Community college student success metrics have become increasingly synonymous with the completion rate and other key academic performance measures over the past quarter century. These measures, however, do not fully capture students' subjective interpretations of success, including their individual goals and aspirations. This article aims to…

With tuition increasing at a faster rate than inflation, many college students depend on grants to access education. The largest of these, the federally funded Pell Grant, subsidizes over 30 billion a year worth of tuition for eligible students (Cardona, 2023) yet no longer meets its goal of covering 75% percent of tuition costs. While the…

While community colleges benefit from an increase in African American (AA) male students enrolling at their institutions, a disproportionate number of AA males enroll in college and do not complete a certificate or degree compared to those who earn a certificate or degree. This qualitative study explored how AA male students at community colleges…

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,…

There was a recognized high rate of students enrolled in technology programs who did not graduate college. Scholars who had studied predictors of college completion surmised there were several behavioral traits associated with a student achieving their college objectives through graduation; one of those factors was persistence. Persistence, the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how science students described their experiences of collaboration in a virtual learning environment at a community college in the Midwestern United States between 2020 - 2022. The literature review indicated the need to understand how science students described their experience of…

How do students perceive alternative approaches to grading? Do those perceptions change over time? This mixed methods study addressed these questions for three alternative grading approaches - democratic contract grading, specifications grading, and "ungrading" - in a community college context. While alternative grading models in higher…

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to understand the community college online instructors' and online students' perceptions of the underlying reasons for academic underachievement at a California community college. The study comprised eight online instructors and seven online students at a community college in California.…

Math anxiety has become an alarming social justice concern, as it results in negative academic consequences, contributes to disinterest and lack of persistence in STEM programs for underrepresented students, and limits their opportunities in STEM careers. According to research, this fear of math occurs long before students begin working on math…

Work-based learning (WBL) has been sought as a strategy to produce better equipped graduates to enter the workforce. This quantitative, quasi-experimental study used Liptak's Career Planning Scale to examine differences that existed between community college student and alumni completion of WBL through enrollment in a Work Experience class and…

This study investigates the impact of community college students' participation in mentored undergraduate research, with an emphasis on STEM transfer students. The STEM Academic Research and Training (START) program at Wake Technical Community College was designed and implemented by community college faculty and staff and was evaluated in a…

Effective engagement with course readings can provide a pathway to success for students in higher education. However, only about one-third of college students are completing assigned readings and among those who do, many students struggle with successful interpretation and analysis of the content (Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates…

The purpose of this explanatory, sequential mixed methods study was to understand and explore students' perceptions of advising services before, during, and after an institution has transitioned to a One Stop Student Services Center. The research compared pre-existing data obtained from the Ruffalo Ruffalo Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction…

This study explores the perceptions of Hispanic students regarding their teachers' equity-oriented classroom practices at Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC), a majority-Hispanic community college in Southern California. The study used a qualitative phenomenological approach and involved twelve participants: three teachers and nine Hispanic students.…

Given the current political climate of division, the study of history is important now more than ever, but the value of the study of history has been marginalized. This study used student focus groups to understand ways in which history could be taught in such a way that its importance is emphasized through relevance and connection to current…