Objective: Performance funding (PF) policies allocate a portion of state funding to colleges based on student outcomes. This study is the first to account for policy type and design differences, and explores the impact of performance funding on three levels of credential completions: short-term certificates, medium-term certificates, and…

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore organizational changes within the area of student services at one baccalaureate degree-granting community college. Method: Data were collected via in-depth semistructured interviews with faculty and administrators, observations, and organizational documents. Results: Analysis revealed extensive…

Objective: This article examines the effectiveness of remediation for community college students who are identified as having the lowest skills in math. Method: We use transcript data from a state community college system and take advantage of a regression discontinuity design that compares statistically identical students who are assigned to the…

Objective: The purpose of this study is to apply Yosso's community cultural wealth framework to the experiences of Latino male community college students to understand how they balance family obligations, work, and academics while also navigating their educational pathways. Method: The research team conducted 23 semistructured focus groups with…

Objective: This study develops an analytical framework for identifying effective partnerships between 2- and 4-year institutions that enable community college entrants to transfer to a 4-year institution and earn a bachelor's degree in a timely fashion. Method: Using the individual term-by-term college enrollment and degree records from the…

Objective: Despite significant attention from federal and state policy makers, postsecondary completion rates in the United States remain stratified across race and socioeconomic background. This study examines a community-based college readiness program for underrepresented students from low-resource neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois. Method:…

Objective: We investigate whether performance funding--an increasingly prevalent state policy that allocates appropriations based on outcomes that prioritize retention and completion--places minority-serving institutions (MSIs) at a financial disadvantage due to these institutions serving a greater proportion of historically underrepresented…

Objective: Quantway is a Carnegie Math Pathways initiative, which redesigns the content, pedagogy, and structure of traditional developmental mathematics courses to simultaneously tackle traditional barriers to student success and support a broad range of developmental students in achieving their mathematics potential. Specifically, Quantway is a…

Objective: With both policy pressures from state governments, including states' funding behaviors, and the logic of the institution deeply ingrained over decades, community colleges face considerable challenge in reconciling conflicting values and requirements. Yet, as organizations they adapt to survive, and outcomes of adaptation may lead to an…

Objective: In recent years, developmental education (DE) reform has led to a restructuring of the placement process, redesigning of course instructional modalities, or implementing student support services to supplement developmental coursework. In Florida, recent legislative changes allowed students to opt out of placement testing and enroll…

Objective: Beyond understanding whether first-year student success interventions in community colleges are effective--for which there is mixed evidence in the literature--this study's purpose was to uncover how they work to realize observed outcomes, including at times unanticipated undesirable outcomes. Method: This qualitative multiple case…

Objective: Colleges have increased postsecondary educational access for youth, including individuals with disabilities, but completion rates remain low. This study tests the hypothesis that health conditions that reduce social integration predict lower educational attainment among college students. Method: The sample from the nationally…

Objective: Based on the growing number of transfer students in higher education and the concern that transfer students are not as engaged as their peers, specifically in participation in high-impact practices (HIPs), this research asks, "Is there a significant direct or indirect relationship between transfer status, student engagement, and…

Objective: This study evaluates the postgraduate earnings of students with an applied baccalaureate (AB) degree compared to the earnings of students with the same associate degree but no baccalaureate degree. The research questions include the following: For those students who earn an AB degree, does it result in higher earnings than the associate…

Purpose: Community and technical college student employability is a pressing concern in the United States and China. Policy makers focus on developing students' human capital in the form of credentials and cognitive skills. However, the focus on completion overlooks the role that noncognitive skills and contextual factors may play in student…