ERIC Number: ED471815
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2002-Jul
Pages: 122
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Opening Doors: Students' Perspectives on Juggling Work, Family, and College.
Matus-Grossman, Lisa; Gooden, Susan
Information gathered in focus groups of current, former, and potential students at six community colleges was used to explore institutional and personal access and retention issues faced by students seeking a workable balance of their college, work, and family responsibilities. The six community colleges were as follows: Cabrillo College (Aptos, California); LaGuardia Community College (Long Island, New York); Macomb Community College (Clinton Township, Michigan); Portland Community College (Portland, Oregon); Sinclair Community College (Dayton, Ohio); and Valencia Community College (Orlando, Florida). The following were among the main themes that emerged from the focus groups: (1) working students typically take more than 2 years to complete college; (2) financial aid is a major factor affecting enrollment decisions; (3) balancing work, family, and college is difficult; (4) students need on-campus academic and personal support; (5) a gap exists between the services available to students and students' awareness of them; and (6) students view individual faculty members as the "front line" of their community college experience. Educational, financial aid, student service, and community partnership approaches to helping community college students juggle their college, work and family responsibilities were identified. Selected results from phone interviews with focus group participants are appended. (Contains 14 tables/boxes and 46 references.) (MN)
Descriptors: Academic Persistence, Access to Education, Adult Students, College Environment, Community Colleges, Education Work Relationship, Educational Attitudes, Enrollment Influences, Family Problems, Family School Relationship, Family Work Relationship, Focus Groups, Partnerships in Education, Paying for College, School Community Relationship, School Holding Power, Special Needs Students, Student Attitudes, Student College Relationship, Student Educational Objectives, Student Financial Aid, Student Motivation, Student Needs, Student Personnel Services, Two Year College Students, Two Year Colleges
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, 16 East 34 Street, New York, New York 10016. Tel: 212-532-3200; Web site: http://www.mdrc.org. For full text: http://www.mdrc.org/Reports2002/opendoors_perspectives/jugglingwo rk.pdf.
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Metropolitan Life Foundation.; Ford Foundation, New York, NY.; Joyce Foundation, Chicago, IL.; Smith Richardson Foundation, Inc., Greensboro, NC.; Ambrose Monell Foundation, New York, NY.; Grable Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA.; Surdna Foundation, Inc., New York, NY.; Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Flint, MI.; Open Society Inst., New York, NY.; Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD.; William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Palo Alto, CA.; Lumina Foundation for Education, Indianapolis, IN.; Alcoa Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA.; George Gund Foundation, Cleveland, OH.; New York Times Foundation, NY.
Authoring Institution: Manpower Demonstration Research Corp., New York, NY.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A