The view that colleges are generally safe has been challenged by threats of violence on campuses across the country, causing fear among stakeholders. Community college faculty are not immune to crime-related fear on campus; however, the research has largely ignored this population. This research serves to fill that gap. The purpose of this…

Background: Determining the root causes of persistent underrepresentation of different subpopulations in engineering remains a continued challenge. Because place-based variation of resource distribution is not random and because school and community contexts influence high school outcomes, considering variation across those contexts should be…

Community colleges, including those in Virginia, continue to increase online course offerings in an effort to provide access and cost effective education to a growing student population. With increased student demand for online learning, community colleges should explore further the possibility of offering more science courses online. This…

Students who register for classes late have always been a challenge for community colleges. The student who registers late creates a burden on the enrollment staff, and they create academic achievement challenges for themselves as well. Late class registration has been linked to lower overall GPA's, and to overall lower academic performance. This…

In this retrospective causal-comparative study, the readiness of Virginia community college students to receive an accounting ethics curriculum was analyzed by measuring and comparing their moral sensitivity scores to the moral sensitivity scores of a group of four year university students. A sample of college students attending community college…

This research study examined the 2006 cohort of First-Time-in-College students from all 23 community colleges in Virginia. The goal was to examine fall-to-fall persistence and success in the first college-level mathematics course. Predictor variables used were developmental status, age, gender, and race and ethnicity of the student. Interaction…

The data contained in this report provide new connective tissue and insight into students' lives and the ways in which their financial concerns coincide with their academic work and their ability to succeed. The report focuses on the financial health of community college students, including their perceptions of their current financial…

Quantitative analysis was used to investigate relationships between sense of class community and perceived learning among alternative licensure candidates (N = 58) based on their scores from two separate standardized instruments measuring the constructs. Study results provide evidence that relationships do indeed exist and that differences between…

Community colleges continue to increase online course offerings as these institutions strive to offer open access, cost effective education to a growing student population. With an increased student demand for online learning, community colleges should explore the possibility of offering all courses in the online environment, including science…

Research indicates disparities in the enrollment of minorities in postsecondary education. However, the reasons for the lower enrollment rates of minorities are less clear. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between sex, income, GPA, racial/ethnic identity, academic self-concept, and sense of school belonging for African…

This author's reading selection for his class provoked an unexpected response: when one of the main characters in the reading "came out of the closet," the students divided themselves into those who were willing to discuss the issues, and those who weren't.

Previous research shows that there are individual differences in academic achievement associated with gender and race. Research also suggests that student engagement is an important determinant of student outcomes/achievement. The present study explored student engagement at an extra-large community college. It specifically investigated possible…

Transfer students are a distinct population. Their characteristics lead to a qualitatively different student experience. Drawing on interviews with a cross-sectional sample of transfer students at George Mason University (GMU), this study focused on the ways transfer students perceived their social and academic engagement, on the ways they engaged…

This report investigates enrollment patterns and academic outcomes in online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses among students who enrolled in Washington State community and technical colleges in the fall of 2004. Students were tracked for nearly five years, until the spring of 2009. Results were similar to those found in a parallel study in…

The purpose of this study was to examine the gender differences regarding motivation in the individuals who serve in senior administrative positions in Virginia's community colleges. Institutional morale can be damaged by administrators who become dissatisfied with their positions. Institutions use millions of dollars yearly to conduct searches…