Nursing school can be challenging for undergraduate students, largely because they do not know what to expect in terms of the demands of the rigorous academic program. Students who enter the program with unrealistic expectations of the demands, such as underestimated time needed for studying for exams or preparing for clinical and class time, as…

Research with veterans in community colleges is often framed through a deficit perspective and with a definition of success limited to degree completion. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of student veterans negotiating the acculturation process within the community college canopy through an asset…

Transfer students are increasingly important to the enrollment health of colleges and universities. But how do transfer students search for a new institution to attend? The "2020 Transfer Student Experience Report" examines responses from a study of 1,100 current and prospective transfer students. This report discusses the following…

In this case study, we explored how nontraditional community college students regulate their motivational efforts to achieve their goals in a blended technology course. Specifically, we investigated nontraditional community college students' perception of their participation goals in a blended learning course, their use of motivational regulation…

Recent research based on the Dweck's mindset theory has shown that persons with a growth mindset who believe traits such as intelligence are malleable may put forth more effort and have greater academic success than those with a fixed mindset. However, little research has been conducted on mindsets of college students, many of whom enter…

CCRC's 2015 book "Redesigning America's Community Colleges: A Clearer Path to Student Success" catalyzed a national community college reform movement. Since its publication, hundreds of community colleges have sought to implement whole-college reforms using the guided pathways model outlined in the book, either on their own or as part of…

There is a dearth of career intervention literature pertaining to underprepared community college students. This student population has insufficient college coursework preparation (CCCSE, 2016), and often exhibits low career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE), which hampers career decision making ability, career goal setting (Hughes &…

Implementing organizational change within complex organizations involves responding to external forces that impact business operations. Leaders guide their organizations through planned change processes by implementing strategic initiatives that affect the entire organization, impact business operations, and influence organizational values (Nadler…

At the conclusion of an academic year upended by pandemic and wrenching racial injustice, the California Community Colleges takes pride in what it has accomplished while committing to action that will result in lasting change. This year the colleges brought the largest higher education system in the country from offering less than a quarter its…

Over the past three years, Jobs for the Future (JFF) has been supporting a community of more than 100 U.S. community colleges (CCs) and over 25 nonprofit organizations (NPOs) worldwide implementing the Google IT Support Professional Certificate training program. During this engagement, JFF has gathered valuable insights about best practices in…

Student retention is a problem that continues to challenge American colleges and universities, especially two-year technical colleges. Students are enrolling in two-year colleges, but they are not persisting to graduation. The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between students' initial enrollment goals, their feeling of school…

There is an emerging need to better understand how orientation practices and strategies affect a sense of belonging for new faculty members, especially the growing number of adjunct faculty hired at community colleges throughout the U.S. each year. Establishing an orientation process for newcomers helps to ensure that new members are better able…

Until recently, most community colleges have done little through the new student onboarding process to help entering students explore academic and career interests, choose a program of study aligned to their interests, and develop a plan for completing such a program. This has been the case even though many students start college without clear…

A research study conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing noted adjunct faculty educators have significant learning requirements and that nursing education throughout the United States has not met the basic needs of novice adjunct faculty educators. Adjunct faculty at a local community college noted a deficit in the orientation…

Community Colleges are facing significant challenges to enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending enrollment cliff which will require higher education administration to adapt, get creative, and lead change in recruiting and retention strategies. Using the Sense of Community Theory (Serason, 1974) and the Involvement Theory (Astin,…