This study analyzed two of the multimedia principle's effects - personalization and segmentation - of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) on both learning and motivation. The subject matter of the learning material was hazard recognition; the participants were community college students. Data were collected from both a content test…

Background/Context: Postsecondary education plays a central role in income and wealth mobility (Chetty et al., 2017) and in buffering individuals from the negative effects of economic downturns (see recent evidence from BLS, 2019; BLS, 2020). Much of the policy and programmatic focus around college completion has centered on increasing the share…

Community college students who are juggling busy lives may be drawn to enroll in self-paced online courses. Shorter, eight-week versions of online courses are an option for these students instead of taking full sixteen-week versions. However, because eight-week courses cover the same amount of material in half the time, student success may be…

The Evaluating the Quality of Instruction in Post-secondary Mathematics (EQIPM) is a 14-item instrument that uses videos of teaching to investigate the quality of instruction in college algebra courses taught at community colleges. We hypothesize that quality of instruction can be characterized along three distinct factors, the interactions…

Community college students are an untapped reservoir of talent and including them in social work education aligns with the values of the profession. Yet these students encounter formidable obstacles on the path from a 2-year degree to an affordable social work degree. In this article, we describe the systems thinking underlying a newly instituted…

This study investigated the role of experiential learning and peer mentors in undergraduate biology at a community college. While the impact on all students was studied, special attention was paid to the effect interventions had on underrepresented minority students. Thirty-three sections of an introductory biology class were randomly assigned to…

This mixed-methods study examined characteristics and learning experiences of student veterans who transitioned from community college(s) into a 4-year public university. The study descriptively compared veteran versus non-veteran transfer students, using a survey and follow-up interviews. Results illustrated that student veterans attended larger…

This study explored the experiences of Latina immigrant parent students enrolled in a noncredit English as a Second Language (ESL) program at a California community college. It sought to uncover how these students navigate the processes and services of community colleges to support their academic success while also examining how they draw upon…

Background: Undergraduate research programs have been shown to have positive effects on student outcomes like retention and academic achievement. This study contributes to the very limited body of causal research on mentored undergraduate research programs (also known as apprentice-style research experiences, or AREs) by measuring the short- and…

Food insecurity is widespread among college students in the United States. Food benefits delivered through the CalFresh program, California's version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), can reduce hunger by helping students pay for groceries, but may not reach all eligible students. To date, higher education systems…

As Latinx populations are growing throughout the United States and Latinx students are graduating from high school and enrolling in college in noticeably higher numbers than in the past, it has become evident that transfer and degree completion rates are not rising in line with enrollment numbers. The purpose of this study was to examine and try…

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…

Education Code section 76002 requires the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office to prepare and submit a report each year on the number of special part-time and special full-time full-time equivalent students (FTES) claimed by each community college district for the preceding academic year in each of the following class categories: (1)…

The authors examined three motivational factors (first-year grade expectations, present-focused time perspective, and future-focused time perspective) as predictors of achievement and retention outcomes for students (N = 844) in their first semester at a predominately Hispanic-serving community college, accounting for student background…

This study investigates community college skills builders--students who enroll for a short time, take courses concentrated in career and technical education (CTE), are highly successful in their coursework, but typically leave college without a postsecondary credential. Drawing on administrative data from Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, and California,…