Community College ReviewPub Date : 2023-04-01Epub Date: 2023-02-21DOI: 10.1177/00915521221145304
Elisabeth Lackner
{"title":"Community College Student Persistence During the COVID-19 Crisis of Spring 2020.","authors":"Elisabeth Lackner","doi":"10.1177/00915521221145304","DOIUrl":"10.1177/00915521221145304","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objective:</b> This quantitative study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' persistence at a minority-serving, open-access, public, urban community college in New York City. Specifically, the project looked at factors associated with mid-semester college withdrawals during spring 2020 when the college shifted to remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. <b>Method:</b> Utilizing data from three spring semesters (spring 2018, 2019, and 2020), four logistic regression models tested the marginal effects of student background and college program factors on mid-semester withdrawal and the moderating effect of spring 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak semester. <b>Results:</b> Findings indicated that the withdrawal rates were higher for new students, men, minoritized students, and part-time students across all three spring semesters. Spring 2020 disproportionally affected part-time students, men, Black students, as well as readmitted students. The greatest increase in the probability of mid-semester college withdrawal was observed for Black men who had been enrolled part-time in spring 2020. Belonging to a highly structured full-time study program protected students from leaving mid-semester, although this protection was weaker in spring 2020 and spring 2019 compared to spring 2018. <b>Contributions:</b> The research highlights the equity gap for Black men at the college and points to additional factors contributing to mid-semester college attrition. The work provides insights into factors that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study thereby contributes to understanding short-term risk factors for vulnerable student populations and adds to the body of literature on crisis situations in higher education.</p>","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9944485/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46443397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Battered But Not Broken: A Composite of the Experiences of Black Librarians at Public, 2-Year Colleges – Dissertation of the Year","authors":"Evangela Q. Oates","doi":"10.1177/00915521221145313","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221145313","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: Black librarians account for just 5.4% of academic librarians in the U.S. in a period in which enrollments for Black students steadily increases. While national programs aimed at recruitment exist, too little attention is focused on the environments and cultures that influence the attrition of racially minoritized groups. This study investigated the experiences of Black librarians at public, 2-year colleges in the U.S. to better understand how they navigate, cope, and succeed amongst the challenges of academic librarianship. The following question guided the study: what are the experiences of Black librarians at public, 2-year colleges? Methods: Using Critical Race Methodology’s composite counterstory (CCS) and through two, ninety-minute interviews with four narrators, the experiences of Black librarians were leveraged to construct and reconstruct the storied lives of Black librarians in community college libraries. Results: The findings show the hostile environments Black librarians encounter in their work as educators at community colleges. Across and within their stories, four themes were found: retaliation, derailment, gendered racism, and violence. The narrators reported their work is made difficult in these environments, often creating barriers to retention (profession), promotion (organization), professional acknowledgment, and success. Conclusions: Implications for practice and research suggest bold action to counter the cultures of white supremacy to include intersectional audits for the organization, changes in HR policies, training and practices, and an emphasis on cohort hiring from national organizations among other recommendations.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48060430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Testimonios of Mexican American Students Along the Community College Pathway: Intercultural Conciencia as an Act of Responsiveness","authors":"Jesus Jaime-Diaz, D. C. Ramos","doi":"10.1177/00915521221145315","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221145315","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: The purpose of this study is to better understand the lived experiences and familial culture that influence the college decisions and experiences of Mexican American students in a community college in Oregon. The research questions guiding this study are “What early schooling experiences affect the college experiences of Mexican American students?” and “How does familial culture influence students’ decision to attend community college?” Method: The study was based on testimonios that explored the lived experiences of Mexican American students. Each participant was interviewed. All data were recorded and then transcribed for themes. Results: The findings that emerged across student testimonios in relation to language socialization, cultural affirmation, and animo de familia emphasized the need for an intercultural competency. Students’ decisions to attend college and their overall understanding of their place in education are connected to cultural factors. Contributions: The authors call for higher education faculty and staff to consider what these themes can teach about the lived experiences of Mexican American students and the effects they have on their college education. It is advised that through conocimientos, educators can develop intercultural conciencia in order to better contribute to the educational retention and success of minoritized students.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44299623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Logue, C. Jordan, Matthew Townsell, Nicol Bellettiere, Rhina Torres
{"title":"Transfer Information Online: Websites and Articulation Agreements at The City University of New York","authors":"A. Logue, C. Jordan, Matthew Townsell, Nicol Bellettiere, Rhina Torres","doi":"10.1177/00915521221145309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221145309","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: Transfer students face a range of potential challenges as they prepare to move from one college to another. Websites are critical resources for transfer students because they can be easily accessible sources of information concerning credit transfer, advising, articulation agreements, and additional transfer administrative policies and procedures. Detailed assessments of colleges’ website transfer information can provide information useful to higher education institutions regarding how transfer information should and should not be communicated online. Methods: The present study examined transfer information on the websites of 19 colleges of The City University of New York (CUNY). This examination assessed the presence on these websites of information about credit transfer, transfer advising, and articulation agreements. This study also assessed the number of within-CUNY articulation agreements listed on each website and whether these articulation agreements were present on the websites of the agreements’ partners. Results: The results showed that, even within an integrated system of colleges such as CUNY, and for both colleges that offer associate degrees and colleges that offer bachelor’s degrees, the ways in which colleges transmit transfer information online can vary significantly. In addition, this information can frequently be incomplete, confusing, and misleading. Finally, providing adequate and accurate information on articulation agreements for transfer students can be particularly challenging. Conclusions: This study concludes with recommendations regarding best practices and policies to support enhancement of online information transmission for transfer students, including standardization of website transfer information across groups of colleges, with continuous monitoring for information accuracy and completeness.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47348962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Transition Intervention in High School on Pathways Through College","authors":"Zeyu Xu, Ben Backes, Dan Goldhaber","doi":"10.1177/00915521221145325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221145325","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: In 2009, the Kentucky General Assembly found unacceptable and costly the ongoing high numbers of high school students requiring remediation once they enter higher education. The state passed legislation to better align secondary and college education, establishing a diagnostic cycle that would become its Targeted Interventions (TI) program. Using 11 years of panel data, this study tracked college progression of seven cohorts of students in order to estimate the impacts of this program. Method: Using student-level administrative data from the state of Kentucky that tracks students from high school through college, a difference-in-regression-discontinuity design was used to compare how students just below college readiness benchmarks fared relative to those just above once TI was implemented. Results: The TI program significantly increased the likelihood that students took at least 15 credits during their first term, a key predictive measure for college completion. However, these early effects did not translate into detectable impacts on the likelihood of earning enough credits to graduate from college or likelihood of transfers from a 2-year to a 4-year college. One possible explanation for this pattern is that TI appears to have crowded out other core courses in high school, especially in math, without increasing total instructional time. Findings suggest that the standards used by high schools to judge student progress toward college readiness may be consistent with the skills needed to place out of developmental courses, but not sufficient to better prepare students for college-level instruction. Contributions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore how TI shapes longer term college outcomes. The transition curriculum, while helping students avoid the need for college developmental courses, did not help a measurable share of students develop necessary skills to progress through college relative to what they would have otherwise taken. A possible explanation for these findings is that high school-to-college transition interventions that do not increase total instruction time do not sufficiently move the needle on the college preparedness among high school graduates. For states concerned with the number of students entering college deemed not college ready, it appears that high school-to-college transition interventions that supplant instead of supplement regular high school curriculum have a limited scope for impact on long-run college success.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42399104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toward a New Understanding of Hispanic-Serving Community Colleges","authors":"E. Doran","doi":"10.1177/00915521221145296","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221145296","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: The purpose of this article is to synthesize the literature around Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), community colleges, and Latina/o/x community college students to propose practices specifically for community colleges that are officially designated HSIs or want to be more Latinx-serving. Argument: Utilizing the conceptual framework for servingness in HSIs by Garcia et al., this essay makes the case for ways that Latinx-serving, research-based practices can be implemented in Hispanic-serving community colleges. Conclusions: As more 2-year colleges reach the threshold for the HSI designation, they may look for ways to implement policies and practices that boost the access and attainment of Latina/o/x students and enhance practices that may benefit students from other minoritized groups as well.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64968214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Building Community and Technical College Capacity Through State Funding","authors":"Cara DeLoach, A. Soliz, Hidahis Mesa","doi":"10.1177/00915521221145295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221145295","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: This article analyzes the implementation of two state grant programs in Tennessee aimed at improving the quality of in-demand postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) programming at community and technical colleges. We use insights from our findings to propose a conceptual framework for understanding how external funding can reduce institutional capacity constraints in similar contexts. Method: Building off a previous study, we leverage in-depth interview data with 43 participants across Tennessee’s workforce development system to better understand how administrators perceived state grant goals, what processes they used to address institutional capacity constraints, and what challenges they experienced while implementing grant-funded programs. Results: We find strong alignment of perceived grant goals between the state, which developed the program, and the practitioners who implemented it. We find that the implementation strategies employed included purchasing new equipment, investing in facilities, developing work-based learning opportunities, hiring new faculty and staff, and building collaborations with outside stakeholders. Finally, our data suggest that practitioners faced challenges optimizing the use of funds to address capacity constraints. Contributions: Developing and maintaining high quality CTE credential programs is a challenge for community and technical colleges across the United States. We describe how this has been done successfully in Tennessee and use insights from this context to propose a general framework for building capacity in postsecondary CTE.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46427032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chrystal A. George Mwangi, P. Feraud-King, Ling Chen, Miguel M. Tejada, Caryn Brause, Kat J. Stephens, Jamina M. Scippio-McFadden, J. Edelstein, Ryan S Wells
{"title":"Racial Equity in Transfer Incentive Policies: A Critical Mixed Methods Analysis","authors":"Chrystal A. George Mwangi, P. Feraud-King, Ling Chen, Miguel M. Tejada, Caryn Brause, Kat J. Stephens, Jamina M. Scippio-McFadden, J. Edelstein, Ryan S Wells","doi":"10.1177/00915521221125826","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221125826","url":null,"abstract":"Objective/Research Question: This article examines the racial equity of transfer incentive policies by responding to the research question: How do students of differing races and ethnicities vary in their opportunity to benefit from transfer incentive policies? Methods: We utilized a mixed-methods approach, grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT). This study included an analysis of state policies’ components and mechanisms to consider whether they are grounded in racially unjust assumptions. The critical policy analysis is combined with a QuantCrit analysis of national data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) to understand how identified aspects of the policies would affect students of differing races/ethnicities. Results: Our critical policy discourse analysis demonstrates that states’ transfer incentive policies could foster racial inequity through the requirements students must meet (e.g., full-time status, being under the age of 24) and assumptions about what students may know or need regarding transfer. The QuantCrit analysis revealed that many transfer incentive requirements from the policy analysis findings would have a disproportionately negative effect on racially minoritized students’ transfer eligibility. Together, findings and results illustrate how transfer incentives can contribute to educational inequity for racially minoritized students via color-evasive and meritocratic policies. Conclusions/Contributions: Implications include policy reform needed for the development of incentives aligned with closing the racial transfer gap and focused on incentivizing 2- and 4-year institutions in improving the transfer rates of racially minoritized students.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47761048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bruk Berhane, F. Onuma, S. Buenaflor, Sharon Fries-Britt, Ashley Ogwo
{"title":"“They Helped Me to Get Through”: Investigating Institutional Sources of Support at Two-Year Colleges that Facilitate the Transfer and Persistence of Black Engineering Students","authors":"Bruk Berhane, F. Onuma, S. Buenaflor, Sharon Fries-Britt, Ashley Ogwo","doi":"10.1177/00915521221125901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221125901","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: While a considerable amount of extant scholarship describes the importance of and strategies for improving the postsecondary pathways of Black engineering students, most literature is contextualized within 4-year institutions. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to illuminate Black engineering students’ experiences at community colleges in order to understand ways in which they engage different types of 2-year institutional support. Methods: We draw from data obtained through a series of focus groups and interviews facilitated between fall 2018 and fall 2019 with 13 engineering undergraduates. Results: Findings include evidence of important connections with faculty at 2-year colleges, such as positive engagement with them inside the classroom, as well as during office hours and general advising. In addition, we describe support from academic advisors regarding transfer pathways, as well as from campus staff who helped identify scholarships or other valuable resources on campus. Conclusion: We offer implications and conclusions that highlight the tremendous capacity of community colleges to support and educate future Black engineers. We also discuss the significance of underrepresented students of color working closely with faculty, adding that research to date notes that these interactions often tenuous for underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities. Finally, we discuss ways in which our results can inform the broader landscape of undergraduate engineering education, which—like other STEM fields—has often created unwelcoming and competitive environments that lead to student attrition for students from all demographic backgrounds.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48512873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High-Priced Textbooks’ Impact on Community College Student Success","authors":"Kristen L. Becker, Rachel Safa, Kyleigh M. Becker","doi":"10.1177/00915521221125898","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521221125898","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: This research study examined textbook costs and student success rates at one community college in the Southwest United States. Method: Descriptive statistics were used in the study to identify the mean textbook costs and student success rates over five semesters. Chi-square tests for independence were used to determine if a statistically significant relationship exists between textbook costs and student success rates based on course level of lower or upper-level courses. Results: The chi-square tests of independence found a statistically significant relationship between textbook costs and student success rates in lower and upper-level courses. Contributions: Research shows college students often opt not to purchase commercial textbooks due to costs, thus resulting in higher D, F, and W rates. The results of this study support numerous recent research studies on the impact of textbook costs and student success.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45941042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}