Library Strategy and Collaboration Across the College Ecosystem: Results from a National Survey of Community College Library Directors

How can the library be best positioned to continue enabling student and institutional success? The Community College Academic and Student Support Ecosystem research initiative seeks to examine how student-facing service departments—including academic libraries—are organized, funded, and staffed at community and technical colleges across the country. In February 2021, we surveyed 321 community college library directors to provide the community with a snapshot of current service provision, leadership perspectives on the impact of COVID-19, and challenges faced in making decisions and navigating change.

Implementation of Open Textbooks in Community and Technical College Biology Courses: The Good, the Bad, and the Data

One challenge facing students today is high textbook costs, which pose a particularly difficult obstacle at community and technical colleges, where students typically have lower incomes and textbooks constitute a larger proportion of the overall cost of education. To address this, many advocate for using open-source textbooks, which are free in a digital format. However, concerns have been raised about the quality and efficacy of open textbooks. We investigated these concerns by collecting data from general biology classes at four community and technical colleges implementing traditionally published (non-open) and open textbooks. We compared student outcomes, textbook utilization methods, and perceptions of textbooks in these courses. In generalized linear statistical models, book type (open vs. non-open) did not significantly influence measured student outcomes. Additionally, survey results found that students and faculty perceived the open textbook as equal in quality to other textbooks. However, results also suggested that student textbook use did not always align with faculty expectations. For example, 30% of students reported reading their textbooks compared with 85% of faculty expecting students to read the textbook. Finally, faculty who implemented open textbooks expected the textbook to be used more often for reference and review compared with faculty who use traditional textbooks.

Predictors Associated With Paid Employment Status of Community and Technical College Students With Intellectual Disability

The present study sought to identify predictors associated with paid employment outcomes for community and technical college students with intellectual disability (ID). Data used were collected from the Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students With Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) implemented in two community and technical colleges in the upper Midwest. The participants included 228 students with ID attending college who received supports based on the Check & Connect model. Results using logistic regression showed that students who only took inclusive classes, participated in campus events, had prior paid work experience, and participated in volunteering and/or community service were more likely to earn at or above minimum wage during their most recent year in the TPSID program. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

The Effect on Earnings of the Applied Baccalaureate Degree

Objective: This study evaluates the postgraduate earnings of students with an applied baccalaureate (AB) degree compared to the earnings of students with the same associate degree but no baccalaureate degree. The research questions include the following: For those students who earn an AB degree, does it result in higher earnings than the associate degree? Does the earnings difference vary by field of study? Which student characteristics account for variation in earnings beyond the effect of the AB degree? Method: This study used propensity score weighted regression to examine the difference in earnings of AB degree and associate degree graduates in three programs—health, technology, and social science—at three different community and technical colleges in Washington state. Results: We find that the AB degree graduates have higher earnings than associate degree graduates in each of the three programs, although for certain programs the earnings increase is small enough to be explained by characteristics intrinsic to the student. Higher earnings are also associated to other student characteristics such as age, gender, earnings prior to enrollment, and academic proficiency, indicating a difference in economic benefit for some students. Contributions: The findings from this study contribute to the overall understanding of the complex relationship between level of education and earnings, specifically the impact on earnings of an AB above and beyond the associate degree. The analyses revealed evidence of a gender gap in earnings by program, which is an area that requires further study.