The declining retention rates of students are the current focus of community colleges throughout the United States, with two-year community colleges' retention rates dropping significantly. One reason for declining retention may be the lack of meaningful connections students have with faculty. Current literature lacks information about student…

The student retention behavior of stopping-out is widely misunderstood and yet very important in explaining community college student enrollment patterns. Stopping-out remains understudied in higher education literature as it is challenging to collect data from students who discontinued their enrollment, and since these students are not retained,…

The role of intrusive advising in the persistence of community college students has not been well-studied even though intrusive advising has been touted as a practice to improve retention in U.S. community colleges. Student retention is important for sustaining community colleges that serve as open admissions institutions because they are…

The problem addressed in this study was the trend of students completing health sciences stackable credentials not pursuing the related health sciences associate degree after completing the stackable credential, despite the availability of the streamlined pathway. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study utilizing semi-structured…

This research study utilized a phenomenology approach to determine barriers faced by two-year community college students and investigated ways in which colleges can mitigate these barriers in order to minimize students withdrawing from their courses. The objective was to explore students' experiences and perspectives to answer three research…

In recent years, increased attention has been paid to mental health struggles among students, and a range of interventions have been proposed to improve student retention and learning through "trauma-engaged pedagogy" and "cultures of caring." Drawing on the insights of affect theory, we argue that such a focus, although…

This quasi-experimental study compared various outcomes of team-based-learning (TBL) (n = 67) and more traditional lecture-based instruction (n = 66) in a community college introductory psychology course and found no differences in knowledge of course content, attendance, or course retention. However, student self-reports indicated that, compared…

The purpose of this study is to extend knowledge regarding the nature of student complaints in community college settings. It describes the characteristics of complaints at a two-year institution and explores pedagogical practices intended to support student success and persistence. Qualitative content analysis of the institutions comprehensive…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the lived experiences of graduates of a Black Male Initiative (BMI) mentoring program at one associate-level College in the southeast region and the impact mentoring had on the participant's success at the college and its impact on obtaining their degree. Critical Race Theory (CRT) was the…

Institutions of higher education grapple with low retention rates, including community colleges, which have even lower rates. Historically, retention barriers include financial reasons, transportation issues, or lack of motivation. However, investigating the institution's role is also important. Institutional barriers come in the form of…

This research study examined the developmental and prescriptive academic advising preferences of two Texas community first-time-in-college (FTIC) students. For more than 100 years, higher education institutions have employed academic advisors to undertake meaningful interactions with students to assist with their academic progress. Their…

Community colleges are open access post-secondary institutions that serve a variety of needs for diverse student populations. Community colleges are also often less resourced than four-year colleges, and the students who attend community colleges are more likely to be minoritized, from lower socioeconomic situations, and be less academically…

Using data from a south-west alliance between two-year colleges and four-year universities, this study provides insight into the needed resources at partner institutions to promote the successful transfer and retention for minoritized students in STEM. The study includes responses from over 500 students who were engaged in alliance-related…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of embedded tutoring and college readiness on students' academic outcomes in corequisite gateway English courses at a Texas community college. With the growing implementation of corequisite gateway classes in higher education to expedite students' academic tenure, schools are looking to…

As Latinx populations are growing throughout the United States and Latinx students are graduating from high school and enrolling in college in noticeably higher numbers than in the past, it has become evident that transfer and degree completion rates are not rising in line with enrollment numbers. The purpose of this study was to examine and try…