The Maine Community College System provides this letter in accordance with 20-A MRSA §10013. This law requires the Maine Community College System (MCCS), University of Maine System (UMS), and Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) to provide the following information about first-generation college students by January 15th of each year: (1) Data regarding…

Implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) has become common place in schools across the globe. Perhaps, the prevailing definitions and operationalization of PLCs could explain the disparities in how they are executed in various contexts. By investigating a selection of recent studies, this review of literature aims to analyse how…

Racism continues to persist in academia and institutions of higher learning play a central role in the actions needed to root it out. Leaders and employees at community colleges seek to do this by constructing initiatives, task forces, and learning communities that are dedicated to this cause. Little research has been conducted, however, on…

The community school strategy was first introduced in Baltimore City in 2012. Community schools are public elementary or secondary schools that provide comprehensive academic, social, and health services for students, families, and community members (U.S. Department of Education, 2023). In 2021, the state of Maryland made a substantial commitment…

We utilize a difference-in-difference design to examine the effect of adopting a statewide promise program on the enrollment of community college students across socio-economic status. Limited by a small sample size for treated units, we find inferential evidence that the adoption of a state-wide, last-dollar promise program for community colleges…

Community-centered approaches can be effective ways to engage communities and improve their health and well-being. The Grange is a community-led, multifaceted, and dynamic intervention incorporating a community hub and garden, that took place in a small area of the North-West of England, characterized by high levels of deprivation and poor health.…

This paper presents findings from a randomized controlled trial studying a comprehensive program designed to support students in achieving their goals. One Million Degrees (OMD) is a nonprofit organization serving community college students in the Chicago metro area that supports students financially, academically, personally, and professionally.…

Community engagement and service-learning programs have become staples in the curricula of colleges across the United States. While the intentions behind many of these programs are altruistic, they can often unwittingly replicate oppressive power dynamics with the communities they seek to serve. This dissertation explored how feminist community…

In the past few decades, the cost of college has risen significantly, while federal, state, and institutional financial aid and family income have remained stagnant or declined (Goldrick-Rab, 2018). As a result, many college students struggle to afford the full cost of college attendance and may experience basic needs insecurity, including the…

The rising costs of course materials have higher education stakeholders seeking alternative models to the traditional course materials acquisition model. One model of interest is Inclusive Access. Inclusive Access has had a sudden rise in adoption across the country which has left gaps in the literature as to the effectiveness of such programs. A…

This paper presents the process of conducting a community-wide needs assessment that initially focused on soliciting information about childcare needs of families with school-aged children. The researchers were interested in understanding whether the method designed to conduct the needs assessment helped to foster collaboration, trust, and…

This study investigates the efficacy of cooperative quizzes in reducing test anxiety and improving course success rates among community college students. Test anxiety was measured using a mini-SPIN survey provided by the RECAPER project. Twenty students completed pre-semester and post-semester surveys. Statistical analyses revealed no significant…

Communities strive to grow economically to improve the quality of life of their citizens. Community colleges have long been a key driver of local economic development through education and workforce development programs. Over the past few decades, community colleges have increased their involvement in economic development activities beyond their…

This 'teaching tip' shares the success of a service-learning opportunity created to work with university students in a meaningful way in the community. It describes a program called Fit 4 Tots that resulted in more toddlers, university students and community members benefiting from learning and movement experiences.

Anatomy outreach is a well-documented practice by many academic institutions, defined here as when anatomy-related services are provided to external communities. However, most of the current literature on this topic is largely descriptive, focusing on the 'what' of anatomy-related outreach, rather than the generalizable 'why' or 'how'. There…