A high school diploma is no longer the path to financial stability; a person needs at least a postsecondary degree or credential to earn a median income (Carnavale, et al. 2019). Community colleges need to work to create opportunities for all students, including those that may enter school as an adult, and not straight from high school, to attain…

The purpose of this explanatory sequential study was to identify factors associated with Pell grant recipients' persistence in a community college setting and to understand the influence of institutional actors on the formation of academic capital. Students completed a survey designed to measure the formation of students' academic capital (St.…

This study provided in-depth personal insight into the phenomenon of the mentorship experiences of community college presidents to provide a view into how their interaction has impacted them to help provide guidance to other potential mentors. Study participants represented community colleges in North Carolina. Community colleges, colleges, and…

The rural brain drain, an event wherein a rural locale's educated youth out-migrates, is speculated to be the root cause of nonmetropolitan human capital exhaustion. This study promotes the speculation that community colleges hold promise in reversing the brain drain, as they are primed to elevate the human capital level of stayers while offering…

The purpose of this study is to examine a community college district Grow Your Own (GYO) leadership program in the Western United States, the Multi College Leadership Development Institute (MCLDI). The MCLDI was developed in-house for a multi-campus community college district and offered to interested employees at all position levels with the…

Internships, externships, apprenticeships and co-operative education programs are all forms of experiential learning in a workplace setting that community colleges sponsor to enhance learning and career outcomes for their graduates. Previous studies have examined wage gains associated with co-op participation at the baccalaureate level, but no…

Higher education institutions in Ghana are challenged in providing access to affordable education to accommodate all qualified students for postsecondary education. Most Ghanaian students seek skills and knowledge to prepare them for a global workforce. The study's purpose was to investigate the adaptation of the U.S. community college's 2-year…

This study uses benefit-cost analysis to compare three alternative scenarios for implementing the Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) degree in Maryland community colleges. The first policy scenario is that community colleges retain their traditional role in K-12 teacher preparation by providing lower-division transfer courses and programs for…

Although there has been legislation that has improved access for students with disabilities, many students are choosing not to pursue postsecondary education. The rate of postsecondary attendance for students with learning disabilities and attention disorders has increased, but they are still enrolling in postsecondary education less frequently…

Since the 2008-2009 academic year, community colleges in the state of California have faced a budget reduction of 12%. This represents a reduction of $809 million in state appropriations. Despite the reduction in funding, the California Master Plan for Higher Education includes provisions for community colleges to develop quality workforce…

A commonly held belief is that formal education has a strong positive association with earnings (Sanchez, 1998). The motivation for individuals to pursue and complete an education beyond high school is likely founded in the hopes of higher paying jobs or a higher position. The "economic benefits" of a community college education can be…

This dissertation seeks to increase our understanding of the factors that lead to student success at community colleges. Using data on a cohort of students enrolled at a two-year college, this dissertation presents the results of a longitudinal analysis. Citing the results of several persistence studies as well as the literature on…

Education is a major focal point of individual justice within a free society as well as a central point of human capital for the world. This study compared the cognitive and personal developmental levels of community college students enrolled in developmental-level mathematics courses to students enrolled in college-level mathematics courses. In…

The purpose of this study was to discover if core characteristics exist forming a Vietnamese community college model and to determine if the characteristics would explain the model. This study utilized three theoretical orientations while reviewing the existing literature, formulating the research questions, examining the data and drawing…

In light of the current economic downturn, thousands of Iowans are unemployed and this is the ideal time to build the skills of the workforce to compete in the knowledge-based economy so businesses and entrepreneurs can compete in a global economy. A tool for assessing the skills and knowledge of dislocated workers and students as well as…