Retaining people no longer credited toward college completion--a group known in academic parlance as "stop outs"--is a core concern among administrators seeking to remove barriers to education. Preventing stop outs from becoming stay outs means re-enrolling students beset by debt, or targeting vulnerable demos close to graduation.…

Multi-level, place-based interventions have proven effective at promoting a range of health behaviors, including tobacco control and discouraging the uptake of tobacco products. This paper describes the implementation and impact of a 3-year, multi-level tobacco prevention and control program at a community-college minority-serving institution…

The objective of this research was to gather the experiences of six participants from various 2-year and 4-year colleges in the state of Alabama. Participants were solicited using a flyer posted in-house and online to students who are members of the Equality and Advocacy Center (EAC) as well as the Acceptance of Diverse Population Center (ADPC).…

Community college women do not obtain the HPV vaccine at the same rate as university women. The aim of this study was to discover the perceptions of community college women in relation to the human papillomavirus (HPV) and associated cancers, the perceived barriers and benefits of obtaining the HPV vaccination, and how health behavior decisions…

At a community college in the state of Florida, student retention has become a critical concern because more than half of the first-year first-generation students fail to graduate. That rate is four times higher than for other first-year students. Guided by Tinto's Student Integration Model as the conceptual framework, this intrinsic qualitative…

Throughout history, higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States (U.S.) have espoused the goal of developing an educated citizenry with the capacity to engage across difference and contribute to solving the major issues in society (Association of American Colleges & Universities [AACU], 2019; Kezar, 2004). Although significant…

This study examined California Community Colleges' administrator decisions about online proctoring software during the COVID-19 global pandemic between March 2020 and June 2022. Understanding how decisions were made, by whom, what information was considered, and how information was evaluated can support more informed decision making regarding…

The current study proposes a taxonomy to organize existing knowledge on cybercrimes against critical infrastructure such as power plants, water treatment facilities, dams, and nuclear facilities. Routine Activity Theory is used to inform a three-dimensional taxonomy with the following dimensions: hacker motivation (likely offender), cyber,…

This Perspective builds on a related RAND Corporation report that describes the implementation of Findhelp at four North Carolina community colleges in 2021 and 2022. Findhelp is an online tool to connect students to resources in their communities to help meet their basic nonacademic needs. The North Carolina Community College System, with support…

Cybersecurity workers protect crucial information across the industry spectrum, from health records to bank accounts to sensitive military communications. A massive shortage of skilled technical employees in the U.S. has put the nation's digital privacy and infrastructure at risk, observers say, leading more community colleges to include…

In 2019, MDRC launched the Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project to improve college completion rates for traditionally underserved students, such as students from low-income backgrounds and students of color, at community and broad-access colleges (those that have open or minimally selective admissions…

Community colleges serve more than a significant proportion of Americans who could not otherwise attend colleges by providing access to fulfill their educational goals. Many of the students enrolled in the institutions look to the federal government to finance their educational expenses by obtaining federally guaranteed student loans. The…

While the value of mentoring has long been presumed in the literature as well as in practices, little is known about the success of formal, and informal mentoring practices (Crisp, 2010; Crisp & Cruz, 2009; & Ward & Ball, 2016). In addition, there is a lack of research on community college student mentoring in higher education…

The United States faces an unprecedented mental health crisis, with youth and young adults at the center. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 50 percent of college students reported at least one mental health concern. The COVID-19 pandemic notably exacerbated these issues and underscored the urgent need to identify and implement ways to…

Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US affecting almost 60% of college women ages 20 to 24 years. At one west coast community college, two thirds of males and half of females were unaware of HPV vaccine recommendation through age 26 years. Objectives: This aim of this project is…