This study examines the ways that student support services in community colleges inadvertently perpetuate and legitimate disadvantage. Using interview data from students at two colleges in the northeast, we find that although support services are open to all students, only those who come to the college with pre-existing social and cultural…

This study examines the influences of social and cultural capital on persistence from 1st to 2nd year and how these effects differ between community colleges and 4-year institutions. Results show that social and cultural capital have a positive association with student persistence overall but matter less when students begin at a community college.…

Feminist theory uses gender as a lens to evaluate society's institutions and power hierarchies. Gender evolves as a social construction rather than an essential difference between the sexes, and it supports the so-called "hegemony of dominant men" in society. Socialization by gender enables discrimination in gender roles and occupations, and its…

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 state, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance". This provision paved the way for student-initiated…

The purpose of this chapter is to continue and potentially expand the conversation about how a diversity-affirming ethical orientation and an understanding of critical epistemology might guide institutional decision making in community colleges in the direction of social justice. The chapter begins with a conceptual overview of the terms…

In this article we introduce and explain a funding framework for advancing an equity agenda at the community college. The need for the framework is premised on (a) Dowd's observation that the traditional community college commitment to student access no longer suffices as an adequate strategy to achieve greater equity in society and (b) the…

The Rostrum is a quarterly publication of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) An SLO Terminology Glossary: A Draft in Progress by Lesley Kawaguchi; (2) A Tale of Two Data Elements by Mark Wade Lieu; (3) Sustainability and the Academic Senate by David Beaulieu and Don…

This chapter describes community college honors programs and courses, emphasizing in particular the Honors College at Miami Dade College in Florida. The chapter discusses pros and cons of honors programs and courses in the context of their appropriateness to the community college mission of open access and egalitarianism. (Contains 1 table.)

Over 40% of the institutions of higher education in the United States are 2-year colleges that enroll over 10 million students annually. Over 1/2 of the students enrolled in 2-year colleges are women. Many 2-year colleges sponsor intercollegiate sport programs. Athletic participation is an important part of the educational process, instilling…

California Community Colleges face unique challenges and opportunities in serving the state's largest new majority students who are also the state's most at-risk students. These students are the primary driver of the new economy, however they arrive at college with significant educational and economic disadvantages (Woodlief, Thomas, & Orozco,…

Learning assistance meets the demands of rigorous college courses through highly varied activities and approaches. The historic role of learning assistance in the larger scope of U.S. higher education is significant though sometimes low profile. Learning assistance bridges access for a more diverse student body. From students' perspectives, it…

This article provides an overview of a set of articles in this special issue that synthesize current research and provide future directions for research, both conceptually and methodologically, on gender, socioeconomic, and language-minority differences in college transitions, as well as a review of college transitions research in the discipline…

This paper discusses the importance of institutionalizing practices that promote equitable outcomes for all students within the vast California Community College (CCC) system. The CCC system, which annually provides educational opportunities for almost three million students, exists at the heart of the state economy and future labor pool. Because…

This report is an effort to assess what has been accomplished in successfully diversifying and desegregating historically segregated and unequal higher educational institutions across Kentucky, and how this was done. The report discusses the changing legal setting for these initiatives, analyzes the educational achievements and challenges, and…

This edition of the PPIC (Public Policy Institute of California) Statewide Survey is the fourth in a series of surveys funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation focusing on higher education. This survey seeks to inform state policymakers, encourage discussion, and raise public awareness about the state's public higher education…