As educators reconsider higher education's public good mission, community colleges face a monumental task. These colleges still serve a student population that includes many low-income, traditionally underrepresented, first-generation college students with family and job responsibilities that demand their attention. For community colleges, the…

Community colleges have a long-standing history of providing higher education to countless individuals who might not otherwise have been offered access. Research demonstrates that faculty members wield an abundance of power in fostering sense of belonging within their classrooms (Byrd, 2016; Carales et al., 2019; Danowitz, 2011; Eagen &…

Community colleges have a long-standing history of providing higher education to countless individuals who might not otherwise have been offered access. Research demonstrates that faculty members wield an abundance of power in fostering sense of belonging within their classrooms (Byrd, 2016; Carales et al., 2019; Danowitz, 2011; Eagen &…

This dissertation investigates the impact of a pedagogical class and a Community of Practice (CoP) on the implementation of reading strategies by faculty at a community college. It explores the types of reading strategies instructors plan to use, their integration into classroom practices, the factors enabling or impeding this implementation, and…

As colleges and universities continue to navigate the longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a wealth of knowledge and insights exists within many community colleges to inform how to best prepare students for the fast-changing demands of learning, work, and life. Using a strengths-based approach and interviews with students from three large…

This study adopts an equity-driven lens to focus on how international education serves to reproduce long-standing racial and economic hierarchies through a critical exploration of which students participate in two international education experiences: at-home internationalized coursework and study abroad. Drawing from student demographic data…

Community college career and technical education (CTE) represents one potential way in which students can receive important postsecondary education and training. Yet, existing research suggests rural community college students experience stratified access to CTE. Using a joint human capital theory and geography of opportunity theoretical…

This study explores the issue of food insecurity within community colleges in Texas and highlights administrator's responses toward best and most promising practices and challenges in addressing food insecurity. The research was guided by complex adaptive systems theory and cynefin. Food insecurity among college students, especially community…

The Post-Traditional Remedial Learner in higher education is a student constituency that has historically been "Hidden in Plain Sight" and strikingly absent from substantive discussions that foreground their lived experiences, relevance, and success in post-secondary education. Though physically present on campus and numerically…

In an effort to increase community college (CC) biology education research (BER), an NSF-funded network called CC Bio INSITES (Community College Biology Instructor Network to Support Inquiry into Teaching and Education Scholarship; INSITES for short) was developed to provide intellectual, resource, and social support for CC faculty (CCF) to…

Objective: Community colleges face challenges to becoming smoke-free and have higher smoking prevalence rates than four-year colleges. This case study examines how Sacramento Taking Action Against Nicotine Dependence (STAND), a community-based organization's project, achieved tobacco-free policies at California's second largest community college…

Advocates for marginalized students have worked to understand the equity implications of public policy and its application on educational performance gaps. This study investigated equity policies in a southern California community college intervention program: the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS). EOPS is an equity program created…

Community Colleges have an open-door policy that publicly states all are welcome but after acceptance, the student encounters the hidden locked door of placement testing. For some students, placement testing is the key that unlocks the door and provides them access to their path toward their academic journey. But for most students, placement…

With 1.8 million students, California Community Colleges (CCC) are often the primary point of access to higher education for low-income, Black, and Latino students. Given the role of community colleges in creating a strong pipeline of college graduates, improving transfer rates to four-year colleges has become an increasingly important policy…

Objective: This study examines whether there are differences among first-generation and continuing-generation community college students in the importance they place on achieving college-related goals and difficulties they face from college- and other life-related challenges. Methods: Data were drawn from the "Community College Libraries and…