Student Development Among Community College Participants in Study Abroad Programs

For decades, institutions of higher education have provided study abroad opportunities for college students wishing to increase and expand their intellectual and social skills. While many universities around the country have supported successful international exchange and study abroad programs, there is little research on community college study abroad programs and their impact on student development. Therefore, this article examines specific vectors that impact student development before and after study abroad participation in nine community colleges using Chickering's Theory of Student Development and SAS statistical methods.     

Reverse Transfer: Experiences of International Chinese Students in Intensive English Programs

An increasing number of international Chinese undergraduate students enrolled in United States.colleges and universities in the past few years. Many began their journey in an intensive English program of a four-year university due to lack of English proficiency. Instead of continuing their study at the same institution, a considerable number of students transferred to community colleges for the language study. The purpose of this study was to explore the rational of these students reversely transferring from a four-year university to a community college and their learning experiences in both institutions. The findings of the study revealed both advantages and disadvantages of studying at each type of institution and provided recommendations to community colleges for better practice.     

A Discussion on Community Colleges and Global Counterparts Completion Policies

This article is a comparative study of community colleges and global counterparts at 41 institutions in 25 countries. Policies from each country link completion of a college program to career entry and to advancement opportunities. National and institutional policies are being defined, benchmark data is being collected on goals in the process, and specific programs are being offered to increase the likelihood that students finish their educational programs. This article examined the emerging trajectories as defined by those who work in these institutions; and in so doing, it provided a discussion of completion in an international context.     

Corporatization of higher education through internationalization: the emergence of pathway colleges in Canada

Through increased international student tuition revenue, internationalization provides public Canadian higher education institutions opportunities to offset the effects of stagnant provincial operating grants or earmarked governmental allocations. Pathway colleges, institutions that are either operated by host institutions or as private corporations, offer international students alternative routes to bachelor’s degrees, pathways that are intended for students who do not meet the entrance criteria of Canada’s public sector universities. While beneficial for some students, our analysis shows that pathway colleges tilt the public university towards an academic model that eschews collegial governance structures, privileges a consumerist vision of education, and relies on contract and precarious academic labor.We presenta typology of pathway colleges, providing examples of this trend across Canada. Our study examines the potential increase of human vulnerability that these colleges both produce and rely upon for staff and student recruitment.

     

International students: a vulnerable student population

This study examines the experiences of international students at The University of Toledo, where international students comprise approximately 10% of the student population. It highlights problems international students experience such as adapting to a new culture, English language problems, financial problems and lack of understanding from the broader University community. Recommendations for improvement include initiatives to raise the profile of international students, improved financial assistance and scholarships, and creating opportunities for international students to improve their spoken English skills.     

Widening Our Global View: The Development of Career Counseling Services for International Students

The increased number of international students in United States universities and colleges have created the need for the development of services that appropriately reflect their needs and characteristics. The Career Center at the University of Missouri, Columbia reacted to this phenomenon by developing career services exclusively for international students. Career services are provided as individual services and online services, and consist of information on graduate schools and entrance examination practices, information on available employment opportunities and work permit policies, career assessments, and information about specific skills for obtaining a job in the United States. Several marketing strategies were used to ensure international students' use of services. Important points in developing career services for international students are presented.     

CARPE DIEM: OVERCOME MISCONCEPTIONS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTANCE LEARNING

ABSTRACT

This paper makes note of the vast opportunities for growth and expansion available to community colleges through online distance education. While many community colleges have taken advantage of these opportunities, continued success may be in jeopardy because of the high drop-out rates in online courses of study relative to courses offered as traditional, face-to-face classroom instruction. The reason for this may be that the “digital divide” still exists between students of the 21st century and faculty who were educated long ago in the 20th century, including even those faculty who have stepped forward to offer online courses. Perception of up-to-date concepts of distance learning is a major issue, and only when the gap is bridged between distance learner and instructor will online learning reach its potential. The literature available on distance learning has numerous suggestions for bridging this gap between students and faculty. The authors of this article recommend that community colleges make the institutional commitment to equip and train Internet-ready faculty to appropriately advise and teach 21st-century students. However, taking such a step may have significant implications for the immediate future in the allocation of financial resources.     

高校来华留学生跨文化管理的问题与策略

随着我国综合国力和国际影响力的提升,来华留学生数量日益增多,层次类别呈现多样化,这对接收来华留学生的高校提出了新的挑战。因此,加强来华留学生的教育和管理已经成为这些高校的当务之急。本文针对高校在来华留学生跨文化管理出现的问题,从管理学的角度进行了剖析,并提出了应对策略。     

“Wait,What Do You Mean by College?” A Critical Race Analysis of Latina/o Students and Their Pathways to Community College

ABSTRACT

As a group, Latina/o students are more likely to experience a substandard K–12 education complete with underresourced schools, high teacher turnover, and fewer college-preparatory courses. It is this same inferior education that denies many Latina/o high school students the opportunity to engage in college-choice—leading to their disproportionate enrollment in community colleges over 4-year colleges or universities. In California alone, approximately 75% of Latina/o students in higher education can be found in the community college sector—making this an important pathway for many Latina/o students. This qualitative study incorporated a Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Education framework to focus on the racialized K–12 experiences of four Latina/o graduate students who started their postsecondary career at a community college. This study was undertaken to better understand what led Latina/o students to enroll in community colleges after high school. Exploring the pathways of Latina/o students from high school to community college is imperative to community college practitioners (i.e., faculty, staff, and administrators) when considering best practices for their large Latina/o student body, as is found in California. The initial findings suggest that racism in K–12 in the forms of tracking, limited college information, and low expectations from academic personnel had a direct impact on the postsecondary experiences and opportunities available to Latina/o students. Lastly, the findings challenge prevailing portrayals where Latina/o students passively accept their marginalized position in education by highlighting their voice, resiliency, and agency in the face of systematic racism, as evidenced by their successes in academia.     

新形势下高校来华留学生思想教育工作探析

为加强来华留学生管理,高校应树立中外学生趋同管理理念,从学生主体、课程载体、实践教学和师资建设四个维度,对来华留学生开展涵盖国情与文化、法治与道德、成长与人生观、人类命运共同体理念等内容的思想教育,帮助学生健康成长,培养“融中外,兼知行”的知华、友华、爱华的国际友人,促进世界和谐、稳定、发展和共赢。     

Tennessee Promise: A Response to Organizational Change

Community colleges in Tennessee, either directly or indirectly, experienced unprecedented change as a result of Tennessee Promise. The present study explored how student support service administrators at three community colleges responded to organizational change as a result of the Tennessee Promise legislation. Investigators selected community colleges for the multi-site case study because the legislative impact would be actualized by the preparations made to serve incoming Promise recipients. The delivery of orientation services framed organizational change because the service staff facilitate connections and provide information to incoming students. Challenges like a shifting population, ill-equipped infrastructure, inadequate remediation support, heightened interest for social engagement opportunities, misinformation, and unmet fiscal needs left administrators seeking coherence through the change process. Investigators found community college administrators react to change similarly. Administrators acknowledged change as continuous, created a culture of innovation among stakeholders, and were not afraid to fail as responses to the organizational change phenomenon.     

Faculty Diversity Internship Programs in California Community Colleges

The disparity between the demographics of California’s community college students and faculty is striking. Specifically, underrepresented minority (URM) students represent the largest population at 49%, yet only 22% of faculty are URM. In 1992, legislation was passed to allow community colleges to establish Faculty Diversity Internship Programs (FDIPs) to “promote inclusive efforts to locate and attract qualified graduate students who are members of monitored groups identified by gender, ethnicity, and disability” (Title 5. Education California Code of Regulations, n.d.). This study used a program evaluation to examine two FDIP sites. The study revealed four benefits of participation: (1) mentorship, (2) teaching experience, (3) professional development, and (4) networking and collaboration opportunities. The study found that although the FDIP does not have a significant impact on increasing faculty diversity, it does have a significant impact on preparing faculty for employment in a diverse community college.     

Complementarity Between the Transfer Goals of Community Colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Learning from History

Community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) often serve the same populations; however, the historical purposes, policies, and practices of HBCUs often better prepare them to serve first-generation students. Although both HBCUs and community colleges have their origins within the same historical period, the forces that created each of these branches of higher education also created a divergence in how they operate. This article looks at the most critical of those shaping forces to identify why HBCUs and community colleges often view their mission and their students differently and, thus, perform their work differently. The increased diversity of students whom community colleges are serving provides an opportunity for community colleges to look at HBCUs' successes and determine how community colleges can learn from and adapt those successes with students of color especially. The article suggests that in their mission to serve transfer students, community colleges can learn much from HBCUs' successes with underprepared students.     

An alternative assessment to higher education outcomes: Differentiating by institutional type

In this paper we propose higher education, and community colleges in particular, be evaluated not solely on their functional merits, but on their value in promoting, what Dewey (1966) called an active citizenry. Rather than considering only how well higher education meets the needs of democratic capitalism, we investigate alternative methods of assessing the contribution of higher education to the development of active citizens. In this exploration we consider how higher education preparation differs based on an individual's gender, race, class, academic program and the postsecondary institution attended. We explore alternative concepts of assessment in higher education not as proof we have discovered the method for assessing outcomes of higher education, but, rather, as an alternative approach to understanding the potential outcomes of higher education at its different institutional levels. Of special significance for our study is the finding that although students who attend a community college, for example, may not be as successful economically as university students, attendance at a community college is associated with an increased sense of self-empowerment. When we consider community colleges have a higher proportion of students who are typically marginalized by postsecondary institutions, the community college does appear to offer opportunities for students that are not measured only in economic terms.     

Getting from Here to There: The Role of Geography in Community College Students’ Transfer Decisions

Community colleges have received renewed attention from policymakers seeking to increase college attendance and completion rates because they provide open access to postsecondary education for historically marginalized students. Yet, transfer rates from community colleges to 4-year institutions are low. Inequities in opportunity that are shaped by geography and compounded throughout childhood may restrict higher education opportunities for low-income, first-generation college students. Most studies examining how geography constrains college choice focus on high school students’ initial decisions about higher education, not community college students. We analyze the spatial distribution of community college students’ “choice sets,” the 4-year institutions that they are considering transferring to. Using qualitative interviews and geospatial analysis, we examine how these spatial patterns compare between two community-college systems in Central Texas. We find that students’ choice sets are geographically constrained, but that for many students, these zones are geographically large, suggesting that interventions and targeted outreach from universities could help students identify and select from greater range of options. Our findings have important implications for college access and completion among first-generation college students, and for policies that seek to interrupt patterns of inequity tied to location.     

Examining Factors Related to Academic Success of Military-Connected Students at Community Colleges

The number of military-connected students enrolling in community colleges has increased dramatically in the past decade, and this trend is expected to continue. This research focused on examining factors that contribute to the academic success of community college students. Specifically, the purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the demographic characteristics; campus relationships; and financial, academic and personal experiences that are associated with grade point average (GPA) and intent to return for military-connected students at seven community colleges. Identifying as a Student of Color (any race or ethnicity other than White) and experience meeting professors’ academic expectations were negatively associated with cumulative GPA, and feeling academically prepared to enter the institution was significantly and positively associated with intent to return. The results provide further evidence of the relationships among demographic and academic experiences and academic success. The authors offer recommendations for serving military-connected students at community colleges.     

Stackable credentials and career/college pathways in culinary arts at Kingsborough Community College,CUNY

Discussions of workforce development emphasize stackable training, and assume linear advancement and alignment, through college and career paths. Stackable credentials have become a best practice for community colleges across the United States as they struggle to advance the college completion agenda and ensure that students graduate with the skills needed to find gainful employment. This study examined the concept of stackability in culinary arts at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York. It compared employment and education opportunities for students enrolled in short-term training to those of students enrolled in an associate degree program. Its goal was to explore gaps between employer demand for trained workers and long-term investments in education. The study also aimed to suggest ways in which we can meaningfully support students in their pursuit of degrees, even as they seek employment in a high-growth sector for which education, experience, and job titles are often an imprecise match.     

Decoding the Digital Campus Climate for Prospective LGBTQ+ Community Colleges Students

LGBTQ+ students are increasingly visible on community college campuses, and a safe and welcoming campus climate is critical to LGBTQ+ students’ academic success and well-being. Campus climate is difficult to assess for prospective LGBTQ+ community college students, and institutional websites may be a source of information about campus climate. This study used content analysis to document and analyze the digital campus climate for prospective LGBTQ+ students in the community colleges context by examining institutional websites. Using a mixed methods approach, website content of nine community colleges was analyzed, and both the quantity and nature of the content were used to make sense of colleges’ digital campus climate for prospective LGBTQ+ students. With the exception of a couple colleges, we found that the digital campus climate was not welcoming to prospective LGBTQ+ students. The results suggest that community colleges need to enhance their website in several ways and expand their overall programming (academic and non-academic) to ensure prospective LGBTQ+ students feel welcomed and safe on community college campuses.