Advising and Progress in the Community College STEM Transfer Pathway

Community college students enrolled in science and technology fields face many challenges as they pursue transfer pathways to earn a 4-year degree. Despite clear links to student persistence, advising interactions that facilitate or inhibit transfer progress are not clearly understood. In this study, 82 community college students pursuing science and technology transfer-based programs of study participated in phenomenological interviews. Students described how professors, major advisors, and transfer office staff supported their progress by providing accurate information or referring them to helpful resources; students learned answers to unasked questions and stayed on track to transfer. Interactions impeded progress when initial advisors, in particular, provided misinformation, leading to frustration and costly delays. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

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The Answer Is Yes

Community College Review ◽

10.1177/0091552116682590 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 79-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

John M. Grubb ◽

Pamela H. Scott ◽

Donald W. Good

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Community College ◽

Community College Students ◽

Dual Enrollment ◽

Future Research ◽

Full Time ◽

Student Aid ◽

Fall Semester ◽

Northeast Tennessee ◽

The Impact

Objective: The study assesses the impact of dual enrollment participation on remediation and completion for traditional first time, full-time freshmen at a community college in Northeast Tennessee. Method: This study began with the full population of 1,232 students who enrolled between 2008 and 2012 at a community college in northeast Tennessee the fall semester after finishing high school. The population was required to have American College Testing (ACT) scores, completely fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), enroll full-time as a degree-seeking student, and complete the first fall semester. Propensity score matching was utilized to eliminate self-selection bias and enable parametric comparisons using optimal matching of dual enrollment participants and non-participants while controlling for a range of covariates. Results: The analyses showed that community college students who participated in dual enrollment were (a) 9% or nearly 3.4 times less likely to take remediation, (b) 26% or nearly 2.5 times more likely to graduate in 2 years, and (c) 28% or nearly 1.5 times more likely to graduate in 3 years. Contributions: This study contributes to the literature showing that dual enrollment reduces remediation rates and assists in timely completions for community college students. Policy recommendations are to increase equitable participation, normalize dual enrollment for students academically able to do college coursework, align state terminology with the nation, and improve data for future research.

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Board 127: Student Persistence and University Transitions in STEM Majors: Community College Students’ Challenges and Successes

10.18260/1-2--32225 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Gisele Ragusa

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Community College ◽

Community College Students ◽

Student Persistence ◽

Stem Majors

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Student Perceptions of COVID-19 on Mental Health and Academic Success: A Comparison between University and Community College Students

Advances in Social Science and Culture ◽

10.22158/assc.v3n2p16 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. p16

Author(s):

Rose, Stephanie F. ◽

Christian, Samantha A. ◽

Sego, Anita ◽

Demers, Denise

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Students ◽

Community College ◽

Academic Success ◽

University Students ◽

Community College Students ◽

Student Perceptions ◽

Future Research ◽

Supportive Services ◽

College And University

Very little evidence addresses college students’ perceptions of mental health and supportive services available to assist them with being academically successful since the COVID-19 pandemic began. This is also true for comparing community college students and university students. This study examines the concepts of how COVID-19 has impacted overall student-perceptions of their mental health. Data on perceptions was collected from both community college and university students. A total of 932 students completed a survey regarding their views of mental health, academic success and supportive services Relationships between perceived mental health and supportive services rendered significant findings. Perceived differences between perceived mental health and supportive services were also significantly significant in the data. Recommendations for future research is also explored.

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Disrupting the Dominant Discourse: Exploring the Mentoring Experiences of Latinx Community College Students

Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education ◽

10.28945/4510 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 057-078

Author(s):

Gloria Crisp ◽

Erin Doran ◽

Vincent Carales ◽

Christopher Potts

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Community College ◽

Community College Students ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Community Cultural Wealth ◽

Mentoring Programs ◽

Future Research ◽

Educational Goals ◽

Institutional Agents ◽

Cultural Wealth

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to better understand the sources of mentoring and ways in which mentors, as forms of social and familial capital, facilitate the development of capital among Latinx community college students Background: A more focused and nuanced understanding of the role of mentors in further developing Latinx students’ capital is needed to guide mentoring programs in designing asset-based programs that recognize and build upon students’ community cultural wealth Methodology: Drawing from Solórzano and Yosso’s (2001) work, we use asset-based, counter-storytelling as a qualitative, methodological approach to reframe the deficit perspective that is embedded in prior literature on Latinx college students. The sample included 11 Latinx community college students who participated in the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. Contribution: Results suggest that mentoring programs designed to serve Latinx community college students may be more efficient and may provide more meaningful support by recognizing and building upon the assets and capital provided by students’ networks and communities. Findings: Interviews revealed that participants leveraged community cultural wealth in the form of mentoring networks established prior to and during college, to develop other forms of capital that enabled them to reach their educational goals. Recommendations for Practitioners: The paper provides practical implications for mentoring programs, initiatives that include a mentoring component, as well as more generally for institutional agents who support Latinx students. Recommendation for Researchers: Findings provide a foundation for future research opportunities that could further examine how supportive relationships with institutional agents promote the educational and professional success of Latinx community college students. Future Research: Several suggestions for future research are provided, including qualitative work that explores how students identify and interact with mentors and other institutional agents during college and how they utilize these relationships to navigate the college environment.

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The influence of policy implementation in the Midwest: How an SSTEM program broadens participation and enhances engineering identity for community college students

Education Policy Analysis Archives ◽

10.14507/epaa.29.5429 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 ◽

pp. 29

Author(s):

Sarah L. Rodriguez ◽

Maria L. Espino ◽

Brian D. Le ◽

Kelly Cunningham

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Community College ◽

Identity Development ◽

Community College Students ◽

Phenomenological Approach ◽

Future Research ◽

Power Dynamics ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Four Year Institutions ◽

Engineering Identity

This qualitative research study describes how a Midwest community college’s implementation of an Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (SSTEM) program influences engineering identity development for its students with financial need. Using a phenomenological approach, the study finds that the program enables community college students to have greater financial freedom and an ability to focus on engineering identity. In addition, the SSTEM program enhances student connections with STEM faculty, program staff, and peers. The study highlights the need for creating spaces for engineering identity development, developing connections between faculty, staff, and students, and enhancing transfer connections through different experiences. Future research might look to longitudinal designs and investigate additional contexts, engineering disciplines, gender differences, and programmatic structures to add nuance to these findings. The study suggests that practitioners might frame SSTEM and engineering experiences as opportunities for financial freedom and identity development and make further enhancements to transfer connections to four-year institutional partners. In terms of policy, the study suggests that policymakers consider identity development experiences an important aspect of funding SSTEM programs while enhancing programmatic support services available to students and placing greater emphasis on the collaborative actions, planned activities, and power dynamics between two- and four-year institutions funded by the SSTEM program.

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Academic Outcomes Among Diverse Community College Students: What Is the Role of Instructor Relationships?

Community College Review ◽

10.1177/0091552120909908 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 277-302 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

McKenna F. Parnes ◽

Carola Suárez-Orozco ◽

Olivia Osei-Twumasi ◽

Sarah E. O. Schwartz

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Community College ◽

Community Colleges ◽

Student Success ◽

Community College Students ◽

Academic Outcomes ◽

Academic Engagement ◽

Future Research ◽

Grade Point ◽

Student Instructor

Objective: Although much research on community colleges focuses on institutional challenges or student deficits, emerging evidence suggests that student–instructor relationships have the potential to impact student success. The current study examined factors that could influence community college students’ development of relationships with instructors and how these relationships are associated with academic engagement and achievement. Drawing on literature exploring student–instructor relationships at 4-year institutions, we hypothesized that students’ relationships with instructors may partially account for the association between student demographic and relational characteristics and academic outcomes (i.e., cognitive and behavioral engagement, grade point average [GPA]). Method: Survey data were collected from 646 ethnically and racially diverse participants, many of whom were first-, second-, or third-generation immigrants, or first-generation college students. Employing a between-subjects, cross-sectional design, we tested the main study hypotheses of mediation through a series of path analysis models using Mplus. Results: Students with higher support-seeking attitudes and students with a mentor reported closer relationships with instructors, whereas part-time students reported weaker relationships with instructors. In turn, student–instructor relationships were significantly associated with both cognitive and behavioral aspects of academic engagement and GPA. Conclusion: This study provides insight into the various factors that may influence community college students’ development of relationships with instructors and highlights the direct and indirect influence of these relationships on student success. Implications for future practice include finding strategies that can be implemented at community colleges to foster student–instructor relationships. Future research should further explore these associations using longitudinal data to gain a deeper understanding of current findings.

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