Parenting students work hard every day to pursue their goals, often juggling work, classes, and caregiving responsibilities. Public systems and programs can provide critical support, but frequently create additional hurdles for parenting students and their families--especially those with low incomes. In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social…

The present study examined demographic and academic predictors of astronomy performance among a cohort of N=1909 community college students enrolled in astronomy courses in a large suburban community college during a four-year time frame, 2015-2019. The theoretical framework was based upon a deconstructive approach for predicting community college…

Objective: Theorists have posited that community college students' socio-academic integrative relationships with other students, college staff, and instructors, as well as their sense of college-related aspiration, mindset, grit, and agency, may impact their academic success. When community college students narrate (i.e., create stories that help…

Addressing the Student Success Center Network's newly adopted statement on racial equity and economic recovery, this chapter describes actions the student success centers and their affiliated college networks are taking to address policies and practices that perpetuate systemic inequalities and recommends additional steps to enhance educational…

This chapter illustrates the potential promise and complexities of free college initiatives from the perspective of administrators, faculty, staff, and students who are involved in a scholarship program at a small Midwestern community college. Based on two waves of interviews conducted in 2019 and 2021 respectively, we found that, while largely…

Math courses serve as cornerstones to most, if not all, community college programs. Yet, these courses continue to be gatekeepers. Contextualization represents a promising venue through which instructors might break down math barriers for students. This study explores community college students' learning experiences in contextualized math classes,…

This study explored nontraditional community college transfer students and their bachelor's degree attainment. The study findings suggest that there was no significant difference in the odds of earning bachelor's degrees between nontraditional transfer students and their counterparts. Thus, the pathway to bachelor's degree attainment through…

Rural students' college attendance rates continue to lag behind their non-rural counterparts (Ardoin, 2018; Barr, 2018; Byun et al., 2012; Byun et al., 2015; Byun et al., 2017; Friesen & Purc-Stephenson, 2016; Hlinka et al., 2018; Longhurst, 2014; McDonough et al., 2010; Morton et al., 2018; Tieken, 2016). While the body of research…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) outcomes of community college students by looking at students' sense of project ownership, science self-efficacy, and science identity using an end of course survey. A total of 54 students, 41 females and 13 males, completed the survey.…

This ethnographic study aimed to understand how the educational goals of Multilingual Learners at community colleges were shaped and examine how institutions may influence goal orientation. A critical ethnographic case study was utilized, employing data triangulation through observations and interviews as data collection methods. Participants…

This research study utilized a phenomenology approach to determine barriers faced by two-year community college students and investigated ways in which colleges can mitigate these barriers in order to minimize students withdrawing from their courses. The objective was to explore students' experiences and perspectives to answer three research…

This study explored the perspectives and experiences of African American male students. enrolled in the Brothers Achieving Excellence (BRAVE) program at a medium sized, two-year community college institution in Southern New Jersey. The purpose of this study is to understand African American male BRAVE students' perceptions of academic support and…

LGBTGEQIAP+ people experience mental health distress at higher rates than cisgender heterosexual people, which can be connected to added layers of stress due to patterns of negative treatment on the basis of their identities (Meyer, 2003). LGBTGEQIAP+ community college students are at especially high risk for experiencing challenges,…

This ethnographic study answers the following overarching research question: How do faculty perceive community college transfer students' academic preparedness and ability to academically succeed at a small, private university? Using data collected from faculty interviews, analysis yielded salient themes: 1. The faculty perception of academic…

Online education, also referred to as distance education, has been on a steady rise for over a decade, and California community colleges offer more online courses than any other public higher education institution. Although the success gap, as measured by course completion, between online and face-to-face learning is closing overall, online…