Student engagement with faculty is positively associated with increases in the retention and graduation rates of students enrolled in institutions of higher education. Although a considerable amount of research has focused on understanding the engagement experiences of students enrolled at four-year colleges and universities, little emphasis has been placed on...
This study documented the influence of the completion agenda on decision-making by community college career and technical education (CTE) deans. Ten career and technical programs deans were identified as the sample for the study. Washington State was selected because of the Student Achievement Initiative that was developed as a completion...
This dissertation serves a threefold purpose: 1. identify the principles, practices and assumptions implicated in an academic theory of social justice; 2. continue moving towards articulating a theory of social justice judgment and decision making; and 3. develop a model of social justice judgment and decision making that will assist...
Approximately 600,000 individuals will be eventually released from the prison system and millions will be released from jails across the United States each year (Mukamal et al., 2015). Some of these individuals will make their way to a local community college to make a better life for themselves. There is...
Job satisfaction has received considerable attention within the community college sector, but there is limited research focused solely on the job satisfaction of foreign-born faculty members employed at community colleges. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with job satisfaction among foreign-born faculty members employed at U.S....
The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) and the eight public colleges and universities in the system, have depended on the Federal Pell Grant program for more than 40 years to assist students to attend. For some of these institutions, the amount of Pell grant dollars received is as much...
The student-loan market has surpassed 1.3 trillion dollars; rising student-loan cohort default rates are a growing concern among educational institutions. Many colleges are implementing financial-education programs for students to help increase their knowledge, aptitude, and skills so they may become informed consumers. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The purpose of this...
Many low-income and first-generation community college students face disproportionate challenges in their quest for a college education. They typically balance multiple outside obligations, while being solely responsible for making these decisions without adequate knowledge, guidance, or support (Lyons, 2004). Many students begin college without ever having been responsible for their...
Background: African American males' experience in higher education is often categorized with negative terminology that does not reflect notions of success. Most research addressing the success of African American males in higher education illuminates factors that impede access to success and is often situated in university settings. Very little research...
In 2010 the American taxpayers spent $697 million educating veterans under the provisions of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (commonly referred to as the GI Bill). Most veterans begin their college education at a community college. However, the number of veterans succeeding in community colleges is exceedingly low. Based...
Institutions of higher education are increasingly being held accountable and experiencing pressure to demonstrate how well their students are achieving intended learning outcomes. External and internal influences fuel this pressure. After decades of rhetoric on student learning outcomes assessment there remains a question of whether the practice has been fully...
Background: Legislators and higher education policy makers increasingly are turning to policy initiatives to incentivize institutions of higher education to transform policies and practices in the name of student success, with success typically defined as retention and graduation rates. One such policy receiving increased attention amongst states is outcomes-based funding,...
Background: Social interaction among peers on a campus of higher education has long been considered an important part of the college student experience, in particular for the first-term students transitioning into college life. Students who socially connect with peers on campus tend to persist at higher rates, while other benefits...