This dissertation investigates the implementation of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs in Illinois community colleges, focusing on Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) faculty perceptions. Utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the study first conducted a survey among full-time ADN faculty across Illinois community…

Many students who enter college do not finish, reflecting numerous academic, financial, and social barriers to postsecondary completion. Success Boston Coaching (SBC) provides students in the Greater Boston area with coaching during their first 2 years of college to help them overcome barriers to postsecondary completion and connect them to…

A bachelor's degree is increasingly necessary for securing a job that pays a family-supporting wage, yet while most community college students aspire to transfer and complete a bachelor's degree, too few make it through to this goal. This report, along with the companion report on four-year institutional outcomes, is designed to be used by…

A bachelor's degree is increasingly necessary for securing a job that pays a family-supporting wage, yet while most community college students aspire to transfer and complete a bachelor's degree, too few make it through to this goal. As is clear from the companion report on community college transfer outcomes, some responsibility for this lies…

As demand for more highly educated workers rises, a growing number of community colleges have expanded their services beyond two-year degree programs and begun conferring baccalaureate degrees. These programs, referred to as Community College Baccalaureate (CCB) programs, have become increasingly prevalent: Prior to 2000, only four states offered…

A typical bachelor's degree within the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) requires 120 credit hours while a typical associate degree requires 60. If a student enrolls in 15 credit hours per semester, it would take them a total of eight semesters to complete 120 credit hours for a bachelor's degree and four semesters to complete 60 credit hours…

Objective: Community college baccalaureate (CCB) programs are expanding across the nation, particularly in California--home of the largest and most ethnically/racially diverse community college system in the nation. CCB programs provide many benefits, two of which include providing an accessible and affordable pathway towards baccalaureate…

Guided by social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent et al. in J Vocat Behav 45(1):79-122, 1994), we assessed sociocultural (e.g., home-school cultural value mismatch) and contextual barriers (e.g., institutional climate) in science education and career development at both a baccalaureate-granting institution (BGI) and community college (CC) among…

Today, half of all states authorize at least one community college to offer bachelor's degree programs. In the past five years alone, eight states have authorized community colleges to offer baccalaureate programs. Given the momentum behind this movement, we sought to qualitatively explore higher education leaders' perceptions of the role of…

Under Utah House Bill 144, some unauthorized immigrant (UI) students who attend a Utah high school are exempt from paying the non-resident cost of tuition at Utah higher education institutions. This analysis examines awards earned by undergraduates who were eligible for the HB144 waiver: UI students who attended high school in Utah. Completion…

Beginning the path to a bachelor's degree in community college has the potential to be a more cost-effective higher education option. Previous research on transfer students has focused broadly on curriculum alignment, articulation policies, and academic advising in efforts to reduce credit loss. Credit loss can significantly impact transfer…

Using Academic Plans in Sociocultural Context as a framework, this study examined university personnel's perspectives of the Bachelor of Applied Science degrees. Through quantitative techniques, the findings from this study show university faculty and administrators associated with liberal arts education view Bachelor of Applied Science degrees…

Since their initial development in the early 1900s, and their rapid growth in the 1960s, community colleges have had a history of shifting focuses and programming, retooling academic offerings, and otherwise altering their behavior to meet the ever-changing needs of their communities. Despite this defining characteristic as a sector of change, not…

The purpose of this study is to gain insight on the comparative value of a DMS bachelor's degree and associate degree. While there are multiple training routes to become a diagnostic medical sonographer, it is beneficial to understand the perspectives of those that have experienced how training correlates to practice. While participant perceptions…

Using generalized difference-in-difference and synthetic control modeling, this study estimates the influence of the community-college baccalaureate (CCB) on institutional finance over time and by intensity. Leveraging data spanning 19 years (1999-2017), I find no impact on overall revenue but suggestive evidence of upfront costs and slight…