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…

Community college students are more likely than their peers in four-year colleges to experience homelessness or housing instability. At the same time, homelessness is a curricular topic, particularly in social science courses. Given the prevalence of homelessness and housing instability in the community college student population, likely worsened…

The problem addressed in this qualitative grounded theory study was that there are different curricula designs for online biology courses resulting in students having significant challenges. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to use the theories of Mezirow (1990) and Tomlinson (1996) as the theoretical framework to explore…

Attending college, for many immigrant families, is a critical step in achieving the American Dream. This essay, written as a reflection and response between professor and student, explores the conflicting messages young community college students negotiate and process as they move through the City, revealing how knowledge learned in the college…

This inquiry examines anti-Asian racism in the wake of COVID-19 and focuses attention on the experiences of Asian immigrant students enrolled in programs for English Speakers of Other Languages at a two-year AANAPISI. We draw upon AsianCrit to explore the racialization of these newcomer immigrant students and examine experiences with direct and…

This three-article dissertation examined the implementation and impact of corequisite mathematics courses at four North Carolina community colleges located in urban areas. The first article was a multiple case study that examined student and instructor experiences to determine the characteristics of corequisite courses that students and…

Community colleges provide an education to a large share of college students. Yet, there is a paucity of research on LGBTQIA community college students, particularly how their experiences of marginality and mattering impact their sense of belonging, academic persistence, and personal development. Using the qualitative method of narrative inquiry,…

This research brief outlines a phenomenological study which sought to understand how community college students made sense of their engineering identity as well as explore how outsider perceptions of community college attendance and transfer influenced their identities. The study used the Community College Stigmatization Model (CCSM) and elements…

Using a phenomenological approach, we examined the sense of belonging for first-generation Latino men enrolled in a developmental mathematics course at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The focus was on faculty-student interactions that fostered a sense of belonging. Data were collected through individual, semistructured interviews. Participants…

Native American college students in the United States face significant educational disparities. However, there has been limited research on how they demonstrate resilience within their communities. This research study explored the experiences of Native American community college students enrolled in transfer programs while also considering the…

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are increasingly selecting to participate in postsecondary education. These individuals often face a number of challenges and barriers to success resulting in poor persistence and completion rates. For institutions of higher education, it is imperative that appropriate supports be put in place and…

The transfer pathway from community college to university holds promise for advancing equity in STEM because it is followed by disproportionately high numbers of underrepresented students. Among the challenges these students face is cultivating belonging in multiple institutional settings. By combining belonging and validation theories, this…

Research suggests that hearing how students perceive their experiences (positive and negative) can allow institutions to reevaluate their approaches and assumptions about what is working (or not) on their campuses and develop strategic plans that respond to this information. In early 2022, the Center for Community College Student Engagement…

This qualitative case study utilized interviews, classroom observations, and course syllabi to investigate the experiences of Black male students at a community college. Applying a conceptual framework of Dumas's anti-Blackness and Paris's culturally sustaining pedagogy provided a lens to understand how Black men experience classroom spaces on…

Previous research exploring the lived experiences of marginalized groups of students in STEM at community college settings is limited, despite the fact that community colleges have the potential to create pathways to 4-year engineering degrees and diversify the STEM workforce. This study explored what underrepresented students in STEM valued most…