Retention rates are considerably lower for students attending two-year postsecondary institutions when compared to their counterparts at four-year postsecondary institutions. This disparity may stem from the greater number of nontraditional students at two-year postsecondary institutions, who often struggle to balance their studies and…

Community colleges are a unique part of the American higher education system that promote access and opportunities for many students who might not otherwise attend a college or university. The purpose of this article is to address community colleges in three parts: their historical relevance, their organisational mission and structure and their…

The purpose of this action research study was to explore the relationship between growth mindset instruction in a community college success class with student academic effort and achievement, among students enrolled in a developmental reading class. Community college students, especially those testing into developmental classes, face numerous…

This chapter provides an overview of organizations and other entities focused on assisting community college staff, faculty, and administrators in developing and promoting student success outcomes. We provide a listing of relevant web resources related to programming and conclude with a summary of suggested readings.

This paper examines the association between participating in developmental education and degree attainment within 6 years for adults (age 24 and older) who entered one of 10 Ohio public community or technical colleges for the first time in 2002-2013. Degree attainment is modeled using annual data on course enrollment and completion measures.…

This article examines traditional organizational structures of community colleges and how traditional hierarchical structures influence delivery of programs and services. The point is to reveal ways in which community colleges can change organizational structures to more effectively implement key reform and student success efforts through a…

In December 2020, Complete College America (CCA), in partnership with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, launched a rigorous 12- to 18-month project designed to increase student success and completion rates at small liberal arts institutions. The focus was on building and enhancing support systems for first-generation and Pell-eligible students, and…

This chapter discusses the importance and common challenges of evaluating community college student success efforts; it includes a broad-based framework for carrying out effective evaluations.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the effect that course format had on student success rates and withdrawal rates at an Alabama community college from 2012 to 2014. The goal was to determine if students who were enrolled in online, hybrid, or face-to-face developmental courses were more or less likely to withdraw from those…

The purpose of the qualitative study was to discover instructional practices used by developmental math instructors that facilitate learning and academic success of students in developmental math courses at select community colleges in Alabama in order to generate improved instructional practices in the developmental education field. Emergent data…

The purpose of this case study was to evaluate the lessons learned from the development of a project that set out to revitalize an economically depressed area with an innovative approach to workforce development through partnerships. The focus was to utilize the development of the Niagara County Community College Culinary Institute as an example…

This chapter examines community college first-year experience programs using critical race theory and ecological theory. The study draws on diverse students' experiences with access, support, and long-term success within community colleges to assess how these programs foster student success, as told through the voices of student participants.

This study was designed to explore the collaborative experiences between community college and 4-year institution administrators to improve the transfer process, enhance transfer student success, and support bachelor's degree completion for community college transfer students. Knowledge generated is expected to inform staff and faculty at…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to examine dual credit enrollment with respect to student demographic characteristics and to student success of Texas community college students. The first purpose was to describe the demographic characteristics with respect to gender and ethnicity/race of Texas community college students…

Keeping students in college classrooms can be a struggle, but keeping them in an online classroom is an even more difficult feat. While the field of retention research has expanded its focus beyond traditional four-year students to include a variety of non-traditional student situations, including online, it has yet to focus efforts on online…