The problem addressed in this study was the high rate of student nursing attrition. The purpose of this qualitative single case research study was to identify perceived barriers to program completion for registered nursing pre-licensure students to determine ways to help students overcome these challenges. The conceptual framework for this…

In the article "Understanding Writer Center Use among Community College Students," Christina Savarese addresses the reasons students use the writing center, understanding those reasons, and using them to identify ways the writing center administrators and tutors can better serve their student population. Additional research findings…

Nature-based instruction offers students the benefts of experiential learning while spending time in nature. Research supports nature-based learning (NBL) with younger students (Pre-K-12), yet there is a dearth of research focused on students in post-secondary education. To advance research in higher education, an NBL project was launched with 16…

Campus public safety has become a major concern over the last decade for the entire college community. As incidents of mass violence on college campuses increase, many college administrators are searching for the most effective measures to prevent such incidents from happening on their campuses. One method gaining popularity is the establishment…

Campus public safety has become a major concern over the last decade for the entire college community. As incidents of mass violence on college campuses increase, many college administrators are searching for the most effective measures to prevent such incidents from happening on their campuses. One method gaining popularity is the establishment…

Campus public safety has become a major concern over the last decade for the entire college community. As incidents of mass violence on college campuses increase, many college administrators are searching for the most effective measures to prevent such incidents from happening on their campuses. One method gaining popularity is the establishment…

In this final chapter, the authors synthesize and draw from chapters across this volume to provide concluding remarks and recommendations. The authors suggest that core to the discussion of excellence of student affairs in community colleges are the concepts of integration and collaboration. As professionals tasked with supporting the student…

Tuition is rising, more students are in debt and at higher levels than ever before, and pressure is mounting from every direction and in both political parties--from the White House to state legislatures to overwhelmed parents and students--to do something about it. On the other hand, many colleges and college systems across the country have…

The purpose of this study was to expand the literature on student persistence in community colleges through three research innovations. First, the literature on student persistence in community colleges was expanded by applying theory to the identification and testing of predictors. Second, it was expanded by validating retention prediction…

While higher education institutions seem to be utilizing social media more and more, there still exist enormous challenges in trying to understand the new dynamics generated by social media in higher education, particularly for the context of community colleges. In March 2011, the author and her colleague Dr. Regina Deil-Amen (Associate Professor…

Carroll Community College connects students to their peers and to educators who share similar academic, personal, and career interests. Students get involved in hands-on experiences inside and outside of the classroom. The results include higher retention, reduced student anonymity, and an institutional commitment to student success.

College success requires more than the ability to master college-level academic skills. Students must learn to navigate an unfamiliar campus, satisfy bureaucratic requirements, meet new expectations (Shields, 2002), and engage in new types of interpersonal relationships (Dickie & Farrell, 1991). Academically vulnerable students--those who are most…

Ten months after the massacre at Virginia Tech, colleges of all kinds continue to weigh campus-safety concerns. How can they help troubled students? How should they respond in emergencies? Preventing some campus incidents may involve luck, but responding to them effectively requires planning. Like residential colleges and universities,…

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the perceptions of underprepared college students who had participated in a first-year learning community at an urban, culturally diverse, commuter campus in the southeastern United States. Perceptions of graduates and those who earned at least 30 college-level credit hours were compared to…

College student persistence and dropout have been studied for decades, but little inquiry has focused on community college or private two-year college students. Although about half of first-time postsecondary students enroll in a two-year college, researchers understand little about why only approximately a quarter of these degree-seekers complete…