Community College Faculty Development Program and Student Achievement

Community college administrators look for strategies to help students. GRASP (Gaining Retention and Achievement for Students Program) is a semester-long faculty development program that coaches community college instructors about simple, effective teaching strategies that promote student academic achievement. GRASP is founded on the belief that academic achievement is based on good teaching, which begins with faculty development. The major assumption for GRASP is that faculty are the single most important factor for student success. GRASP was offered at Doña Ana Community College (DACC). Located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, just 40 miles from the border of Mexico, DACC has a student population that is 70% minority. Results for GRASP indicate that overall student success improved by 7.9%, and that overall student retention improved by 4.0% for students participating in GRASP.     

The Relationship between Faculty Confirmation and Community College Student Self-Efficacy

Nearly half of all college students in the United States begin at community colleges, including higher numbers of students coming from backgrounds which have been historically underrepresented in higher education. Despite record numbers of new students enrolling at community colleges, the number of students who are retained at the institution long enough to be deemed successful, either through transferring or graduating, remains largely unchanged. One theory is that some students enter college with less confidence in their ability to be successful, hastening their departure. Faculty members are in a unique position to impact student self-efficacy, which ultimately may impact student success. This exploratory study quantitatively assessed whether a relationship exists between confirmation behaviors employed by faculty members in the classroom and changes in reported academic self-efficacy of students. The research was conducted through a causal comparative matched pair design with Midwestern community college students during their first semester. The results support a relationship between change in self-efficacy and perceived faculty confirmation (r_s = .212, n = 70, p = .039*), particularly for female students (r_s = .331, n = 35, p = .026*) and for those students where neither parent completed a degree higher than high school (r_s = .316, n = 46, p = .016*).     

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.     

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.     

The Relationship Between the Employment of Part-Time Faculty and Student Degree and/or Certificate Completion in Two-Year Community Colleges

Prior research studies associated the employment of part-time faculty with student degree and/or certificate completion (Benjamin, 2002; Ehrenberg & Zhang, 2005; Jacoby, 2006; Leslie & Gappa, 2002; Umbach, 2008; Umbach & Wawrzynski, 2005). To date, institutional-level data have been utilized to investigate whether such employment adversely associated with student degree and/or certificate completion in two-year community colleges. Little research, however, has been conducted to study such association utilizing both student and institutional-level data (e.g., Eagan & Jaeger, 2009; Jacoby, 2006). In this study, we draw data from Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and The Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS: 04/09), and employ a multilevel logistic regression model to investigate whether the proportion of part-time faculty is negatively associated with individual student’s likelihood of degree and/or certificate completion. Analytical results indicate the proportion of part-time faculty in community colleges is not negatively associated with student’s likelihood of degree and/ or certificate completion.     

Community College Faculty Competencies

Much has been written about the characteristics of effective college teachers. However, skill sets have not yet been defined with any level of specificity. Also, instructors at community colleges have unique working conditions and challenges that influence how they teach. This paper illustrates the use of three studies conducted to build and validate a framework for defining the competencies of effective community college faculty. The project's culmination was a set of skills used to redesign one university's master's in education (MAEd) program in two-year college teaching. Although participants in all three studies identified subject matter expertise as an important competency, they emphasized several other skill sets as being important for meaningful student learning. Those skills are related to the use of authentic activities and multiple instructional delivery models, multiple ways of assessing student learning, and skills that are necessary outside the classroom in their teaching roles. Participants also emphasized interpersonal and affective components of effective teaching.     

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.     

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.     

Part-Time Faculty Involvement in Decision-Making

Drawing from a survey of 1,239 part-time community college faculty, this analysis investigates their views about being involved in departmental and campus-wide decision-making. The adjuncts had somewhat of a voice in instructional decisions pertaining to their area of expertise, but virtually no involvement in personnel or broader organizational matters. In all domains, they expressed desire to have a stronger voice. However, they also noted barriers to inclusion of part-time faculty in decision-making, including schedule constraints, compensation, and respect from their full-time counterparts.     

Capacity and Flexibility in Community College CTE Programs: Program Offerings and Student Success

Research in Higher Education - This article asks whether small changes to community college courses and programs can help improve student outcomes. We use administrative data from the California...     

Community College Student Success Programs: A Synthesis,Critique, and Research Agenda

A narrative review was developed to add to the discussion and dissemination of research on community colleges. The review adds to existing work by synthesizing and critiquing the empirical research to date specific to three of the most prevalent programmatic efforts presently seen on community college campuses: (a) learning communities, (b) student success courses, and (c) supplemental instruction. Empirical investigations or evaluations of student success programs from academic journals, conference presentations, dissertations, unpublished policy reports, and book chapters were identified, summarized, and critiqued. The review concludes with a proposed research agenda to advance research on program effectiveness at community colleges and implications for practice.     

Student and Police Partnerships: Cultivating Student Success and Community Development

Scholarship on service-learning and experiential learning increasingly demonstrates benefits for student access and success, but evidence is still needed of the impact of these strategies on sustainable development of communities and their infrastructure. This case study examines a university Police and Society course that partners with four police departments to use both experiential learning and service-learning in the form of ride-alongs, simulation trainings, and written and physical examinations, as well as hosting a police–community relations event. Focus groups of students and officers reveal how service-learning and experiential learning build capacity for police–community relations. Orienting students toward officer procedures, requirements, and culture creates a learning opportunity for both students and departments, while police–community relations activities humanize officers and build public understanding and trust.     

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.     

Faculty Student Interaction at the Community College: A Focus on Students of Color

The present study describes the level of faculty--student interaction on 2-year college campuses, examines student characteristics correlated with faculty contact, and considers how interaction may differ among racial subgroups of students. Using data collected from the Transfer and Retention of Urban Community College Students (TRUCCS) survey, a sample of 2500 students informed this research. The findings reveal generally low levels of interaction, and especially with Asian American/Pacific Islander and Latino students. Having positive perceptions of the college environment and interacting with other members of the institution, from students to academic counselors, glow the strongest positive association with faculty contact among all racial subgroups of students. Prominent among the differences is the negative relationship between perceiving racial difficulties and interacting with faculty for Asian American/Pacific Islander students. The findings provide insight in how to increase and enrich faculty interaction on these campuses to better retain underrepresented students in the educational pipeline.     

Exploring Community College Faculty Perceptions of Student Outcomes: Findings of a Pilot Study

This study explored the paradigmatic differences in perceptions of community college faculty employed at select Virginia and West Virginia community colleges collected via a web-based survey. The study is framed within the faculty self-classification along the “hard” and “social/behavior” science paradigm continuum. Given the paradigmatic continuum, faculty perceptions' of student outcomes were examined. Faculty respondents consistently reported the importance of intellectual growth; however, differences in relative importance of outcomes tied to emotional, cultural, and social growth exist. The potential implications of these perceptions on student experiences and outcomes are considered.     

How Community College Faculty Members May Improve Student Learning Productivity in Their Online Courses

Eleven experienced community college faculty members were interviewed to elicit examples of how they improved student learning productivity in their online courses. The 11 faculty members represented eight different states, nine different fields or disciplines, and all were permanent or full-time faculty members at community colleges in the southern or western states. Based on a thematic analysis of the examples given, improvement in student learning occurred by (a) emphasizing seven approaches to increase student engagement, (b) using six different structuring tactics to focus student attention on learning, (c) using assessment techniques to improve learning, and (d) pursuing a personal passion for online teaching. These findings suggest that faculty can and do find ways to use different tools in different ways to improve student learning productivity in community colleges.     

Uncovering Scientist Stereotypes and Their Relationships with Student Race and Student Success in a Diverse,Community College Setting

A number of studies have identified correlations between children’s stereotypes of scientists, their science identities, and interest or persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Yet relatively few studies have examined scientist stereotypes among college students, and the literature regarding these issues in predominantly nonwhite and 2-yr college settings is especially sparse. We piloted an easy-to-analyze qualitative survey of scientist stereotypes in a biology class at a diverse, 2-yr, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institution. We examined the reliability and validity of the survey, and characterized students’ comments with reference to previous research on stereotypes. Positive scientist stereotypes were relatively common in our sample, and negative stereotypes were rare. Negative stereotypes appeared to be concentrated within certain demographic groups. We found that students identifying nonstereotypical images of scientists at the start of class had higher rates of success in the course than their counterparts. Finally, evidence suggested many students lacked knowledge of actual scientists, such that they had few real-world reference points to inform their stereotypes of scientists. This study augments the scant literature regarding scientist stereotypes in diverse college settings and provides insights for future efforts to address stereotype threat and science identity.     

Hiring and Developing Quality Community College Faculty

There is a likely community college teacher shortage on the horizon. Thus, community colleges not only need to focus on hiring quality instructors who emphasize teaching excellence, but institutions need to invest time and resources developing quality faculty plans to address faculty needs and provide adequate faculty development programs. When Iowa's community college licensure law was repealed in 2003, 15 area community colleges were left with the task of developing their own quality faculty plans. The Quality Faculty Plan design and one-year implementation is assessed.     

Technology Usage Among Community College Faculty

Community colleges are increasing their use of part-time faculty who are taking a leading role in utilizing technology for instructional purposes. Part-time faculty are less likely than their full-time counterparts to use technology for instructional purposes and are less likely to teach non-face-to-face classes. For community colleges to be successful in expanding technology-based education, they must promote technology use by all faculty. This quantitative, national study reports factors found to predict faculty use of technology for instructional purposes.