The Role of University Preparation for Developing Students’ Employability and Professional Competencies

The present research examines the effects of professional competencies of the university on students’ perceived employability including the relationship between perceived employability and professional competencies of postgraduates from public and private universities. The study was carried out on a sample of 300 hundred postgraduates including males (n= 150) and females (n=150). Data was gathered through a survey using the multistage proportionate random sampling technique. Perceived employability scale (Rothwell and Arnold, 2007) and Gutierrez's community college student survey (Gutierrez, 2012) were utilized. Results indicating a significant positive correlation between perceived employability and professional competencies of university postgraduates. Furthermore, results demonstrated the positive effects of professional competencies on the perceived employability of university postgraduates. Key Words: Perceived employability, professional competencies, postgraduates.

The Impact of Corequisite Math on Community College Student Outcomes: Evidence from Texas

Developmental education (dev-ed) aims to help students acquire knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in college-level coursework. The traditional prerequisite approach to postsecondary dev-ed—where students take remedial courses that do not count toward a credential—appears to stymie progress toward a degree. At community colleges across the country, most students require remediation in math, creating a barrier to college-level credits under the traditional approach. Corequisite coursework is a structural reform that places students directly into a college-level course in the same term they receive dev-ed support. Using administrative data from Texas community colleges and a regression discontinuity design, we examine whether corequisite math improves student success compared with traditional prerequisite dev-ed. We find that corequisite math quickly improves student completion of math requirements without any obvious drawbacks, but students in corequisite math were not substantially closer to degree completion than their peers in traditional dev-ed after 3 years.

Unpaid Tuition Balances at Community Colleges: An Exploratory Analysis Delinquent Tuition Debt and Graduation

The rising cost of higher education has led to increased tuition costs for students and their families, forcing more students to secure larger amounts of debt to finance their educational pursuits. Although scholars have explored how student loan debt accumulation influences higher education persistence and graduation, an unexplored area of higher education finance and debt is the relationship between unpaid tuition balances on community college student graduation. This analysis attempts to illuminate this gap by utilizing a unique institutional dataset with data from the National Student Clearinghouse to analyze the relationship between unpaid tuition balances and postsecondary graduation for community college students. Results suggest that having an outstanding tuition balance dramatically decreases the likelihood of graduation 3 years out from the unpaid balance. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Happy Together? The Peer Effects of Dual Enrollment Students on Community College Student Outcomes

Nationally, 15% of first-time community college students were high school dual enrollment (DE) students, which raises concerns about how high school peers might influence college enrollees. Using administrative data from a large state community college system, we examine whether being exposed to a higher percentage of DE peers in entry-level (gateway) math and English courses influences non-DE enrollees’ performance. Using a two-way fixed effects model, our results indicate that college enrollees exposed to a higher proportion of DE peers had lower pass rates and grades in gateway courses, and higher course repetition rates. Supplemental student-level analysis suggests that greater exposure to DE peers during a student's initial semester in college reduces next-term college persistence.

A Mental Health Literacy Approach to Supporting First-Generation Community College Student Mental Health: The REDFLAGS Model

Objective: First-generation community college students face unique risks for mental health distress, which can place them at risk for attrition and a myriad of other negative consequences. The aim of the present quantitative investigation was to test the utility of the REDFLAGS model, a mental health literacy based tool for supporting mental wellness, with a national sample of first-generation community college students. Method: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), logistic regression analysis, and a factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) were computed to test the utility of the REDFLAGS model as a tool for promoting first-generation community college students’ mental health. Results: The CFA demonstrated that the dimensionality of the REDFLAGS model was estimated adequately with first-generation community college students. First-generation community college students’ recognition of the REDFLAGS as warning signs for mental distress emerged as a significant positive predictor of making a peer-to-peer referral to the counseling center. The factorial ANOVA revealed that first-generation community college students who were members of a Greek Organization were more likely to identify the REDFLAGS as warning signs for mental distress. Contributions: Previous investigators established multiple strategies for supporting the mental health needs of either first-generation or community college students. First-generation community college student mental health, however, has received little attention. This study demonstrates the utility of the REDFLAGS model with first-generation community college students. Considering the dearth of literature on first-generation community college student mental health, the REDFLAGS model offers novel implications for promoting the mental health needs of first-generation students enrolled in community colleges.