This work comprises three articles centered around access and equity in California with a lens toward school inputs, interrogating the extent to which coursework as well as local planning efforts support student learning and progress. Using descriptive analysis, Chapter 1 examines the availability and accessibility of rigorous English courses for…

Low-income students enrolled in a four-year, public institution are three times more likely to drop out after their first year of study than their higher-income peers (Engle & Tinto, 2008, p. 11). The exorbitant price of college tuition plays a significant role in how low-income students are underserved by the current postsecondary system.…

The demand for post-secondary education in the United States is on the rise, and currently represents an industry that serves approximately 18 million students, in over 3,000 institutions, and represents revenues that are approximately $600 billion annually. As the overall demand for higher education has increased, there has also been an increase…

The number of graduate level students who do not complete their degree has been an ongoing issue in higher education and has increased with the growth of online education. Research demonstrates that online learners who have already achieved their degree could manage their learning experience, understood the importance of seeking help when…

The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of service learning dimensions and service learning partnerships. The study examined three partnerships currently maintained through the Office of Public Service at a four-year educational institution in the southeastern region of the United States. The partnerships were: AuburnServes, a…

The majority of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are unemployed or underemployed. While an increasing number of individuals with IDD are attending college, few studies have examined practices associated with positive academic outcomes for these students. Little is known about what factors contribute to employment among…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of participation in career services activities and selected demographic characteristics on the persistence to graduation among undergraduate students at a research university-very high research activity (RU/VH) in the Southern portion of the United States. The target population was…

The purpose of the qualitative exploratory study was to explore the perceptions of successful first-generation (FG) community college graduates to further understand their lived experiences. Community colleges are able to serve the general public yet achieve great status in helping FG students attain their degree. The specific problem was the high…

This action research study examined the lived experiences of student mothers at Gateway Community & Technical College. By increasing understanding, specific interventions for policy and practice emerge to increase retention and completion rates for this substantial population. Results suggest that student mothers have increased stress from…

Latin-American governments are increasingly promoting public-private partnerships to provide much-needed external support to schools, but little is known about the mechanisms through which such partnerships operate. This study aims to contribute to the literature on external support for school improvement by analyzing how a non-government…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the extent to which differences were present in scholastic/faculty engagement activities, in academic/support service use, and in college benchmark scores between community college students who had been enrolled in an honors course and their peers who had not been enrolled in…

California community colleges are facing serious obstacles in relation to students of color achieving academic success. African American men see the community college as a pathway toward economic and social mobility; however, collectively they have disparate outcomes in every conceivable marker of success; persistence, achievement, transfer,…

The purpose of this collected papers dissertation was to better understand the professionalization of academic advising. Advising can claim several features of widely-agreed upon professional components, but the question of whether academic advising constitutes a "profession" has caused much debate. Three primary obstacles stand in its…

The U.S. community college is a unique American enterprise in that it is not a national model, but varies by state and locality. Each state created community colleges to support students who had limited or now access to higher education. Per the data collected from 12 community colleges, international students were full-time students, very engaged…

Purpose. The first purpose of this study was to identify and describe what actions faculty experts recommend for California Community Colleges to ensure maximum effectiveness of instructional strategies and related academic support programs in developmental mathematics by the year 2020. The second purpose of the study was to identify and describe…