Much is unknown about those who do not finish high school and there is a need to understand who enters and completes alternative high school completion programs, such as the HiSet (High School Equivalency Test), GED (General Education Development Test), or growing number of state sponsored high school equivalency programs. The purpose for…

This research was conducted as a qualitative study of African American college students' racialized and academic experiences while completing the teacher preparation program at their respective universities. This study was carried out at three predominantly White institutions (PWIs) of varying sizes in rural, urban, and suburban cities in the…

There are 44 million adults over the age of 24 who hold a high school diploma, and another 35 million adults who have some college credit, but have not earned their college degree. These numbers make adult learners a viable population to attract and matriculate at community colleges. Considering the impact adult learners would have on enrollment…

Teacher shortage in all subjects, including music, has been an ongoing concern in the United States since the 1980s. The shortage is especially acute in urban and rural schools that serve economically disadvantaged students. This article examines (a) music teacher shortage in relation to P-12 public schools in general, (b) the demand for music…

Community college enrollment has significantly declined since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the spring 2020 term and the spring 2022 term, community college enrollment declined by nearly 17 percent nationwide. This alarming trend has posed a threat to the well-being of community colleges and the students they serve, which includes…

This narrative study explores the leadership life stories of five women serving as community college presidents in Illinois. The purpose of this study is to explore women's experiences in leadership skill and identity development on the way to becoming community college presidents. Hearing the women share their leadership life stories directly…

An estimated 17% to 30% of new teachers in the U.S. leave the profession within their first 5 years of teaching. Some challenges that prompt new teachers to leave the field include stress, lack of appropriate support, and feeling unprepared to handle behavioral and academic issues among their students. Research supports the finding that teachers…

This article introduces a strategy to diversify the teaching workforce through de-centering teacher education as the primary stakeholder in the preparation of diverse teachers. The article expands the focus on teacher recruitment and retention by proposing a model that counters the educational context of White supremacy through Grow Your Own (GYO)…

Social work programs in the United States (N = 74) were investigated to determine strategies used for recruiting and retaining MSW students of color. Most schools had student populations exceeding 25,000 and combined BSW, MSW, and PhD programs. Data were collected using a Graduate Recruitment and Retention Scale with corresponding and acceptably…

Research suggests that the appearance of a college campus--both inside and out--is a significant criterion in college selection. As community colleges are finding it increasingly important to attract and retain students, placemaking is becoming an effective and efficient platform to support recruitment and retention. Placemaking is imagining and…

Institutions of higher education develop rich and effective marketing and recruitment plans, often devoting a great deal of time and energy to attract prospective students and their families. Music education programs often develop specialized recruiting strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of music education recruiting…

Persistent and consistent criticism of our nation's educational system has increased pressure on school districts and teacher education programs to improve the quality of teachers in our public schools. While there is research regarding the characteristics of effective teachers, the difficulty is often in identifying and hiring those teacher…

Our nation's competitive edge is highly dependent on the success of STEM education and the ability of information technology (IT) graduates to find jobs. The School of Information Technology at Illinois State University (ISU) is strategically positioned to offer S-STEM scholarships to talented, financially disadvantaged students in the IT…

This paper reports results from a resume-based field experiment designed to examine employer preferences for job applicants who attended for-profit colleges. For-profit colleges have seen sharp increases in enrollment in recent years despite alternatives such as public community colleges being much cheaper. We sent almost 9,000 fictitious resumes…

In spite of the well-paying, in-demand jobs that many STEM degrees can lead to, just 18 percent of the 1.9 million bachelor's degrees awarded in the U.S. in 2015-16 (the most recent data available) were in STEM subject areas.3 Given that about 5 percent of workers with a non-STEM undergraduate degree work in a STEM field, a large proportion of a…