Community colleges train 60% of healthcare workers nationwide. Human anatomy and physiology (A&P) courses are considered prerequisite courses for all students who aspire to enter health-related programs. The attrition rates for A&P students at community colleges nationally are close to 50%. Community colleges with open-door policies admit…

This qualitative case study was designed to explore students' perceptions of online learning at a small rural community college to understand what factors impacted their persistence in coursework. The research problem dealt with retention rates in online courses, which were lower than in face-to-face courses. Despite extensive quantitative…

Remediation has become one of the greatest barriers to student success and disproportionately affects the persistence and retention rates of African American community college students. Nearly 70% of the African American students at community colleges required remediation, which results in low persistence and graduation rates for these students.…

This study examined the impact first-year experience courses have on first-year student performance when enrolled in these courses at public community and technical colleges in Kentucky. The target population for this research study was composed of freshman students participating in the course compared to students not participating in the same…

This study sought an understanding of the current trends in the lack of females in leadership positions within collegiate athletic departments amongst California Community Colleges. The passage of Title IX created a new funding stream for women's athletics, resulting in male coaches and administrators entering into the female realm, therefore…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the perceptions of African American males participating in one 4A program at a Mid-Atlantic community college. Twenty African American males along with six staff members were selected to participate in the study. The study used focus group interviews to investigate students' interactions with…

Program administrators of academic mentoring programs for African American male community college students contend that mentoring provides a means to increase retention and improve completion rates. Through the evaluation of prior studies, this study will seek to identify the factors that lead to successful completion. Shandley's (1989) concept of…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine how Southern California community colleges have implemented best practices based on the 8 Keys to Veterans' Success as identified by the U.S. Departments of Education, Defense, and Veterans Affairs to effectively support and retain military and veteran students in higher education programs. The…

The purpose of this study was to determine the presence (or absence) of barriers that hindered the ability of veteran student populations in completing degrees in the applied sciences field. Furthermore, in this study, the researcher sought to identify and to understand any detected barriers. The researcher examined the academic performances of…

Community colleges serve a vital role within the American education system and as the number of nontraditional students increase, further research is warranted in understanding how these particular students can be retained. Nontraditional student enrollment is highest at community colleges; however, they have the lowest rates in being retained.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the role of student-faculty interaction in retaining nontraditional community college students. There are a large and growing number of nontraditional students, especially at the community college level. Being labeled as nontraditional typically implies that there are multiple competitors for…

Research on competency-based education (CBE) has primarily focused on elements of development, design, and implementation. The researcher interviewed students about their experiences in a CBE course as an avenue to deepen existing knowledge, build upon previous research, and improve development, design, and implementation. The researcher…

First-generation female students in community colleges are dropping out and withdrawing from college at an alarming rate. There are women who are administrators and leaders in these institutions who were once first-generation college students. The research gleaned first-hand experiences from participants who were first-generation females. These…

American community colleges are providing access to a growing number of Latino students entering postsecondary education. In fact, 51% of all Latinos in higher education today are enrolled in our nation's community colleges. Yet, Latino community college students have some of the lowest retention and graduation rates, despite their increased…

Over the past decade there have been several national reform movements focused on increasing the completion rates of community college students, yet those rates have remained at about 38%. If community colleges are to be reformed, much of this reform must focus on the faculty, their classroom practices, their perspectives on teaching and learning,…