The purpose of this study was to determine how whiteness and white supremacy are upheld by white hearing officers on community college campuses. The literature shows that racial bias exists in K-12 discipline systems, that no reporting mandates on demographics exist in higher education conduct, and that community colleges often serve minoritized…

One of the present challenges confronting American society is the need for more equitable access to education and career opportunities. Every year, many first-year college students need more academic skills. Community colleges' open admission processes and low tuition rates offer viable choices for people seeking higher education (Dougherty &…

The United States (US) airline industry is currently experiencing a pilot shortage that could quadruple between the years 2022-2025 (Baldwin, 2022). Although there is not a single cause for this pilot shortage, one of the reasons is the high cost of entry into the industry(Silk, 2019). For aspiring pilots to enter the aviation and/or airline…

The purpose of this research answers two research questions: How do community college welding instructors view the importance of teaching safety in the North Carolina community college welding classrooms and labs in certificate, diploma, and associate degree programs? How does it impact what they teach? What are the safety skills taught, and how…

Research demonstrated peer-to-peer mentoring provides advanced or experienced undergraduate students the opportunity to play a significant role in impacting an individual's leadership values, especially values of citizenship, commitment and collaboration (Hirsh et al., 2021). The action research study explored the expansion of peer mentor…

This dissertation explored the experiences of 16 new full-time community college faculty as they learned to understand and meet their work expectations. Informed by the literature on the preparation of future faculty and the dimensions of full-time community college faculty work, this qualitative study narrowed in on the experiences of new faculty…

The purpose of this applied study was to provide recommendations for improving the professional development of self-leadership traits of professors at one of the state colleges in Florida. The problem was that leadership traits necessary for teaching excellence at the college had not been identified among the faculty. There was a need for more…

With an urgency to leverage existing and emerging policy reforms to improve student outcomes by centering educational equity, this manuscript explores the critical role of policy implementation in higher education--specifically in community colleges. In doing so, we explore historical and contemporary approaches to higher education, highlighting…

The issue of gender bias has been studied in many facets of society, including business, education, and leadership in general. Researchers and professionals working in the field have long had concerns over the issue of gender bias: if it is occurring, what does the rate and impact have on overall success in leadership? Women in upper-level…

North Carolina's Teaching and Learning Hubs are a unique statewide model of providing professional learning support for community college faculty and staff aimed at increasing equitable student academic success. The Hubs provide professional learning to "help educators learn about, adopt, test, and scale the evidence-based strategies"…

The business/management problem addressed in this study is that as a result of the lacking organizational approach to service, the community college student experience in pre-learning service are inconsistent, contributing to the decade-long enrollment decline, resulting in fiscal challenges. The purpose of this qualitative systematic review is…

The reification of community colleges as symbolic gateways for access to higher education for historically underrepresented groups belies fundamental structural inequities these ostensibly democratic institutions exhibit, most notably the alarming overrepresentation of White faculty relative to Students of Color. Grounded in this structural…

This quantitative research study sought to determine the impact social media advertising had on 15 community college courses. The enrollment data was collected from these 15 courses after they had been advertised using social media, and it was compared to the enrollment data for these same courses when they were offered in 2020. The social media…

Increasing equity in higher education has been embedded in community colleges' mission since their founding, yet, for nearly as long, these institutions have faced criticism and attendant reform efforts for a failure to deliver on this promise. Particularly in recent years, such critiques often suggest that equity is best understood by measuring…

Community colleges and universities increasingly offer entrepreneurial training to reach a larger portion of underrepresented students. This paper offers insights into what techniques mentors should employ to increase entrepreneurial self-efficacy among their mentees, particularly for diverse community college students. Using a five-week, social…