Adult students constitute a large and increasing proportion of community college enrollment across the United States. For personal, economic, and sociological reasons, the success of these students is vital to the students themselves, the institutions they attend, and society as a whole. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine results from…

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, ex-post facto data study was to examine factors related to community college students who enrolled in developmental English and/or enrolled in combined developmental English and reading courses persistence and engagement at urban community colleges. The dependent variables…

A growing subset of the United States community college student population are students who are parents. Parenting students contend with dividing their time and attention between the demands of parenting responsibilities, other life tasks, while being a student -- forming an intricate web of external factors that create barriers to their…

This paper presents findings from a randomized controlled trial studying a comprehensive program designed to support students in achieving their goals. One Million Degrees (OMD) is a nonprofit organization serving community college students in the Chicago metro area that supports students financially, academically, personally, and professionally.…

Community colleges serve a large percentage of historically under-represented populations including students of color, low-income, and first-generation students. Unfortunately, less than half of students who begin at a community college return the following Fall and only about one-fourth of students eventually graduate. Previous research indicates…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if, and to what extent, community college first-year learners' (FYL) selection of the mode of instruction (MOI), online courses (OLC) or face-to-face courses (FTFC), is related to their persistence into a second year or their academic success within a southern California…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to know if and to what extent there was a relationship between self-determination and the dimensions of online learner readiness (motivation for learning, online communication self-efficacy, self-directed learning, learner control, and computer/internet self-efficacy) with online academic…

Purpose: This study examines the educational gaps of Latinx students at the community college level. The Puente outreach program is evaluated as a possible exemplary program to improve retention and success in completing degree-applicable and transferable classes. Puente's goal is to encourage Latinx students to attend college and provide support.…

California community college data shows that most community college students will never earn a degree (The Community College Research Center, 2018) or take a long time to do so (Horn & Skomsvold, 2002; Jenkins et al., 2017). Low success holds significant impact for students of color since California community colleges serve 72% of all Latine…

This study examined opportunities for enhancing transfer outcomes for community college students through summer research opportunities at a university. It emphasizes the significance of academic capital, derived from Bourdieu's cultural capital theory, in facilitating successful transfers. By offering ten-week paid summer research opportunities at…

First-generation students possess a set of unique characteristics that can make persisting in college more challenging than it is for their continuing-generation counterparts. Because many first-generation students are also low-income, community college is an affordable option to access their postsecondary goals. Each year, one-third of all Pell…

Undocumented children immigrants in the United States experience significant hurdles pursuing higher education due to their illegal status, resulting in lower rates of college attendance for children arriving before the age of 14 than U.S. born children. The 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program aims, in part, to remove these…

This dissertation examines the perceptions of Latinx sense of belonging in a Midwest community college and how their academic and social experiences are impacted. Sense of belonging is meaningful to community college students because Latinx students are historically underserved in postsecondary education. The goal is to better understand the…

Veterans and students who are currently members of the U.S. Armed Forces have a long and rich history with higher education. Despite this, little quantitative research exists that examines factors that influence academic outcomes and provide results that can be acted upon by institutions, such as community colleges, to improve the academic…

Community colleges have long focused on preparing graduates for well-paid careers in middle-skill jobs, playing an important democratizing role in American society. Community colleges enroll 47% of the total students enrolled in undergraduate studies in the United States (Bers & Schuetz, 2014, p. 1). This systematic review examines the…