The coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic upended the academic trajectories and opportunities of many community college students in the United States. While four-year universities have seen an uptick in applications in the 2021-2022 academic year, community colleges have experienced a sharp decrease in enrollment, signifying significant…

This study describes students' experiences applying for and maintaining financial aid at a community college in Southern California. Through individual interviews and focus groups, we examined the interaction points between students, institutional actors, institutional policies, and state/federal policies. We theorize that interactions between…

In a time of increasing economic inequality, lower levels of government investment in higher education, and rising tuition costs, students vying for a college degree experience financial concerns as important influences on their college experience. An emerging body of literature has focused on the relationship between student finances and academic…

In 2016, California voters approved state Proposition 58, repealing an almost 20-year ban on bilingual education for English Learners (ELs), who represent nearly 20% of the state's public school students. The state's reversal on bilingual education reflects a national trend of promoting bilingualism and expanding bilingual (also referred to as…

This study developed an equity-minded and trauma-informed model for improving community college student success rates. Since up to 94% of community college students have experienced trauma, it was imperative to establish a comprehensive approach to overcoming the resulting non-academic barriers and low completion rates. Since there is no existing…

Two hundred and four students completed a web-based questionnaire distributed to a stratified sample of California community college students (n = 2,300) enrolled in hospitality management or related programs to assess the influence of community college personnel on students' degree aspirations and upward transfer of community college students to…

This study examined the unique needs of Asian American students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors and the extent to which institutional agents responded to their needs. This qualitative study focused on Asian American STEM students enrolled at Shasta Fair Community College (SFCC), a federally designated and…

This brief is rooted in the purpose and findings of a qualitative study that explored the experiences and perspectives of African-American/Black community college students in asynchronous online learning environments. A growing number of African-American/Black students are enrolling in California community colleges and online courses. However,…

Relative to parents of children with neurotypical development and other developmental disabilities, parents of autistic children experience higher levels of parenting stress, which are associated with deleterious consequences for parents' mental and physical health and child functioning. Despite urgent calls to action, parenting stress is rarely…

Early intervention can reduce disability in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Screening for autism spectrum disorder in young children identifies those at increased likelihood of diagnosis who may need further support. This study assessed in "utero" exposure to maternal obesity and diabetes and offspring performance on…

Recent years have brought an increasing amount of attention to the educational experiences and outcomes for men of color. As a group, these students experience some of the lowest rates of success in community college. These inequities in education start early, fueled by racial/gender dynamics, stereotyping, and growing up in under-resourced…

The study evaluates the location and prominence of Chicana/o/x Studies courses on community college campuses nationally according to their websites and public-facing resources through content analysis methodology. To date, the research on Chicana/o/x Studies and on Ethnic Studies programs in community colleges, in general, has been limited, so…

As open-access institutions serving diverse student populations, community colleges are perfect settings for broadening participation in computing efforts in higher education. The very nature of open access, however, places students with a wide variety of previous experience in the same introductory computer science classroom, intimidating the…

This phenomenological study explored the ways women served as validating agents for Latino men who had transferred from a community college to a four-year institution. Informed by Rendón's theory of validation, participants expressed numerous ways in which women figures (e.g., mothers, sisters, significant others) were sources of validation across…

Guided by a Geography of Opportunity framework and using Arc Geographic Information Systems (ArcGIS) mapping, we sought to explore how and to what extent California Community Colleges baccalaureate programs graduates' expected earnings are likely to meet the Self-Sufficiency Standard and afford fair market rent for the region in which they are…