The lived experiences of Black/African American male students at a suburban community college in North Carolina were explored in this qualitative narrative study. Institutional data from the North Carolina Community College System revealed these students had the lowest percentages of persistence toward degree completion and of graduation. In an…

The Minority Male Success Initiative (MMSI) serves as a system-wide grant opportunity from the North Carolina Community College system aimed at improving success outcomes for male students of color (North Carolina Community Colleges, n.d.). This study explored and examined the experiences of men of color who participated in MMSI programming and…

This study investigates the impact of community college students' participation in mentored undergraduate research, with an emphasis on STEM transfer students. The STEM Academic Research and Training (START) program at Wake Technical Community College was designed and implemented by community college faculty and staff and was evaluated in a…

This study represents North Carolina community college student experience with food insecurity. Two-year students have a wide variety of challenges as they make their way to finishing a credential. One such challenge, hunger, has always been a component; awareness and discourse have not. The purpose of the research is to understand the narratives…

This research study focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of improvement efforts made for ENG 111 online courses at Brunswick Community College (BCC). The primary goal is to enhance student satisfaction, increase course completion rates, and improve course success rates. The study assesses the strategic redesign of ENG 111 courses and aims to…

Learning assistance services offered by U.S. community colleges are vital to the academic success of many students, but the tutors themselves remain understudied. This paper attempts to narrow both the research and recognition gaps by exploring and categorizing prominent aspects of professional community college tutors. Using a small-scale,…

Community colleges are frequently an affordable, accessible entrance to a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and career, but the transition from a 2-year program to a 4-year institution can be tumultuous. In this mixed-methods study, we explore the experiences of transfer and prospective transfer students. Through…

Trans community college students are facing increasingly hostile campus environments across the United States in the form of Transphobic language, gendered administrative forms and processes, and inaccessible restrooms (Lange et al., 2021; Rankin, 2003). Using an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) framework, the goal in this qualitative study was to engage…

As the entry point into higher education for over half of the bachelor's degree earners, (Trapani & Hale, 2019), community colleges are positioned to have a positive impact of bringing a more diverse student group into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. However, the vertical transfer function from community…

The purpose of this article is to provide a blueprint to conduct equity case studies in rural community colleges. Informed by our field work experiences applying case study design and equity-minded frameworks, this blueprint involves four distinct steps: (1) identifying rural community colleges in North Carolina; (2) operationalizing equity in…

This study used an in-depth qualitative multi-interview approach to explore the lived experience of associate in applied science (AAS) students at a community college in North Carolina. The purpose of this study is to explore the aspirations of community college students enrolled in career focused AAS programs to understand their stated goals, the…

In 2011, North Carolina implemented a tiered funding model for community colleges in an attempt to address program cost differentiation. In 2014, the funding model changed from a three-tiered model to a four-tiered model with additional funds for courses that address skills gaps and lead to higher-wage jobs. The purpose of this study was to…

Although much progress has been made in expanding equitable access to institutions of higher education, there is still a paucity of evidence of successful persistence strategies among first-generation, 18-32-year-old Black male college students. The problem is persistence rates of first-generation, 18-32-year-old Black male college students in the…

Developmental education is critical in the future of higher education and for the large numbers of college and university students entering higher education. Developmental education sometimes carries a negative connotation, one that is misappropriated to developmental education itself, the students, and the colleges or universities they attend.…

This three-article dissertation examined the implementation and impact of corequisite mathematics courses at four North Carolina community colleges located in urban areas. The first article was a multiple case study that examined student and instructor experiences to determine the characteristics of corequisite courses that students and…