Service learning is one of the most effective teaching methods for engaging and retaining community college students, but it comes with its challenges. For many students, the added requirements of a service learning experience can become one more responsibility in an already too-long list. In addition to being responsible for children, holding…

The final chapter of the issue provides a synthesis of the first eight chapters, offers conclusions and recommendations, and considers future directions regarding practices and programs with promise for high impact at community colleges around the country.

State community college systems and their two-year colleges have spent the 2010s reexamining and redesigning decades-old developmental education tracks to ensure students get what they need--and only what they need--with an eye toward moving them more quickly into college-level courses and, eventually, the degree or certificate they want.…

Our goal was to explore the technology related pedagogical practices of college professors deemed by their students to be excellent in using technology in their teaching. We explored the views of 114 community/junior college professors who were nominated by their students as excellent in using technology in their teaching using both questionnaires…

The purpose of the qualitative study was to discover instructional practices used by developmental math instructors that facilitate learning and academic success of students in developmental math courses at select community colleges in Alabama in order to generate improved instructional practices in the developmental education field. Emergent data…

This mixed-methods study of 507 trans and gender-nonconforming students (75% undergraduate, 25% graduate) aimed to understand (a) what institutional factors are associated with the presence of more trans-inclusive policies/supports, (b) what trans-inclusive policies/supports are viewed as important by different groups of trans students, and (c)…

For the past few decades, the trend of first generation low-economic status community college students, considerably comprised of immigrants, has continued to grow at a significant rate (Connell, 2008; Ray, 2013; Kim & Diaz, 2013c; Kim, 2014). Community colleges are encountering challenges that were previously viewed as minimal or secondary to…

Online programming has expanded greatly within higher education and much attention has been spent on public two year colleges (more commonly known as community colleges) and both private and public four year institutions. This research seeks to expand understanding of the small market of private not-for-profit two year colleges within the United…

This dissertation examines the pedagogical beliefs and instructional practices of community college faculty members. The dissertation uses a qualitative interpretive inquiry approach to explore the contextual understanding of pedagogy and teaching of community college. Drawing from the theoretical framework of pedagogy, teaching and beliefs, this…

With the rapidly changing demography of the United States, there is a need for greater attention to expanding opportunities and reducing barriers to education for all. This article focuses on one of the nation's fastest-growing immigrant groups--Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). A case study of a program at a community college shows…

Public two-year colleges serve as an important access point for two out of every five students enrolled in postsecondary education. However, only 40 percent of community college students earn a postsecondary credential of any kind within six years, limiting their opportunities for advancement. Hoping to increase student retention and success, many…

For 8 years Washington State has operated a performance funding policy, the Student Achievement Initiative (SAI). The policy allocates appropriations to the state's 34 community and technical colleges based on points earned through student achievement of college-readiness, retention, and completion milestones. Grounded in a conceptual framework of…

The recession prompted reflection on how resource allocation decisions contribute to the performance of community colleges in the United States. Private benchmarking initiatives, most notably those established by the National Higher Education Benchmarking Institute, can only partially begin to address this question. Empirical and financial…

In "What Excellent Community Colleges Do," Joshua S. Wyner draws on the insights and evidence gained in administering the inaugural Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. This book identifies four domains of excellence--degree completion, equity, student learning, and labor market success--and describes in rich detail the policies…

The author observes that community college administrators perform their duties on ambiguous and uncertain intellectual and environmental landscapes, so they continually search for meaning and purpose in organizational life. This article proposes a straightforward approach to answering several questions related to the quest for meaning and purpose,…