Student persistence remains an important focus for higher education professionals. National conferences and other professional development opportunities regularly highlight information on resources, supports, and programmatic efforts that are most effective at helping college students persist. Retention is a key performance indicator for…

In the spring of 2020, the US Department of Education updated Title IX guidelines addressing the way campuses investigate gender-based violence. This paper explores how then Vice President of Student Affairs at Phoenix College handled changes to Title IX compliance in the early months of the Coronavirus pandemic while also transitioning to remote…

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has placed postsecondary institutions in unfamiliar territory. Undoubtedly, postsecondary education must adapt to the realities of the pandemic, finding new ways to define academic expectations and rigor. Currently, COVID-19-related conversations among educators often default to focusing on students' race and…

Higher education demographics continue to shift, with students from various minoritized identities increasing in enrollment. Yet, retention, completion, and success rates remain scarce for these students. Current metrics uphold homophobic and transphobic binaries in the categorization of gender and sexualities prohibiting higher education…

In this article, the author shares the story of Kristin, a low-income single mother raising her six-year-old son Max in Southern California. Taking 13 college credits, Kristin bartended nights and weekends, while raising Max on her own. The author met Kristin while studying the experiences of low-income mothers enrolled in college in the…

In higher education, the underachievement of minority males is consistently reflected in research, where data have shown a persistence gap separating minority males from other student groups in measures of academic progress and college completion. Campuses typically did little, if anything, to build the capacity of faculty and staff to educate and…

Imagine being one of the most nationally visible, yet highly invisible student population in America. That is the reality for Arab American students on college campuses. How can visibility be created to support Arab American students on college campuses? Educators need to look at the way this minority is invisible in the curriculum. Educators are…

St. Philip's College is the only community college in the nation that is both a Historically Black College (HBCU) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The college has a long history of evolving to serve the local population in San Antonio, Texas. Currently, more than 50 percent of St. Philip's students are Latinx, 29 percent are White, and 12…

Over the past couple of years, rising anti-immigrant sentiment in the nation has led to a torrent of complex fears, anxiety, and trauma for immigrants and those who support them. This current narrative exemplifies the volatile US immigration history that includes numerous historical markers that have placed restrictions on immigrants. As these new…

The Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISSC) is unique in that there must be participation in athletic and co-curricular competitions each year. Established in 1969 as an athletic conference, ISSC states in the bylaws (2016) that there is a commitment to fostering the development of students' specialized talents through intercollegiate…

For several years now, the Old Dominion University community college leadership research team has been examining academic affairs and student affairs outcomes on community college student success. College student professionals on two-year campuses most typically provide a wide variety of supports and interventions across campus, in settings that…

American higher education has often been more exclusive than inclusive in its higher education admission practices. Community colleges have greatly assisted in closing the gap of accessing higher education as they have become the chosen college entry point for students of color. Community colleges often remain the first choice for African American…

Over the past 10 to 15 years, as the nation has discussed the high cost of a college education and the worth of the college degree and experience, community college has become a first-choice experience for many traditional college-aged students. Assessment and accountability occupy center stage in current discussions of higher education, and…

Community colleges are a 20th-century phenomenon. This sector of higher education started in 1901 and historically served any number of varying purposes, such as teacher training, homemaking, and, potentially, transfer credits for admission to a four-year college and the receipt of a baccalaureate degree. In the early 20th century, because of its…

Kristine H. Strickland reviews the variety of barriers on community college students' path to transfer and completion. Though community college transfer students can be as successful as transfer students from four-year institutions, Strickland argues that both two-year and four-year institutions need to do more to prepare students for transfer and…