Access to post-secondary education for first-generation college students (FGCS) has become even more important after COVID-19 brought to the forefront the most affected in the workforce: those who had a high school degree or less. College access programs play a vital role to move the needle in closing the educational achievement gap. These…

With community colleges struggling with the completion rates of their students, it is important to understand the social and academic integration of community college students and their relationships to retention and completion. Research focuses on the critical role of internal college actors such as faculty, staff, and students in these…

This study examined the factors that lead to student completion for part-time, post-traditional community college students (PTS). Research identified the environmental experiences and common characteristics of the student population using a sequential, exploratory research design. The qualitative segment of the study utilized a holistic,…

The purpose of this research was to investigate characteristics of students in the Complete College America (CCA) cohort at a rural Western community college and the relationship of those characteristics with the students' perception of success. Student graduation and success rates are low at community colleges, nationwide. CCA is actively working…

This thesis examines two uncommon topics in the economic literature regarding college access and completion: the role of college proximity in recent high school graduates' enrollment decisions, and how structural changes to the student experience at a postsecondary institution can affect college completion. The first chapter is a review of the…