Part-Time Faculty and Community College Student Success

With the Completion Agenda taking such political prominence, community colleges are experiencing even more pressure to find ways to promote and improve student success. One way that has been suggested is to limit the reliance on part-time faculty under the premise that the employment status of faculty has a direct influence on student success. The tacit assumption is that full-time faculty are more engaged with their home institution, and this engagement translates into the engagement of the students taught. The present study examined employment status of faculty on the success of students enrolled in four, two-course sequences. Using Pearson chi-square and binary logistic regression analyses, it was concluded that employment status of the faculty has no statistical influence on student success as has been previously claimed. These results suggest that community colleges should not assume that hiring more full-time faculty will improve student success and, instead, should possibly consider utilizing funds otherwise allocated to hiring new full-time faculty on the development and compensation of part-time faculty.     

Success in Algebra Among Community College Students

College algebra is a required course for most majors, but is viewed by many as a gatekeeper course for degree completion by students. With almost half a million students taking college algebra each year, faculty are experimenting with new course lengths of time that might result in higher success, completion, and retention rates for college algebra students. This article reports on a study of the traditional 16-week versus an 8-week course length in college algebra at a two-year Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in the United States. The study was to determine which course length of time, 8 weeks or 16 weeks, results in a higher proportion of students successfully completing the college algebra course. Also investigated were success rates among ethnicities, genders, and age groups. The study included 231 students in college algebra. Data were analyzed on four sections of the traditional 16-week courses and four sections of 8-week courses. In this study, success was measured as earning a grade of A, B, or C in the course. Understanding more about course lengths of time for college algebra can aid in increased understanding of time as a factor and, ultimately, may determine if students are more successful in 8-week or 16-week courses of instruction.     

财政资助政策对高等教育入学和大学生学业成功的影响: 美国的经验与启示

高等教育入学和大学生学业成功是当今美国高等教育面临的两个富有挑战性的问题,具有重要的政策意义。大学生财政资助是美国促进高等教育入学和大学学业成功的主要机制之一。本文旨在对美国当今高等教育的大学生财政资助政策及其对高等教育入学和大学学业成功的影响进行综述, 并简要探讨相关内容对中国的高等教育财政资助政策及研究的启示。     

Toward a Predictive Model of Community College Student Success in Blended Classes

This retrospective study evaluates early semester predictors of whether or not community college students will successfully complete blended or hybrid courses. These predictors are available to faculty by the fourth week of the semester. Success is defined as receiving a grade of C- or higher. Failure is defined as a grade below a C- or a withdrawal. Method: Seven variables available to faculty are considered: gender, degree sought, students’ academic level, attendance for the first 4 weeks of face-to-face classes, scores on orientation extra credit assignments, grades on the first quiz, and grades on an early semester reflective essay. Logistic regression is used to evaluate the power of seven variables to predict successful course completion in 15 sections of two business courses: Introduction to Marketing and Marketing Research. Three hundred forty-three students were included in this study. Results show that completion of optional extra credit assignments offered during the first 2 weeks of the semester and performance on the first quiz are significant predictors of successful course completion. These results suggest that students’ self-regulation skill or learning presence in the community of inquiry model is a strong predictor of student success. A faculty-based model like the one presented here can help faculty to enhance their students’ chances of success by highlighting factors that predict successful course completion early in the semester.     

论高校奖学金激励作用的发挥

随着国家逐步加大对大学生的奖励和资助,以及社会机构和个人捐资助学的增多,高校奖学金的名目及数量越来越多,这使奖学金评定工作出现了一些亟待解决的问题.通过对高校奖学金设立和管理的现状及存在问题进行分析,并从加强管理、注重宣传、扩大比例、强化激励等方面对高校奖学金工作的优化进行论证,以期更好地发挥高校奖学金的激励作用.     

Community College Study Abroad: Implications for Student Success

The aim of this research is to explore whether participation in study abroad by community college students impacts levels of engagement and if there is a connection between studying abroad and academic achievement. While university-level studies have a history in exploring these questions, the same is not true for community colleges. The California Community College Student Outcomes Abroad Research project (CCC SOAR) uses a mixed methods design to examine data that evidences how participation in study abroad programs not only has implications for personal development and global learning, but also has a range of indicators of academic success variables. Data show that there is a range of positive outcomes that occur as a result of studying abroad for all students across an array of early, midstream, and terminal outcomes due to engagement-enhancing components such as shared common experiences, nurturing behavior from faculty, and increased student interaction in collaborative activities.     

Age as a Predictor of Student Success in Community College Technical Certificate Programs

ABSTRACT

This study was initiated to help determine if there was an associated probability between a student’s age relative to persistence and retention leading to the completion of a Technical Certificate at the community college level. The research model used in this study is based on a quantitative binary logistic regression model, whereby the dependent variable was completion versus non-completion of a Technical Certificate program. The study’s findings showed that there were statistically significant relationships between the various student’s age groups and completion of a Technical Certificate program. The baseline age group for this study was traditional age students as defined by those students who were between 16 and 21 years old. The age groups of 22 to 27, 28 to 34, 35 to 39, and students over the age of 39 were compared to the baseline group to determine if there was statistical significance between the graduation rates accordingly.     

The Effect of Service Learning on Community College Students

This study discusses the implementation of a service learning component in community college communication 101 level courses. Through the execution of a service learning component in communication classes at a community college, students’ communicative competency and attitude toward community service is assessed. Using two different delivery approaches, a quantitative study assessed the pretest and posttest of the standardized tool Communicative Adaptability Scale (CAS). Eight sections of communication 101 courses were distributed into two groups: (a) an experimental group and (b) a control group. The experimental group (n = 69) was required to finish a service learning project consisting of 15 hours by the end of the semester. The control group (n = 64) students did not participate in a community service project. Quantitative research methods were applied through data collection of the CAS taken by participants preimplementation and postimplementation of the service learning component, which was a community service project. The CAS results support that the implementation of service learning significantly increases students’ communication adaptability and competence.     

The Effects of Scholarship Amount on Yield and Success for Master's Students in Education

Abstract

The amount of merit-based scholarship support for graduate students in the United States has increased dramatically. Given this increased investment, does increasing the size of scholarships awarded to the most academically able admitted students substantially increase their probability of enrollment? We found no support for a positive answer to the question. Our study is unique in the literature in two important ways. First, the design randomly assigned admitted students to size of scholarship. Second, the size of scholarship varied from substantial ($10,000) to substantially larger ($18,500). The applicants in the study were the most academically able applicants to master's programs in a graduate school of education at an elite university. It may be that the difference between no scholarship support and some scholarship support (e.g., $10,000) might have a positive effect on yield. Natural variation data from the same site supported this conclusion. It may be that dramatically larger amounts of scholarship support would have a positive effect on yield as well (e.g., the full cost of tuition).     

Content Validation of the Community College Student Success Program Inventory

This study reports on the content validation of the Community College Student Success Program Inventory (CCSSPI), a structured interview protocol for program personnel, designed to serve as a tool for researchers and practitioners alike to account for critical features of various types of student success programs in detailed and comparable ways across multiple sites. In all, 20 subject matter experts (SMEs) rated the relevancy and clarity of each item to ascertain essential program features. Content validity index (CVI) and scale-level index scores (S-CVI) were calculated. Results showed high to moderately high validity for items related to course goals, logistics, skills-focused curricular items, and academic and student services. Other contingent facets—collaborative and contextualized learning, co-curricular and community activities, ancillary instruction, and instructor role—were rated as less valid, depending on program goals. The instrument is recommended for use in multisite qualitative or mixed-methods research and institutional improvement.     

实用制胜:美国社区学院的课程开发及启示

美国社区学院的课程设置具有明显的社会适切性,呈现出区域联动性、综合职业性和市场开放性的特点。以实用制胜,社区学院课程设置的适切性及其实现的有效途径,可为我国教学型地方院校的专业建设提供借鉴,促进高等教育与区域经济发展长效互惠的联动机制。     

Increasing Access with Intensive Hybridized Course Formats in a Community College Setting

This study compared the effectiveness of courses taught in a five-week intensive hybrid format with courses taught in an 11-week traditional classroom format in order to explore options for expanding access to higher education in a community college setting. Course effectiveness was measured quantitatively with student academic performance indicators, such as grades, pass rates, pretest/posttest results, and student perceptions of academic rigor. The study is unique in that it investigated course effectiveness when intensive and hybrid instructional delivery methods were combined into one format. Additionally, the study compared matched pair courses with the same instructors and coursework who taught each course in both the five-week intensive hybrid format and the 11-week traditional format, which controlled for instructor influence on student learning. The historical rationale behind community colleges and contemporary initiatives to expand them have underscored the need to increase access by providing a range of options to higher education that meet the varying needs of students. The comparison found that the five-week hybrid course format was academically equivalent to the 11-week traditional format. The study indicates that course delivery combining hybrid and intensive instructional delivery can be academically effective and, therefore, has the potential to improve access in a community college setting.     

The Effect of Loans on the Persistence and Attainment of Community College Students

This study informs public policies regarding the use of subsidized loans as financial aid for community college students. Using logistic regression, it analyzes the National Center for Education Statistics’ Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS 90/94) data to predict persistence to the second year of college and associate’s degree attainment over five years. During the period under study, loans did not contribute to higher persistence and attainment rates. Loans are observed to have a negative effect on persistence and no effect on degree attainment. Estimates of the interaction effects of borrowing and income status are insignificant but demonstrate the need for further testing. The findings are attributed to a combination of the high uncertainty of degree completion among community college students and the negative affective component of indebtedness. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the American Education Finance Association Annual Meeting (Austin, Texas, March, 2000) and at the AIR Forum (Cincinnati, Ohio, May 2000). It has also appeared as a working paper of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance at the University of Houston, Texas (IHELG Monograph 01–07).This paper is based upon work supported by the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Science Foundation under Association for Institutional Research Grant No. 99-128-0.     

Transfer Student Success: Exploring Community College,University, and Individual Predictors

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates community college transfer success by exploring the relationship between individual and institutional-level characteristics at students’ two- and four-year institutions. Using statewide administrative data from North Carolina, this study employs a cross-classified multilevel model to investigate the impact that a student’s community college and four-year transfer institution have on post-transfer success. Our findings offer important and compelling insights into the relationship between transfer students, the community college they attended, the four-year transfer institution, and educational outcomes. While individual effects were small, we find several institutional factors associated with student success. Attendance at a large community college or having a public university in the same county as their community college is positively associated with student success, whereas size of the university is negatively related to grades during the first year and persistence to the second year. While the four-year institution’s selectivity is negatively related to many of our outcomes, transferring to a Historically Black College or University is positively associated with GPA, college persistence, and degree completion.     

Iowa Lakes Community College: Partnerships for Academic and Economic Success in a Rapidly Evolving Wind-Energy Industry

Iowa Lakes Community College responded to a national need for wind-energy technicians. The Wind-Energy and Turbine Program aligned industry and academic competencies with experiential learning components to foster exploration of additional renewable energy applications. Completers understand both the physical and academic rigor a career in wind energy demands.