purpose of this article is to provide a blueprint to conduct equity case studies in rural community colleges. Informed by our field work experiences applying case study design and equity-minded frameworks, this blueprint involves four distinct steps: (1) identifying rural community colleges in North Carolina; (2) operationalizing equity in…

This article examines how states and community colleges can streamline the transfer process through an innovative national program known as Interstate Passport. The program enables block transfer of lower-division general education attainment based on a set of learning outcomes rather than on individual courses and credits. The article shows how…

The US lack of nurses to meet healthcare demands is a national crisis (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2021). Attrition rates in nursing programs compound the nursing shortage. Community colleges are where a number of nursing students attend to complete an Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) program. Community college leaders and educators have a…

This article unpacks the challenge of culturally responsive teaching in rural community colleges, based on emerging insights from a study of two community colleges in North Carolina. Culturally responsive strategies ask, how do our classrooms welcome the perspectives, voices, and distinctive cultural resources of people of color and other…

Colleges implement success courses to improve student outcomes. Since expanding its curriculum to include nine success courses, Illinois Eastern Community Colleges (IECC)--a multi-college community college district in rural, southeastern Illinois--has not determined the efficacy of these courses on student success. The purpose of this study was to…