Complete College American and Student Success

Review of Educational Research, 2010

Many of the democratizing opportunities provided by community colleges are diminished in the eyes of policy makers by inadequate rates of success. In particular, large proportions of students who enter community colleges do not persist for longer than a semester, complete a program, or attain a credential. This review critically examines academic and policy research in search of explanations, emphasizing what is known about challenges stemming from three levels of influence: the macro-level opportunity structure; institutional practices; and the social, economic, and academic attributes students bring to college. It provides examples of how factors operating at each level affect rates of success at key times, including the initial transition to college, the experience of remedial education, and persistence through credit-bearing coursework. The article also discusses potential and ongoing reforms that could increase rates of community college success by addressing one or more areas ...

2003

Community College Research Center Columbia University, 2008

2007

Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 2006

Economics of Education Review, 2008

2004

Philanthropists, researchers, policymakers and practitioners are increasingly focused on a college completion crisis in the United States. Collectively and independently, they have called for increasing the number of adults with postsecondary certificates and degrees as a national imperative. Using the 2007 administration of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), this paper explores the statistical relationships between student engagement, as measured by the CCSSE, and institutional graduation rates reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Both bivariate correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analyses yielded results that reinforce the salience of student engagement as an important predictor of college completion: specifically, the CCSSE student engagement benchmarks of active and collaborative learning, and support for learners are positive predictors of institutional graduation rates. The paper concludes with suggestions around instructional practices and institutional policies to consider for community college leaders committed to the completion agenda.

This study was set at San Bernardino Community College, which—at the time of the study—was situated in the second-poorest community in the United States. Unlike much prior research where most students come from middle class and affluent families, low-income status was a condition of the environment that arguably affected all of the students at the campus. The study utilized a campus survey to examine levels of student involvement as well as student perceptions regarding the campus environment. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify patterns of involvement within the survey data, and then relationships between emergent factors were examined. Findings reflect patterns of involvement for low-income students and students of color that are different than in prior research, likely because of the unique nature of the setting of the study. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.