Sociologists of education have documented community college students' high postsecondary aspirations and low completion rates. Recent research suggests that community colleges can improve student outcomes by developing structural reforms, but this emphasis overlooks the ways in which students are constrained from benefiting from these reforms.…

Student affairs professionals are concerned about the access and success of diverse groups of students in U.S. higher education, but systematic barriers continue to confront one understudied population of college students. Justice-involved people--those who have experienced the criminal justice system--face unique challenges on our campuses but…

Community colleges are mission-driven institutions committed to access and community needs. They serve a diverse population: The majority of students are employed, so they have to balance work with school; about one-third are first-generation, so they are navigating an unfamiliar system for the first time in their families; and 15% are single…

With the philanthropic support of the Art for Justice Fund and Michelson 20MM Foundation, the Campaign for College Opportunity produced this research brief that provides an overview of the current state of higher education for currently and formerly incarcerated students. This brief provides descriptive demographics on California's incarcerated…

The academic library continues to formulate strategies for providing and sustaining a creative learning environment for knowledge creation. But little has been said about its role in skills building through micro employment that is enabling students to develop and integrate their academic, personal, and social skills sets. This study examines the…

Given the size of the adult student population and the student affairs focus on career development in traditional age students, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore career development and the vocational self-concept (VSC) in 48 California community college welfare-to-work students. Findings suggest the importance of congruence…

The cost of a college degree is an enormous challenge for many students. Not only has tuition increased across the country in response to state disinvestment in higher education, but the additional costs associated with attending college (including books and supplies, transportation, and living expenses that can exceed $19,000 annually) present…

"On the Verge: Costs and Tradeoffs Facing Community College Students" documents California community college students' struggles to cover college expenses beyond tuition, their experiences with financial aid, and the troubling tradeoffs they face when available resources do not stretch far enough. Consistent with a growing body of…

Every adolescent faces challenges as they navigate their teenage years, but for some these challenges imperil their ability to complete their education. While these four students' experiences are dramatically different, they have one thing in common: high school didn't work for them, meaning that each faced long odds of ever attaining a diploma,…

The first section of this article reviews the literature on the changing face of reference, beginning with a discussion of the national decline in reference transactions, its causes, and the likelihood that online reference services might one day halt or reverse the decline. It then analyzes definitions of the term "reference," pointing…

Peer learning dynamics have proven powerful in collegiate contexts. These dynamics should be leveraged at the undergraduate level in academic libraries for reference provision and basic information literacy instruction. Drawing on the literature of peer learning, documented examples of peer reference and instruction in academic libraries, and…

Growth of Latino students in postsecondary education merits an examination of their resources/challenges. A community cultural wealth model provided a framework to examine unacknowledged student resources and challenges. A mixed method approach found that first- and second-generation college students report equal numbers of sources of…

Low-income students face a number of obstacles that go beyond the cost of tuition and fees. For instance, their schooling often requires expenses that aren't covered by financial aid, such as books and commuting costs. What's more, education is often competing for their time with other responsibilities, such as the need to work or take care of…

Public perceptions of college students and their needs have not evolved. Likewise, embedded in the minds of policymakers is a traditional picture of higher education's mission as largely focused on teaching and learning. To some extent, this is true for college staff, as well. As a result, shifting the paradigms around social, economic, and…

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education's "Self-Assessment Guide for Registrar Programs and Services" includes an introductory statement on the role of registrar programs: "The overarching role of the registrar is increasingly that of an educator, defining student needs through learning outcomes and…