The era of "customer satisfaction" brings students to colleges who are increasingly identifying themselves as customers. Competition among a growing number of institutions and learning organizations is sharpening the desire of institutions to deliver high quality service in order to attract and retain students. Some examples of interactions where service...
This study describes the historical development of the Associate Degree Nursing Program at Portland Community College by women faculty leaders in a male-dominated organization. In-depth interviews of eleven participants were transcribed and analyzed. The participants gave a very rich description of this nursing programthus describing its culture. Six themes were...
Community colleges are in a strategic position to meet the growing demands for educating a population that is in a dynamic state of change, a population that is becoming more diverse with each passing year. A diverse population and other critical issues have created a new challenge for community colleges....
This study documents thick-description single-source data from the life and experiences of a Native American / Native Canadian language worker. The worker, raised and educated in the United States, was separated from his ancestral village until his thirties. The worker, with a Masters degree in education from Oregon State University,...
The purpose of this study was to describe the presidential search process at a
newly created community college and to learn how that process reflected the
emerging organizational culture. A single research question guided the inquiry: How
did the presidential search process at a newly created community college reflect the...
This qualitative study explores the experiences of women who are welfare
recipients attending a community college under the auspices of a new program,
Washington State's WorkFirst/Work Study program. The study, conducted over
two academic quarters, includes in-depth interviews with WorkFirst/Work Study
students, observations in a weekly seminar, and interviews with...
This study presented an in-depth exploration of international student perceptions of a coordinated studies program (CSP) at Seattle Central Community College. In conducting this research project, a phenomenological research methodology was used. Qualitative data were collected through participant observations, focus group, document review and individual in-depth interviews with nine students....
The purpose of this study was to examine how faculty curriculum committees from different disciplines moved through a major curriculum change process from content-focused curriculum to outcomes-based curriculum. Data was gathered through direct observations, committee member interviews, a questionnaire, and the Gregorc Style Delineator from four curriculum committees representing different...
The study established how community college leaders establish connections
with other community leaders. Connections that form broad and inclusive networks
can be used to develop positive social capital in communities. Results showed that
new community college leaders follow a pattern of community engagement
including the identification of other leaders, making...
Low completion rates have created serious "leakage points" (Astin, 1988) and "severe hemorrhaging" (Lango, 1996) in higher education to a large number of Hispanics. Traditional research on college persistence, which has blamed the students' culture for low performance, is inaccurate. Little research has specifically investigated academic persistence from a cultural...