This qualitative study was a life history multiple case study investigating the issue of student retention at community colleges in Hawai'i using oral interviewing as a primary method of data collection. The purpose of the current study was to investigate what role motivation played in a student's decision to persist at a community college in…

Across the United States, a growing number of colleges are redesigning their programs and student support services according to the "guided pathways" model. Central to this approach are efforts to clarify pathways to program completion, career advancement, and further education. Equally essential are efforts to help students explore…

This summary is a digest of key findings from "Implementing Guided Pathways: Early Insights From the AACC Pathways Colleges," a report based on Community College Research Center's (CCRC's) research on the 30 colleges involved in the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Pathways Project. The research presented in this report…

In 2011, according to a National Center for Education Statistics report, part-time instructional staff in all higher education institutions exceeded full-time faculty members for the first time, accounting for 50% of all instructional staff (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2012). The same report indicates part-time faculty in…

Policymakers and leaders have been calling for changes in the Academy for nontenure-track faculty. This study focuses on the role of governance in creating that policy change, and the practices facilitating their role in changing the institution through governance. Findings include: governance facilitating day-to-day changes, establishing…

The success of efforts to improve student outcomes in precollege mathematics at community colleges hinges on engaging and supporting non-tenure-track faculty [NTTF], who comprise a significant proportion of precollege instructional staff. Although research suggests weak departmental support and barriers and constraints to NTTF engagement, no…

This qualitative study explored the experiences of an online learner at a community college. The purpose of the study was to investigate community college students' perception of online courses through an examination of their experiences with online learning. The community of inquiry theory was used as a guide to better understand the importance…

The Mathematical Development Beliefs Survey was developed to measure early childhood teachers' beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning in the preschool classroom. This instrument was designed to measure beliefs concerning (a) age-appropriateness of mathematics instruction, (b) classroom locus of generation of mathematical knowledge…

Christine McPhail formerly served as president at Cypress College in California and is founder and professor emeritus of the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program at Morgan State University in Maryland. She is the Managing Partner for The McPhail Group LLC and currently serves as a Leadership Coach for more than a dozen community colleges…

This research brief presents key findings and actionable themes from Student Support (Re)defined--a multi-year study that asked almost 900 students from 13 California community colleges what they think supports their educational success, paying special attention to the factors Africa Americans and Latinos cite as important to their achievement.…

Blended learning has sometimes been called the "best of both worlds," combining the advantages of face-to-face instruction with the advantages of online learning. It has been in existence for over a decade, and more research needed to be done to determine its efficacy and desirability for community colleges. The goal of this dissertation…

This article highlights findings from a qualitative study of factors affecting the academic success of African American male students in the community college. Data was collected through interviews with 28 Black male students in a midsized institution in the southwestern United States. Findings illuminated four key faculty-initiated elements that…

This article presents findings from a qualitative study examining students' perspectives of engaging in an autonomous learning project at a community college. Through the conceptual prism of self-directed learning, this study describes how students view the benefits of SDL as well as the roles of teachers. It also touches on factors contributing…

This Grounded Theory study utilized Self-determination Theory to analyze the interview results of 18 community college African American and Latino males. The goal was to learn what helped participants to succeed and persist in developmental and transfer-level writing courses despite the obstacles that they faced. Three major themes emerged: (a)…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of experienced individual online students at a community college in Texas in order to generate a substantive theory of community college student perceptions of online instructor presence. This qualitative study used Active Interviewing and followed a Straussian grounded-theory design to…