In 2008, Queensborough Community College incorporated service learning into 15 remedial reading and writing courses. To determine its impact, statistical analyses were performed, and they demonstrated significantly (a) higher GPAs, (b) improved rates of retention, and (c) the completion of more college credits among service learning participants.…

The enrollment and transfer behaviors of college students are diverse. As a result, college students travel various pathways to the baccalaureate degree. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the lived experience of students who entered higher education through an associate of applied science (AAS) program and then…

Associates of Applied Science (AAS) degrees were once considered terminal degrees and were developed for people seeking technical skills to join the workforce. This paper discusses the transformation from a transferable degree into technical four-year baccalaureate degree. It also discusses survey results of students currently in a degree…

Community colleges act as the gateway for students to higher education. Many of these colleges realize this mission through open-door policies where students lacking in basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills can enroll. But, this open-access policy often creates challenges when meeting academic standards. Based on data collected from…

In my work on the college's Committee on Multiculturalism and Ethnic Studies, I found that much of the written work done in our community college was based on lower level cognition, requiring none of the assessment or exploration that is emblematic of critical thought in a democracy. Most of the assignments asked students simply to recite…

Given the demographic differences among two-year colleges and four-year universities and the relatively limited access to health education and campus-based health resources, this study compares the frequency of limiting dietary fat intake and exercising among two- and four-year college students. A total of 2,265 undergraduate students aged 18-25…

This study explored a concept that learning study skills in the context of the content area under study may transfer across courses, multiplying the benefits towards academic success. Methods that have been reported to influence academic growth at the community college level include success courses and applied study skills. In this pilot project…

The seriousness of concussions in athletics is only recently becoming fully understood and appreciated. There are significant implications for the concussed student-athlete both in returning to the playing field and the classroom. Although practices are now in place to improve identification and management of concussions in professional sports,…

A level of consistency between community college leaders and community leaders is necessary to demonstrate behaviors, actions, and beliefs that shape, represent, and support expected community values. Likewise, communities, which are collectives of suborganizations, play an important role in aiding individual development, especially related to…

This in-depth case shows how five Mexican-American community college students use their "pedagogies of survival" to build resistance and navigate through the barriers of community colleges. Pedagogies of survival emanate from social, cultural, economic, and historical struggles of the students, their families, and their communities which engender…

Campuses can reinvigorate faculty by helping them make time for sustained, in-depth professional development. Scheduling scholarship in the form of on-going, long-term faculty learning communities (FLCs) link work in the classroom with research and reflection. The benefits of FLCs to two-year colleges include decreased isolation, intellectual…

The author describes the process for developing a new Community College Leadership (CCL) curriculum for a certificate, master's, and doctoral degree in adult and higher education. The article details the research strategy in learning about Oklahoma's community colleges, existing national community college leadership programs, relevant courses…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to several conditions that share the feature of persistent social impairment. The rate of ASD diagnosis has climbed to one in 88 (CDC, 2012), and increasing numbers of individuals with ASD attend college. College students with ASD may share academic challenges related to critical thinking, executive…

Community colleges have maintained a mission and commitment to open access. Likewise, Federal Pell Grants have historically served as a primary means for low income populations to afford higher education. Thus, community college students and Federal Pell Grants are important parts of the American higher education landscape and a mode of social and…

Predicting student success has long been a question of interest for postsecondary admission counselors throughout the United States. Past research has examined the validity of several methods designed for predicting undergraduate success. High school record, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, and combinations of all three have…