An analysis of factors affecting student completion of degree programs at Baton Rouge Community College : perceptions of administrators, faculty and students

Abstract

Leaders of newly established community colleges face many challenges. In particular, student success and ultimately, graduation are of paramount importance. Since its inception, Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) has witnessed a dramatic increase in enrollment while the number of its graduates has remained low. By determining the perceptions of select administrators, faculty members and students, a general framework for enhancing student achievement can be deduced. The methodologies chosen for this study included case study and naturalistic inquiry. Transcriptions, notes, memoing and data coding were used for theme analysis. A respectable ethical threshold was maintained throughout the study. The initial findings of this study illustrate that participants did not view degree completion as the sole indicator of student success. Instead, each student has their own goals and many do not seek to complete a degree at BRCC. Additional results between participant groups were more consistent. Appearing most often was the importance of The Academic Learning Center. Self-motivation, the ability to understand the student population and small class size were other common themes. There was also apparent disconnects among the select participants. For example, the administrative group discussed various innovative instructional methods by which faculty members delivered course material. On the other hand, the faculty participants expressed a lack of institutional priority for instruction. Another lone theme was community contributions. This theme was exclusive to the administrative group. A final single theme was class attendance. Mentioned by degree seeking students, this theme obviously correlates with student success. In conclusion, this study has provided a detailed view of the factors associated with degree completion at Baton Rouge Community College. Participant similarities and differences were shown. It is the researcher’s hope that the study will assist administrators, faculty members and students in the quest for excellence in the community, the college and the classroom.