Browsing by Subject "Community college students"
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Item A case study of the experiences of field-dependent students in a community college learning community and the implications for curriculum(2005-05) Carroll, Jonathan David, 1977-; Moore, WilliamConsider the reality that the traditional college curriculum works against community college students -- think of the implications. It is no secret that community college students are the most disadvantaged in higher education, and their chances of succeeding in college are slim. Scholars have pondered this situation for years. Alas, consider if the problem is the structure of the curriculum itself. Specifically, research indicates that community college students tend to be field dependent and the traditional curriculum works against this type of student because it does not provide the type of community support these students require. One way the needs of these students could be met is through learning communities, which are conscious curricular structures that link two or more courses. This curricular tactic offers a way to fulfill the cognitive needs of community college students and enables them to succeed. To determine whether learning communities are an appropriate curricular tactic, the methodology of Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) was used to understand the experiences of field-dependent students. Through focus groups and individual interviews, this method helped to crystallize these common experiences and provide a voice for them. The results substantiated that learning communities provide the peer support, faculty interaction, academic involvement and collaborative learning environment field-dependent students need to succeed. Curricular tactics like learning communities can be utilized to meet the needs of community college students. Rather than employing the traditional curriculum, which works against community college students, curriculum needs to be tailored into applied models like learning communities, which work for them.Item A comparative study of developmental students and non-developmental students at Tallahassee Community College(2006) Noel, Sharon Ann; Roueche, John E., Jr.This study examined differences in engagement among developmental and non-developmental students at Tallahassee Community College (TCC). The researcher employed a multi-method approach. The following two research questions guided this study: (1) How does the engagement of developmental students differ from the engagement of non-developmental students? (2) In what ways do developmental and non-developmental students experience student engagement? Quantitatively, the researcher examined pre-existing data (with permission) from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). CCSSE’s survey instrument, The Community College Student Report 2004, was administered to 748 TCC students. Of the 748, a total of 431 students reported that they were either taking or planned to take a developmental course in reading, writing, and/or mathematics. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze descriptive statistics and one way Anova. Qualitatively, focus group participants included a total of 24 students from TCC—12 developmental (college preparatory) and 12 non-developmental students. Key themes were used to analyze focus group data. Quantitatively, there is no significant difference on many CCSSE items. However, where there are statistically significant differences (p <.05) in engagement levels of developmental and non-developmental students, the developmental students consistently are more engaged for items identified on the following CCSSE benchmarks: (1) Academic and Collaborative Learning (ACL), (2) Student Effort (SE), (3) Academic Challenge (AC), (4) Student-Faculty Interaction (SFI), and (5) Support for Learners (SFL). Key themes emerged from focus group respondents: ACL yielded two themes, SE produced one theme, AC generated two themes, SFI produced four themes, and SFL identified ten themes. Conclusions and recommendations are included in Chapter Five.Item Developmental students' levels of engagement and student success in two-year institutions : a study of a suburban community college in Texas(2011-08) Sesay, Marie; Bumphus, Walter G.; Roueche, John; Northcutt, Norvell; Muller, Chandra; Johnson, DreandThe need for development education for first year community college students is a growing trend and has a variety of solutions. Engagement and retention of these students is vital to the success of the student and the college in which they attend. Taking developmental education courses should not be repetitive hurdles for a college student. This study is to establish the level of engagement of community college students who are enrolled in developmental education compared to students not enrolled in developmental education and their levels of success. The study evaluates administrative practices that engage developmental students in 2-year institutions. This study aims at increasing successful outcomes in developmental education students through research. The study of levels of engagement, retention, successful strategies and academic support may be the determining factor of success of developmental education students and the 2-year institution in which they are enrolled. Quantitative analysis will determine if there are significant differences in the engagement levels among first year developmental education students versus first year viii non-developmental college students within 2-year institutions and what institutional practices or academic support initiatives support developmental students’ engagement in 2-year institutions. The instrument used was the 2009 SENSE (Survey of Entering Student Engagement). This tool assists colleges to focus on the “front door” of the students’ college experience. This study uses an independent sample t-test to analyze the responses of students currently enrolled in developmental education courses versus students enrolled in non-developmental courses. The SENSE Survey was administered to students at 120 member community colleges during the fourth and fifth week of the fall 2009 semester. Fall 2009 was the first national administration of the survey. A 20- year community college system in suburban Houston, TX was specifically examined. This study determines the significance of implementation of successful programs and academic support procedures to enhance the college experiences and performance of students enrolled in developmental education, increases more efficient use of college resources, and assists students to complete developmental courses to persist into college level courses.Item Evaluating the transfer culture at a Texas public university through the experiences of community college transfer student’s(2014-12) Del Real Viramontes, José Reyes; Urrieta, LuisIn Texas, the majority of first time college students use the community college as an entry point into higher education. However the number of students who eventually transfer to a four-year university and in particular to the state’s flagship institution, is not comparable to the amount of students who enter the system of higher education through the community college. Using the Transfer Receptive Culture framework (Jain, Herrera, Bernal, & Solorzano, 2011) and through the experiences of seven community college transfer students, this study examines the transfer culture at a Texas public university. This study aims to contribute to the literature by examining the first study that looks into the institutional culture necessary to transfer to an elite university such as Transfer Student University. Findings suggest that the university should improve the outreach, orientation /transition programs, academic/social support services, as well as support the creation of a transfer student community on campus.Item Examining the experiences of students enrolled in small community colleges by time of enrollment(2007-12) Head, Traci Lynn, 1969-; Roueche, John E.The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of students enrolled in small community colleges to determine if there was a difference in the degree to which students were engaged based upon their primary enrollment in day or in evening courses. Specifically, the study investigated the amount of time and effort students dedicated to their academic pursuits and the degree to which institutional policies and practices supported them in their efforts to determine whether time of enrollment was a significant factor in predicting engagement. The primary goals of the study were to contribute to the understanding of students' experiences and to provide empirical evidence that might serve as the foundation for program development and reform. The findings from the quantitative analysis revealed a significant predictive relationship between time of enrollment and five of the fourteen engagement variables considered in the study. Enrollment in evening courses was linked to lower levels of engagement in each of these five areas: student effort, academic challenge, support for learners, academic preparation, and school opinions. The results of the study supported the development of a theoretical model that depicts student engagement based upon primary enrollment in evening courses. The model places support for learners at the forefront. Students' opinions are the end result, with each of the other engagement variables being affected by the levels of support perceived by evening students.Item Experiences and engagement levels of entering community college students and returning students(2008-12) De los Reyes, Maria Oralia; Roueche, John E.In order to explore the differences in engagement levels between entering and returning community college students, the researcher analyzed 13,300 surveys from the 2007 Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) pilot data set utilizing a quantitative methodology. This study focused on analyzing engagement levels of entering and returning students in six constructs: Active and Collaborative Learning, First Day, Student Effort, Student-faculty Interaction, Support for Learners, and Motivation. After the comparison between the two groups was performed, data were disaggregated by eleven groups to further explore differences. Differences in engagement levels were explored in terms of students’ characteristics such as remedial background, age, gender, full-time status, ethnicity, degree seeking, first generation, and traditional status. The results of this study revealed that returning community college students in general, are more engaged in educational practices associated with persistence than entering students. In addition, findings suggest that with the exception of one variable (overall high school grade average), students commonly categorized as “at risk” or “disadvantaged” (developmental, non-traditional, part-time, first generation, minorities) overwhelmingly held higher levels of engagement in all positive engagement variables of the six analyzed constructs. Furthermore, in an analysis of disaggregated data by eleven groups of students, the following was found: o Students who placed in three developmental courses were by far the most highly engaged group in all positive engagement variables of the six constructs. o Students with the highest level of engagement in the two negative variables of the Student Effort construct (skipped class or came to class without completing readings or assignments) were traditional, 18-19 year olds, not-first generation, and non-developmental students. o Students who reported that success courses had helped them to get the knowledge necessary to succeed in college were overwhelmingly disadvantaged students (developmental, non-traditional, females and minorities). o Developmental students showed higher levels of engagement with regard to college services. o Financial aid advising and skill labs (math, reading, and writing) were the two services with the highest number of statistically significant differences throughout the eleven groups. This study was concluded with recommendations for further research and strategies that community college stakeholders could implement to increase student retention.Item The implications of persistence theory on new student orientations in community colleges(2004) McGilvray, David Harold; Moore, William, 1928-Community colleges, with their “open door” admissions policy, provide higher education opportunities for both traditional and at-risk students. However, the conditions that define “at-risk” make a high percentage of community college students vulnerable to attrition, increasing the need for effective retention efforts. The question of the applicability of existing persistence theories to community college populations and the theory implications for the design of new student orientation programs in community colleges are the underlying issues of this study. This qualitative study utilizes literature review, individual interviews, group interviews, and a document review for data collection to examine the perspectives of four sources on new student orientation programs in a community college. The perspectives examined were: (1) retention theory as found in the literature, (2) community college students, (3) community college administrators and (4) the documentation of the college’s orientation program. The correspondence between these four perspectives was then examined in a pair-wise comparison. The study found that the students’ perceptions of their college experience and the persistence issues they confronted were in agreement with that indicated by the literature. Further, that the administrators were generally aware of the content of retention theory, however, the design of the existing orientation program did not make full use of the implications of persistence theory.Item Online social networking : exploring the relationship between use of web-based social technologies and community college student engagement(2010-05) Mix, Kerry Keith; Roueche, John E.; Bumphus, Walter G.; Northcutt, Norvell W.; McClenney, Kay M.; Resta, Paul E.Over the last decade, community college researchers and practitioners increasingly have focused on student engagement as a cornerstone of a successful student success agenda. This study investigated community college student engagement using an ex post facto quantitative methodology. This study reports the results of the five special-focus survey items from 2009 CCSSE national administration and data collected from institutional Facebook pages. This study measured student engagement levels based on five constructs from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction, Academic Challenge, Student Effort, and Support for Learners), including more than 170,000 survey respondents. Differences in engagement levels were explored in terms of student characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, developmental status, weekly preparation, commute time, age (traditional/nontraditional), and enrollment status (full-time/part-time). The results of this study revealed the following: •An institutional Facebook page can provide both academic and non-academic information. An institutional Facebook page is a central location that students, parents, fans, and others can go to ask questions about the college, either general or specific. •Students are using social networking tools for academic purposes. •Students who took honors course(s) and students who commuted six hours or more per week were more likely to use social networking tools to communicate about coursework. •Students’ use of social networking tools for academic purposes is associated with an increase in student-level benchmark scores. A proportional relationship exists between use of SNT and engagement scores. In general, students who frequently used SNT for academic purposes achieved higher engagement scores. •However, a corollary is also true: Student Effort scores tend to be lower among students who use SNT for any purpose multiple times per day.Item The relationship of health belief model variables, perceived self-efficacy, internal-external locus of control, and knowledge about AIDS to the practice of safer sex : a survey of community college students(1990) Willis, Amy Catherine, 1953-; Richardson, Frank C.; Hanson, Gary R.The purpose of this study was to explore relations between Health Belief Model variables (demographics, cues to action, seriousness, susceptibility, benefits, and barriers), perceived self-efficacy, internal-external locus of control, and knowledge about AIDS and the associated outcomes of practicing safer sex and intentions to practice safer sex. A questionnaire, comprised primarily of measures constructed by the author, was completed by 323 community college students. Seventy-one heterosexual subjects were identified as practicing safer sex. Results of a comparison of means indicated that heterosexuals currently practicing safer sex identified significantly greater benefits and fewer barriers to practicing safer sex, evidenced higher levels of perceived self-efficacy, and held a more internal locus of control than did sexually active heterosexuals not currently practicing safer sex. A discriminant function analysis predicted correct classification of 60% of all cases. In addition, both groups had a high level of knowledge about AIDS and indicated that they felt highly susceptible to AIDS, which they identified as a fairly serious disease. The only demographic variable which yielded significant results was marital status; that is, sexually active heterosexuals living alone perceived themselves to be somewhat more susceptible to AIDS than did those who were cohabiting. Comparable analyses were performed for intentions to practice safer sex. Heterosexual subjects who intend to practice safer sex were significantly more likely to feel susceptible to AIDS, identified greater benefits and fewer barriers to practicing safer sex, evidenced higher levels of perceived self-efficacy, and were more knowledgeable about AIDS than those subjects who did not intend to practice safer sex. For this comparison of means, internal-external locus of control and seriousness of AIDS were not significant. When a discriminant function analysis was performed utilizing all seven variables, locus of control entered into the equation and benefits dropped out. Correct classification of 73.8% of all cases was predicted. One of the cues to action, having AIDS discussed in a college class, was significantly related to intentions to practice safer sex. Other supplementary analyses are reported. Discussion of these results, limitations of the study, and implications for future research are presentedItem Remediation and the academic success of community college students in college level mathematics: an explanatory model(2006) Polk-Conley, Anita Denise; Moore, WilliamItem Student engagement in community college online education programs : an exploration of six constructs with implications for practice(2010-05) Fisher, Karla Ann; Roueche, John E.; Bumphus, Walter G.; McClenney, Kay; Northcutt, Norvell; Resta, Paul E.Improving student outcomes in community college online education requires understanding how institutional practices and student characteristics affect levels of student engagement in online courses. This study investigated community college online student engagement using an ex post facto quantitative methodology, reporting the results of an online survey administered to students enrolled in online courses at four community colleges and one statewide community college online consortium in the fall 2009 academic term. Online engagement levels were measured based on five constructs from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction, Academic Challenge, Student Effort, and Support for Learners) and a sixth construct from the literature (Presence). The study measured the engagement levels of 906 survey respondents taking classes exclusively online compared with 1,179 survey respondents taking classes both online and on-campus. Differences in engagement levels also were explored in terms of student characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, age (traditional/nontraditional), enrollment status; experience in online classes, and veteran status. The results of this study revealed the following: Community college online students are less engaged than students taking courses both online and on campus.Enrollment status is a strong predictor of online student engagement; online students enrolled part-time are substantially less engaged than online students enrolled full-time. Experience with online learning is another strong predictor of engagement; as students gain experience in online courses, they become more engaged online learners. Student demographics appear to play less of a role in student engagement online than on campus. Although measurably less engaged, online students scored high on Student Effort, suggesting respondents found courses taught exclusively online required substantial individual effort. Online students are isolated relative to other students and faculty, and are unlikely to reach out to make connections within the college community without assistance. Based on their distinctive experiences and characteristics, online students should be tracked as a unique cohort within community college student populations. This study concludes with recommendations for further research and strategies that community colleges could implement to increase online student engagement, retention, and ultimately success.