The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experience of students to discern the impact of their interaction with the food pantry. This knowledge may, in turn, influence future food pantry methods and wider policy, both at PNW College and more broadly. Not only does student hunger have...
More than half of students in Washington state community colleges enroll in developmental mathematics, but a relatively small percentage of these students persist to the second year. Many students place into these courses and never enroll; others enroll at some point after the first academic term, even when faced with...
This exploratory, narrative study investigated two research questions. One, how do executive leaders at community colleges describe how their cognitive schema and sensemaking approach informed their understanding of a crisis that their organization faced. Two, how do executive leaders at community colleges describe what leadership traits, behaviors, and competencies they...
At the intersection of higher education and politics, there is demand for an easily understood measure of student success. Graduation rate is the current measure of choice, but the definition of graduation rate excludes many categories of students and types of success particularly applicable to community colleges. The purpose of...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...