There is a wealth of literature on the integration of university students increasing retention and ultimate completion, yet much less is known about the connections or disconnections that exist for community college students. Therefore, I interviewed financially eligible Pell Grant community college students (n = 62) about their connections to…

Because it has been noted that a more educated workforce is necessary to meet the demands of the future workplace, community colleges have experienced significant pressures to generate more graduates. High instances of attrition and low rates of credential obtainment among students, however, have historically been tenuous issues for community…

The purpose of this article is to trace the development of the Tinto framework for student integration and to critically analyze the application of the framework with nontraditional student populations. Specifically, the terms "academic" and "social integration" have become synonymous with student retention and, by extension,…

Tinto's integration framework is often assumed to be inapplicable to the study of student persistence at community colleges because one of the linchpins of the framework--social integration--is considered unlikely to occur for students at these institutions. Community college students are thought to lack the time to participate in activities, such…

This qualitative study sought to discern the applicability of Tinto's theory of the importance of academic and social integration to students' persistence by interviewing community college transfer students who had persisted for several semesters in a large, public, research extensive university. Twelve students who participated in a 2004 study…