The purpose of this study was to examine what influence, if any, input and environmental variables have on students' initial sense of belonging within the first 3 weeks of their community college experience. Using Strayhorn's model of students' initial sense of belonging and Astin's student involvement theory, data from the 2018-2020 Survey of…

Ebooks have been eagerly adopted by higher education institutions. Printed text versus ebook preference poses a complex situation for college students. Postsecondary students will continue using this medium in their courses. Research has been lacking to effectively understand what relationships influence the efficacious use of ebooks. There is a…

Nationally, men of color are graduating college at the lowest rates of all race-gender subgroups. Prior research suggests this population faces unique obstacles as it relates to race and gender and these challenges are often invisible and difficult to resolve. Academic supports can help students overcome these obstacles; however, it is not clear…

This study used the National Longitudinal Transition Study--2 (NLTS2) data set to determine the effects of expectations and transition planning goals on the postsecondary education enrollment of deaf youth. Propensity scoring modeling results indicated that high expectations held by deaf youth and their parents significantly predicted…

This article reports findings from a study that aims to understand how to integrate mobile-learning into Learning Management System (LMS) in a community college in Hong Kong. In this study, a mobile-enabled LMS named SOUL was adopted to improve students' learning engagement and academic performance. Participating students were segregated into two…

Understanding patterns of educational attainment among rural youth is a critical concern for our nation as we seek to make postsecondary access and attainment more equitable across our increasingly diverse student population. The current study examines data collected in the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to identify contemporary patterns of…

Evidence of inefficient course-taking patterns at community colleges has spurred policy conversations about how to ensure effective course sequences. Structural reforms, like guided pathways, seek to reduce major switching as a means to streamline student course taking and eliminate unnecessary credits. By placing students into broad fields of…

In this study we investigated the extent to which faculty interaction contributed to Latina/o student perceptions of their learning, using a sample of 10,071 Latina/o students who took the Community College Survey of Student Engagement. Findings were disaggregated for men and women, but results were quite similar between the 2 groups. Frequent…

Conventional wisdom suggests attending the first day of class matters with regard to student course completion and final course grade. However, relatively little quantitative research exists on the effects of attending or not attending the first day of class. Qualitative research on student perceptions of the value and importance of the first day…

Designing effective student retention programs is of critical importance from both a completion and a monetary standpoint. However, oftentimes colleges attempt to use nationally developed models rather than institutional-specific data to identify potential factors involved in student attrition. At a Midwestern community college, research…

Community colleges have changed notably over the past quarter century, as have the demographics and educational trajectories of the growing proportion of traditional-age college students who attend them at some point along their transition to adulthood. This dissertation extends the literature on how institutional attendance intersects with change…

The purpose of this study was to identify the determinants of student satisfaction with associate degree academic advising satisfaction with Madison Area Technical College students. During spring of 2013 an electronic survey was conducted to collect data from credit students in the college's academic programs. A survey was sent to 14,776 full time…

This paper considers the functions of supportive individuals in the lives of community college and 4-year college students and how such support can promote hope, defined as agency and pathways thinking. We surveyed 181 college students regarding their supportive relationships and found that parents were most likely to be nominated as a primary…

Background/Context: Although much research has dealt with the factors that influence educational expectations, few studies have addressed recent high school graduates who attend community colleges as their first postsecondary institutions. As the costs associated with attending a four-year institution keep rising, community colleges increasingly…

A multiple logistic regression model was used to determine the associations between the role of acculturation, perception of educational barriers, need for family kin support, vocational planning, and expectations for attaining future vocational goals against the demographic variables (gender, age, being the oldest child, the first to attend…