This chapter illustrates the potential promise and complexities of free college initiatives from the perspective of administrators, faculty, staff, and students who are involved in a scholarship program at a small Midwestern community college. Based on two waves of interviews conducted in 2019 and 2021 respectively, we found that, while largely…

Metallica's All Within My Hands is a workforce education initiative that provides direct support to community colleges to enhance their career and technical education programs. In 2019, AWMH--alongside initiative sponsor the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)--provided 10 schools with $100,000 each for tuition help, safety gear and…

While computing programs in the U.S. are experiencing growth in enrollment trends, they are still grappling with matters related to retention and persistence of computing undergraduates. One construct identified by scholars as having an impact on persistence in computing is computing identity, which is shaped by constructs such as recognition,…

Since the Tennessee Promise's 2014 launch, "free college" or "Promise" programs have proliferated rapidly and converged on design features: a "last-dollar" award and community college applicability. Researchers who study these programs' effects generally presume they are tuition-reducing endeavors. In contrast, we…

Developing an engineering identity is crucial for students pursuing an engineering degree. Community college students may experience greater difficulty building and maintaining engineering identities than their peers at 4-year universities. The purpose of the present study is to examine how socioeconomic status (SES) and the S-STEM scholarship, a…

The college promise -- or "free college" -- movement is rapidly expanding throughout the United States; however, there is much to learn about community colleges' organizational responses to promise programs and corresponding partnerships with nonprofit organizations that are involved in some programs. Using institutional logics to frame…

Since 2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF)--funded Science, Technology, and Math Preparation Scholarships (STAMPS) project has provided financial and community support for undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in STEM majors. In this article, the authors explore the impact of STAMPS on how cohorts…

In this paper, we emphasize the value of an online community of practice (OCoP) for bringing together faculty from across disciplines to share and leverage their diverse expertise and perspectives. We examine the transition of an interdisciplinary community of practice through the pivot into an online environment for engagement, communication, and…

This article provides an overview of community colleges as an access point to higher education, specifically for individuals without a high school diploma. The article highlights how one community college system is addressing both postsecondary access and workforce demands through policy and practice change. The Louisiana Community and Technical…

This qualitative study examines Tennessee Promise students' (N = 60) perceptions of supports and resources during their first year of college. Students' reflections suggest that they hold expectations for support from the state beyond scholarship dollars, and that other actors, including faculty, staff, parents, and the state's nonprofit partner,…

Everett Community College (EvCC) made numerous changes to retain and support students enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education during the coronavirus pandemic. Drawing on insights from EvCC faculty and staff affiliated with a National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM scholarship grant called the "EvCC STEM…

In response to rising college tuition and student debt over the past three decades, some institutions, localities, and states have implemented a range of tuition-free promise programs to promote college access and success. Programs vary widely in their design features, including eligibility stipulations and award structure. I explore the growing…

This paper describes the implementation of a STEM scholarship program which utilized a holistic approach to providing a multi-dimensional student support system. The program has been successful in encouraging and supporting women in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science by offering a diverse suite of extracurricular opportunities, actively…

Students from rural Appalachian regions often face increased career development barriers within university spaces. As part of an NSF-funded program, we provided diverse, structured supports for a group of STEM majors from rural Appalachian backgrounds. We utilized narrative inquiry to interview 10 Program participants, which allowed us to explore…

This qualitative research study describes how a Midwest community college's implementation of an Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (SSTEM) program influences engineering identity development for its students with financial need. Using a phenomenological approach, the study finds that the program enables community…