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This study focuses on the potential academic benefit of virtual international exchange for community colleges and the students they enroll through a comparison of virtual exchange and study abroad. Using data from two community colleges in the US Southeast, this study draws upon the notion of socioacademic integration. Specifically, this study theorizes that both virtual exchange and study abroad have a positive relationship with students' academic outcomes given their potential to foster socioacademic integrative moments. However, given the scalability of virtual international exchange, it was expected that these programs are associated with a greater relationship to students' academic outcomes in the aggregate. This study's results generally confirm these expectations, although findings for virtual exchange are less positive compared to study abroad. Results have implications for the establishment and success of both approaches to international education programming at community colleges. The potential for virtual international exchange to reach a larger group of students compared to study abroad, thus having a greater aggregate impact on students' success and outcomes, has key policy implications particularly for community colleges, for which service to the community is an integral component of institutional mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longstanding disparities in four-year transfer rates for Black/African American and Latinx/Hispanic community college students, relative to their Asian and white peers, raise important equity questions about the vertical transfer function in the U.S. higher education system. Using data from one of the nation's largest and most racially and ethnically diverse community college systems, we examined whether differences in early academic momentum (e.g., first-year cumulative GPA, summer enrollment, number of first-year credits attempted and earned) were a root cause of gaps in transfer outcomes between different racial and ethnic groups. Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) results revealed a strong relationship between early academic momentum and vertical transfer success for community college students. However, the results showed academic momentum did not operate in the same manner for all racial and ethnic groups and some indicators were particularly important for improving transfer outcomes for Black/African American and Latinx/Hispanic students. These results have important implications for community college research and practice pertinent to vertical transfer outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression greatly impacts society as one of the most prevalent mental health disorders in the world, disproportionately impacting people in lower income groups. Past research has identified a strong relationship between economic stress and depression. Yet, little research has explored this relationship from a cognitive perspective. Using the hopelessness theory of depression and social comparison theory in conjunction, this study aimed to investigate the interaction between subjective social status (SSS), a key social determinant of health, and negative cognitive style (NCS) on depressive symptoms. A diverse group of community college students (N = 216) were recruited and answered questions about their SSS, NCS, and depressive symptoms. As predicted, linear regression analyses showed a significant interaction between SSS and NCS. Specifically, a significant positive relationship between SSS and depressive symptoms emerged at moderate and high levels of NCS, whereas no significant relationship was found for those reporting low levels of NCS. However, contrary to our predictions and past theoretical work, results revealed a main effect of NCS on depressive symptoms, but not a main effect of SSS. Taken together, these findings and previous research may suggest NCS as a unique predictor of depressive symptoms regardless of economic stress experience. This study underscores the relevance of NCS in depression research and treatment and forwards a broadened understanding of the impact of social determinants of health on depression, while providing further support for hopelessness theory. Implications for both research and practice are discussed in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals SDG1and SDG10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do older community college students build momentum toward graduation differently than their younger peers? One-third of students in community colleges are 25 years of age or older, and these students tend to have lower rates of graduation than their younger peers. Yet, we know little about how the factors that influence college graduation differ across the wide range of ages found among community college students. Using multilevel statistical models to analyze data for Ohio's community colleges, we investigate how the relationships between early academic momentum and the likelihood of completing a postsecondary credential vary by age. We disaggregate results by gender in light of prior evidence of differences in the educational experiences and outcomes of adult men and women. The measures of momentum, all observed in the first year in community college, include credits earned, credit success rate, enrollment continuity, passing college-level math, and passing college-level English. The college graduation outcomes, observed over six years, include earning a postsecondary certificate, earning an associate degree from a community college, and earning a baccalaureate degree from a four-year institution. We find some differences and some similarities in how older and younger students build momentum toward a postsecondary credential, and how these patterns differ for men and women, revealing fruitful opportunities to strengthen the outcomes of older students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Administrative burden, or the frictions individuals experience in accessing public programs, has implications for whether and which eligible individuals receive aid. While prior research documents barriers to accessing federal financial aid, less is known about the extent to which state aid programs impose administrative burden, how administrative burden varies across aid programs, or how administrative burden relates to target populations. This study examines administrative burden in 23 state aid programs in Tennessee. We find programs targeting less-advantaged students (technical and community college students) had lower burdens than programs where aid could be used in the four-year sector or across sectors. The state's only program explicitly targeting racially minoritized students had a significantly higher burden than other aid programs. Programs targeting more-advantaged students (merit-aid programs, students at four-year colleges and universities) had similar burdens relative to other programs. We discuss implications for designing more equitable and effective state aid programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community colleges provide broad access to a college degree due to their less expensive tuition, greater course time offerings, and more open admission policies compared to four-year universities as reported (Juszkiewicz, 2015). These institutions have great potential to diversify who chooses STEM, such as engineering. Such diverse representation is important, because students from different backgrounds can contribute new perspectives that foster creative and innovative approaches to solving problems. However, approximately 40% of the students who enter community college in the U.S. leave before graduation (Xu & Jaggars, 2011). Harnessing the power of social media to reduce attrition, we tested a pilot intervention in which community college students in engineering courses completed a reflection exercise after watching YouTube videos of former engineering students from similar backgrounds who successfully transferred to a four-year college. Quasi-experimental analyses (N = 537) show that students in the intervention received higher engineering course grades and had greater odds of enrolling in an engineering course in the subsequent term compared to those who were not in the intervention. Additionally, we find support for the hypothesis that the intervention has larger benefits for women. Results suggest that hearing from other students about their engineering experience can be a useful tool for improving community college students' choices and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is necessary for multi-ethnic countries to foster a strong consciousness of national community among their citizens. Currently, most research on national community consciousness consists of macro-theoretical discussion and a few empirical studies due to the absence of standardized assessment tools. Based on the micro perspective of individual consciousness in the context of Chinese culture, the Questionnaire on Chinese National Community Consciousness for College Students was developed with 2,254 college students as participants. The questionnaire consists of 31 questions covering six factors, namely values, political identity, social sentiment, individual emotion, behavioral performance, and cultural practice. The questionnaire has good consistency reliability, retest reliability, combination reliability, construct validity, discriminant validity and criterion validity, which makes it an effective measurement tool for the study of Chinese national community consciousness among contemporary college students, and it can also provide references and support for the study of national community consciousness in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes course withdrawal behaviors in the Texas public higher education institutions and examines the predictors of course withdrawal by using statewide administrative datasets. The findings showed that two-thirds of the college students in the sample withdrew from at least one course, highlighting course withdrawal as a prevalent issue among college students. Community college transfer students experienced the highest rate of course withdrawal (three-fourths) throughout their education, surpassing those who remained at a community college or initially enrolled in a public university. Moreover, this study's findings revealed that various student and course characteristics are related to course withdrawals, such as cumulative college grade point average, summer enrollment, taking 15 semester credit hours, taking online courses, paid employment, and Pell Grant recipient status. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the potential to expand and diversify the production of university STEM degrees by shifting the margin of initial enrollment between community colleges and 4-year universities. Our analysis is based on statewide administrative microdata from the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development covering enrollees in all public postsecondary institutions statewide. We find that the potential for shifting the enrollment margin to expand degree production in STEM fields is modest, even at an upper bound, because most community college students are not academically prepared for bachelor's degree programs in STEM fields. We also find that shifting the enrollment margin is unlikely to improve racial/ethnic diversity among university STEM degree recipients. This is because community college students at the enrollment margin are less diverse than their peers who enter universities directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the Chinese version of the Mentalization Scale (MentS) for reliability and validity, as well as its ability to differentiate among levels of mentalization in the general population and patients with schizophrenia. The study evaluated Sample 1: a non-clinical population (n = 412) including college students and community participants; and Sample 2: clinical patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (n = 200). Participants completed the MentS, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C (IRI-C), the Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures Scale (ECR-RS), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The internal consistency coefficient of MentS was 0.730 for the clinical sample and 0.771 for the non-clinical sample. The test–retest reliability was between 0.57 and 0.72. Model fit for the original three-factor model showed acceptable fit indices (RMSEA = 0.070, GFI = 0.847, AGFI = 0.818, CFI = 0.710). The MentS showed significant correlations with the IRI-C, the ECR-RS, and the TAS-20. An independent samples t-test showed significant differences between the MentS scores of the two samples. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was 0.640 (95%CI:0.591–0.688). The Chinese version of the MentS has good psychometric properties and distinguishes well between the general population and patients with schizophrenia, making it a promising self-report instrument for mentalization ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introductory courses in biology often lack sufficient emphasis on quantitative skills and interdisciplinary problem solving, leaving many students unprepared for more advanced biology coursework and hampering their ability to pursue biology research careers. MathBench Biology Modules were created to enhance the quantitative skills of biology students by leveraging the unique advantages of the online environment (e.g., self-pacing, opportunities for practice, and immediate, individualized feedback). Using a pre-/post-design, we tested the ability of MathBench modules to improve student quantitative skills and their attitudes towards the integration of math and biology in a community college introductory biology course, where instructors face multiple challenges to integrating quantitative content. Ten sections of the course incorporated MathBench into laboratory and lecture content (MathBench group, N = 124 students), while five sections covered the same laboratory and lecture content without MathBench (comparison group, N = 31 students). On average, students who used MathBench experienced gains in their quantitative skills, while those in the comparison group did not. For students with the lowest level of preparation in math, using MathBench was associated with improvements in quantitative skill only if they were concurrently enrolled in a math class. Neither group of students demonstrated changes over the semester in their attitudes towards the integration of math and biology. Qualitative data indicated that MathBench group students could identify multiple aspects of how MathBench contributed to their learning, including providing new content, alternative approaches to learning, and additional opportunities to practice new skills. Our work demonstrates how learner-centered technologies can be used effectively to supplement traditional instruction in the community college context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is persistent underrepresentation of female and ethnic and racial minority students in computing. While community colleges provide a unique opportunity to increase diversity in computing fields, many students do not persist. This study aims to understand the factors that predict students' momentum—completion of a certificate, degree, or transfer in an information and communications technology (ICT) major—in order to generate information that can be used to tailor interventions. Participants were enrolled in ICT classes at 17 community colleges. Surveys were collected from 474 students at three time points over two years. Multilevel logistic regression was used to identify the factors that predict momentum approximately one year after the class ended. The results expand on Wang's theoretical model of student momentum. Men were more likely than women to have achieved an academic milestone, which was partially a result of taking more prior ICT classes, having more positive interactions with faculty and a more positive perception of the classroom climate, as well as greater motivation and fewer childcare responsibilities. Among students from groups that are underrepresented in computing, momentum was positively associated with taking prior ICT classes, motivation during the class, and romantic relationships; it was negatively associated with educational barriers. Being enrolled less than full-time at baseline or having financial challenges did not undermine momentum. Implications for practice, as well as study limitations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community colleges serve nearly half of all undergraduates, including a disproportionate share of African American and Hispanic students, and are a key point of access to higher education for students who face socioeconomic disadvantages or other obstacles to participation in higher education. Community colleges stand to play a pivotal role in strengthening the nation's workforce and increasing opportunity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. However, a troublingly large fraction of community college students who complete advanced STEM courses ultimately leave college without postsecondary credentials. Utilizing data from the California Community College system, we investigated four hypothesized explanations for why students who have demonstrated potential to succeed in STEM fields by completing an advanced course in math, chemistry, or physics did not complete college. We found that students who left college tended to enter the STEM curriculum at lower levels of skills, struggled in non-STEM coursework, and did not take or were unable to pass STEM courses in other fields. They also were more likely to be White and more likely to be male. We conclude with recommendations for institutional policy and practice and for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns of equity with respect to the community college model in East Asia persist in educational research. In this study, we described and analysed students' "lived experience" in community colleges in Hong Kong in terms of the "warming up" or "cooling out" of their educational desire. Semistructured interviews with 14 graduates of community colleges in Hong Kong were conducted to determine how their experiences at community colleges affected their educational expectations and the extent to which community colleges help students reconsider their educational disadvantages in a competitive, meritocratic and massified higher education system. The qualitative interview data were inductively thematised into four aspects of college experience in relation to their educational expectations. The data revealed that Hong Kong's community colleges help some students develop their capabilities and change their educational expectations through democratic admissions, liberal pedagogic environments, learner-centred formative assessment and student services for strategic university articulation. Rather than cooling-out students' educational desire (characterised by gradual disengagement, objective denial, alternative achievement), community colleges in Hong Kong provide a second chance for failing and disadvantaged students to pursue a university education, but this warming-up function applies only to students who benefitted from the liberal mode of assessment and discovered and developed their academic capabilities in their college experience. The paper ends with a critical analysis of the problem of such warming up of educational desire and the extent to which community colleges can empower disadvantaged students for a good life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The saying-is-believing effect is an important step for changing students' attitudes and beliefs in a wise intervention. However, most studies have not closely examined the process of the saying-is-believing effect when individuals are engaged in the activity. Using a qualitative approach, the present study uses an engagement framework to investigate (a) components of engagement in the saying-is-believing effect; and (b) how differently students may engage in a saying-is-believing exercise. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 undergraduates in a scholarship program for low-income transfer students from community college. Analysis using inductive and deductive approaches found that students varied on the extent to which they experienced the effectiveness of the saying-is-believing effect through affective, cognitive, and behavioral experiences. The study offers examples of how people can indeed differ in the extent to which they experience the saying-is-believing effect, and the implications for designing more effective interventions. Specifically, students' positive affective experiences from seeing the larger goal of creating videos may be important components for the saying-is-believing effect to work. Behavioral experiences, such as learning soft skills, academic skills learned indirectly from the intervention, and academic skills learned directly from the intervention were accompanied by both positive affective and cognitive experiences. Findings show the importance of students' differential engagement in saying-is-believing exercises both for building more effective wise interventions and interpreting heterogeneity in intervention effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary focus among colleges implementing student success reforms has been to increase overall rates of completing any credential and to reduce racial and socioeconomic equity gaps in such completion rates. The focus on general completion may overlook inequities in the type of program students complete, which is particularly significant given the wide variety of credentials offered at community colleges and the resulting variation in labor market returns among completers. Our study examines racial/ethnic stratification among community college students as they enter and progress through programs leading to higher or lower opportunities in the labor market. Using a discrete-time survival analysis and longitudinal enrollment and transcript data. We track enrollment, completion, and transfer for up to 9 years. We also measure achievement of academic milestones (such as credit accrual) along educational pathways associated with higher rates of credential completion and transfer over the long term. Results suggest that a significant gap in the likelihood of bachelor's degree completion between Black and White students emerges episodically, while the gap between Hispanic and White students develops earlier and remains consistent over time. Results also suggest that, while all students generally benefit from attainment of academic milestones, doing so disproportionately benefits Black and Hispanic students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the issues surrounding false allegations of assault against men has been largely based on review of official documentation, not on questions asked of the women themselves. This limits what we know about variables that might contribute explanation as to why some women deliberately lie about having been assaulted. In our survey of 255 women (both college students and community members), 18 admitted they had fictitiously claimed to have been assaulted either to official investigators, or to friends and family members. Their stated motives included revenge, fear, and embarrassment. Our participants also rated the extent to which they could imagine a situation in which they would make a(nother) false claim in the future—101 (39.6%) of them rated this item positively to differing degrees. We also examined individual difference variables including the 'dark triad' traits and four measures of sexist beliefs. While Machiavellianism and psychopathy had positive relationships with how easily participants could imagine making a false claim, several of the sexism beliefs explained more variance in imagined intent to falsify a claim, particularly among the women who admitted having made one previously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delays in meeting math requirements can impede the progress among community college students who aspire to earn a baccalaureate degree. To investigate this issue, we used state administrative data from Texas to examine the prevalence and predictors of math course repetition and how math course repetition predicts transfer students' outcomes. More than a third of community college transfer students take additional introductory mathematics coursework despite having fulfilled the requirement—a phenomenon we referred to as "horizontal repetition"—and one sixth of community college students take redundant coursework within a given mathematics course sequence, referred to as "vertical repetition." Using regression models controlling for student backgrounds, academic experiences, and institutional fixed effects, we found that horizontal repetition was linked to lower GPA and, among degree recipients, increased time to degree and excess credits. Vertical repetition was negatively associated with GPA and degree completion and positively linked to increased time to degree and excess credits. Location of course repetition shaped student outcomes, where math course repetitions occurring at the university appear to drive many of the negative associations between both horizontal and vertical repetition and student outcomes. As community colleges and universities across the country consider the efficacy of course sequences and transfer pathways, our research offers insights into patterns and implications of course repetition in core math courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Measuring what students know and retain about evolution is essential to improving our understanding of how students learn evolution. The literature shows that college students appear to have a poor understanding of evolution, answering questions on various instruments correctly only about half of the time. There is little research regarding evolution understanding among community college students and so this study examines if those students who are enrolled in life science classes, who are assessed using questions based on grade eight standards, show a better understanding of evolutionary principles than younger students and if there are differences in knowledge based on course enrollment. The authors utilized a survey of 41 items of the Life Sciences Concept Inventory that were specifically designed to measure knowledge about various aspects of evolution that relate to the 5–8 grade science standards on evolution. They administered it to 191 adult students who were enrolled in nine sections across five life sciences courses at one community college in Southern California. Results: Results indicated that the students in this study possessed a fair understanding of evolution, averaging scores of nearly 70%, higher than what other researchers have found (using different instruments). Students enrolled in biology major classes scored significantly higher than those enrolled in non/mixed-major courses. There was a strong relationship between item difficulty and discrimination as well as difficulty and misconception strength. When compared with the 5–8 grade student data, the community college students showed a lower level of difficulty and higher levels of item discrimination, but the proportion choosing the most popular wrong answer (the dominant misconception), was comparable. College students showed similar patterns to the grade 5–8 students in terms of which questions and which material were the most challenging, despite performing better overall. Conclusions: In this study, students possessed fair understanding of evolution. However, they were assessed with an instrument designed for 5th through 8th grade students. The results of this study support the need for more research into how community college students understand evolution and which factors impact that understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students 25 years of age and older comprise one-third of the population in public two-year institutions, and these students face significant disadvantages in first-year retention and eventual graduation. Successfully passing college math and college English are important steps for adult students in building momentum toward a degree. Classroom context and classroom experiences play important roles in students' likelihood of passing college math and English. However, little is known about how the contextual features and experiences that are associated with the likelihood of passing differ depending on students' age. Using multilevel models and statewide administrative data, we examine variation by age in relationships between students' likelihood of passing a college math or English course and the characteristics of the course itself, peers in the course, the instructor teaching the course, and student behaviors that may bear on course outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many examples of hybrid simulation models in healthcare education which are designed to simulate specific scenarios. However, there appears to be a need for a cost effective and configurable hybrid simulation platform which can be used by educators of various healthcare disciplines to simulate different scenarios. The purpose of this paper is to develop a proof-of-concept platform that can be easily implemented at little cost and provide flexibility to healthcare instructors to develop a variety of simulation scenarios, and to determine the effectiveness of this platform. Using a standardized patient, a person acting as a patient in a scripted manner, along with wearable and web-based technologies, a congestive heart failure simulation was used as an evaluative exercise for a group of personal support worker students at a Canadian Community College. Personal support workers typically provide care to any person who may require personal assistance with activities of daily living such as feeding, lifting, bathing, skin care and oral hygiene to name a few. Standardized patients are typically used in healthcare education to educate and evaluate soft skills, such as caregiver to patient communication, professionalism, as well as hard skills, such as history taking, examination and diagnostic skills (Rosen in J Crit Care 23:157–166, 2008). Instructor feedback indicated that the platform was easy to use and capable of simulating a large variety of scenarios. Pre and post test results are evidence of initial findings of promise indicating that the platform seemed to be effective in enabling students to meet learning outcomes. Focus group results seem to indicate an increase in student confidence as it relates to their ability to handle a similar scenario in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community colleges have been under pressure for years to improve retention rates. Considering well-publicized reductions in state funding during and after the Great Recession, progress in this area is unexpected. And yet this is precisely what we find. Using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), we find an average increase in retention of nearly 5 percentage points, or 9 percent, across the sector from 2004 to 2017. Over 70% of institutions posted retention gains, and average improvement occurred yearly over the period excepting a reversal at the height of the Great Recession. Gains were smaller on average at schools with higher tuition and that serve more disadvantaged populations, and larger at institutions with lower student-faculty ratios and higher per-student instructional spending. Fixed-effects regression and Oaxaca decomposition analyses demonstrate that these gains were not caused by observable changes in student body composition or in institutional characteristics such as increased per-student instructional spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low completion rates of math courses pose a major challenge for community college students' educational progress and outcomes. Contextualized instruction has been identified as a promising approach to removing some of the longstanding barriers within math teaching and learning. Still, the empirical base on this topic remains small, with particularly little evidence on how exposure to math contextualization relates to students' longer-term educational outcomes, which bear important implications for institutions' performance metrics and policymaking. We contribute new research on this front by examining how exposure to math contextualization relates to a range of interim and longer-term educational outcomes at a large community college in a Midwestern state. We applied the genetic matching approach to construct a study sample that was balanced in background characteristics between the student group receiving contextualized math instruction and their counterparts enrolled in traditional math courses. We adopted a set of regression analyses based on the matched sample, and found a significant positive relationship between exposure to math contextualization and students' outcome measures, including course performance, term GPA, continuous postsecondary enrollment, credential completion, and upward transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to a line of research that examines the relationship between study abroad participation and academic success among students attending two-year institutions. We offer a multimodal narrative that comprehensively accounts for both student-level characteristics and indicators associated with students' geographic origins in exploring study abroad participation and resulting academic outcomes, namely completion of any credential, completion of an Associate's degree, enrollment in a four-year institution, percentage of credits passed, and cumulative GPA, at a two-year technical college in the U.S. Midwest. Our results suggest that study abroad is consistently and positively associated with students' academic outcomes. This study has important implications for how we think about both who is able to access study abroad in the two-year sector and study abroad's role in promoting student success at these institutions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Repeated calls to diversify the population of students earning undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have noted the greater diversity of community college students and their potential to thus have an impact on the racial/ethnic composition of 4-year degree earners. In this paper, we investigate barriers and supports to Black women's success in STEM, using longitudinal interview data with seven Black women who were enrolled at community colleges and stated an interest in majoring in STEM at 4-year institutions. Results: Our findings highlight a contrast between community colleges and universities. At community colleges, Black women were able to form supportive relationships with professors and peers, downplayed the potential of racism and sexism to derail their STEM ambitions, and saw little to no impact of bias on their educational experiences. Those students who transferred characterized university climates very differently, as they struggled to form supportive relationships and experienced racism and sexism from professors and peers. Conclusions: We conclude using Patricia Hill Collins' Domains of Power framework to categorize students' experiences, then end with recommendations for change that will result in less alienating experiences for Black women, among other minoritized students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affordability is considered a key predictor of college enrollment and academic success, yet higher education costs continue to rise. Over the past three decades, textbooks and course materials alone have increased almost three times the rate of inflation (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). To identify the extent to which course material costs create barriers for community college students, and whether these costs foster inequities for students in traditionally underserved and underrepresented populations, a cross-sectional survey research study was conducted fall 2019 amongst students enrolled in community colleges across the Tennessee Board of Regents system (N = 88,946, n = 1,912). The survey covered course material purchase behaviors, decisions, and experiences related to academic achievement and progress to graduation. Results showed nearly two-thirds of students (68.6%) have delayed purchasing a textbook due to cost. Almost half (41.3%) reported not purchasing required materials, 15.8% reported earning poor grades, and 3.3% reported having failed a course because they could not afford the materials. Logistic regressions were employed to determine whether these extents were disproportionately experienced by non-White, low income, and/or Adult Learners over age 25. Statistically significant differences in academic achievement barriers were found for low income students, alongside significant progress to graduation barriers for non-Adult Learners, suggesting younger learners are more susceptible to the consequences of course material costs. These findings inform policy efforts by helping educational leaders better understand the impacts of course material costs on the ability of community college students to achieve in coursework and progress to graduation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major public health concern. Web-based personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) may be a cost-effective and efficient way to treat NSSI. In order to develop a PFI, it is imperative to assess descriptive and injunctive norms. The current study examines descriptive and injunctive norms of NSSI within college students and adults in the community, comparing how perceived norms may differ for those who do or do not engage in NSSI. Study 1 calculated percentages of NSSI behavior within the student sample. Study 2 then examined perceived descriptive and injunctive norms between those with and without history of NSSI in both samples. Study 1 indicated that 19% of undergraduate students had histories of NSSI. Additionally, there was a general tendency to overestimate the percentage of people who engage in NSSI and the number of times a typical person engages in NSSI. Finally, those who engaged in NSSI believed that most people do not understand why individuals engage in NSSI; comparatively, the majority of people without history of NSSI still indicated that they understand why others would engage in NSSI. These research findings may be utilized in a PFI to reduce shame and NSSI behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community college transfer pathways, whereby students begin their postsecondary enrollment at a 2-year institution, are an increasingly popular option for students looking to complete a bachelor's degree. Designed to increase transfer efficiency, articulation agreements between community colleges and 4-year institutions provide structured pathways for students to transition between colleges while minimizing excess credits earned and time to degree. This study examines the early effects of North Carolina's statewide credit articulation agreement on students' credit-earning behaviors. Using difference-in-differences and event study analyses, we use administrative data from the 16 University of North Carolina (UNC) System institutions to examine how the implementation of the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) impacts credit accumulation for students transferring from North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) institutions into the UNC system. We find that, in the first 4 years after implementation, the CAA decreased credit accumulation upon graduation by two to five credits for some students who were enrolled in CAA-eligible degree programs. Additionally, we found that the policy had a delayed effect with no discernable reduction in credit accumulation until 1–2 years after policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methods To inform the development of our recruitment strategy, we reviewed literature for recruitment and retention strategies for engaging Black young adults in weight management clinical trials. Third, the onset of COVID-19 prior to initial recruitment efforts resulted in the removal of specific tactics from consideration, and the alteration of recommended recruitment strategies to ensure compliance with health precautions. Recruitment for clinical studies in minority communities in the United States (U.S.) is difficult due to historic mistreatment of participants and their data [[1]]. First, the unique nature of the recruitment on a single community college campus resulted in the preference for community-based recruitment processes. [Extracted from the article]

Community college near-completion students are community college starters who have accumulated a considerable number of credits but left college without any postsecondary educational credential. This quantitative study examined a nationally representative sample and intended to reveal significant predictors of becoming a community college near-completion student. We adopted Bean and Metzner's (1985) framework to focus on characteristics of nontraditional college students and Bahr's (2013) approach to emphasize students' course-taking patterns. We conducted a latent class analysis to explore students' course-taking patterns and examined whether different course-taking patterns would predict the likelihood of being a near-completion student using a logistic regression model. Findings indicated the significant role of course-taking patterns in predicting the likelihood of being a community college near completion student. Community college students who have taken and passed a large number of remedial courses are more likely to leave college without a credential. Additional interaction terms in the regression model further revealed the nuances in terms of the influences of course-taking patterns among various student sub-groups. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 challenged higher education to rapidly shift to remote course delivery. This study surveyed community college students (N = 356) about their confidence in completing learning related tasks before and after the shift, access to technologies used in in remote learning, and disruptions that impacted their learning. Results indicated notable declines in confidence across all demographics with significant changes in those age 18-21and for those without prior online course experience. Technology use for remote courses was primarily laptops and smartphones. Students reported the most significant changes to work-life balance came through employment changes and mental health issues. Instructional changes were both positive and negative in workload organization, course delivery, communication and technology. Institutions can use this study's findings to enact contingency planning, expand online and blended course options, refine academic and social support, and allocate resources to mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited attention has been placed on the relationship between developmental math and STEM outcomes in community college. We therefore examine one particular experience during the transition from high school to college called math misalignment, which occurs when college students are placed lower in math than is warranted given their high-school course-taking history and record of achievement. Drawing on analysis of linked high school and community college student records, we find that a majority of students in the study sample experienced math misalignment in community college. Moreover, math misalignment especially hindered STEM-aspiring students from pursuing STEM pathways. STEM-aspiring students who experienced math misalignment were less likely to complete STEM courses than STEM-aspiring students who were directly placed in transfer-level math. This study underscores the importance of aligning academic standards across high-school and postsecondary institutions as a means of improving STEM participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A third of the 2- and 4-year undergraduates beginning college in 2011–2012 changed their major in the first 3 years of enrollment. Yet, few studies have examined the effects of major switching on student outcomes, particularly in community colleges. Major switching can delay or impede college completion through excess credit accumulation, or it can increase the probability of completion due to a better academic match. Using state administrative data and propensity score matching, we find that major switching increases certificate completion rates but moderately decreases the probability of bachelor's degree completion in community colleges for students who started with a declared major. We suggest that instead of discouraging major switching, institutions should integrate switching into program planning. Policies like common course-sequencing, cross-discipline introductory courses and flexible application of credits can allow students to revise their interests and goals without losing much time, credits, or tuition dollars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Loneliness, a transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology, is an experience of perceived isolation only weakly linked to the amount of time spent alone. Although traditional loneliness interventions aim to increase social contact, targeting maladaptive cognition about time alone may be an effective way to reduce loneliness. We investigated whether a brief reappraisal manipulation enables individuals to experience their time alone more positively. We also tested the impact of trait loneliness, compulsive social media use, and trait reappraisal on experiences of time alone. Methods: College students and community members (N = 220) were randomly assigned to read a passage about the benefits of solitude (n = 74), the true prevalence of loneliness (n = 72), or a control topic (n = 74). Participants then sat alone for 10 min. Results: Across conditions, positive and negative mood significantly decreased after sitting alone. Participants who read about the benefits of solitude experienced a smaller reduction in positive mood than those in the control condition. Participants who less frequently used reappraisal in their everyday lives benefited most from the manipulation. Conclusions: Our results provide preliminary evidence that reappraising time alone as solitude may boost resilience to the decrements in positive mood associated with time alone. Limitations, clinical implications, and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of student loan debt remains a timely and relevant higher education finance research and policy-oriented topic, especially when considering the alarming growth rates of student loan debt balances. The Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit released in May of 2018 shows that among all debt balances, student loans remain the only form of debt that virtually sextupled over the last 15-years, and this trend is not slowing down. Although aggregated trends are important, by definition they are limited in their capabilities to providing researchers, policy- and decision-makers with insights related to individual debt accumulation and, perhaps more importantly, with knowledge about the factors associated with variation of individual debt burden. Accordingly, the overarching goal of this study is to ameliorate this limitation in three meaningful ways. First, this is the first study that offers inferential estimates of the magnitude of student debt accumulation increase across two different decades (1991–2013) and institutional sectors (public 2- and 4-year colleges). Second, these estimates are based on student level undergraduate non-self-reported longitudinal loan debt disbursements. Third, the estimates not only account for individuals' baseline differences at the moment of college entry, but also account for institution- and state-level indicators that took place during college enrollment and that may be related to the variation of student loan debt reliance. Two nationally representative samples (NELS and ELS) complemented with other institution- and state-level data were analyzed using doubly robust estimators build from propensity score weights and entropy balancing approaches that were robust to unobservable selection issues using Oster's approach (J Bus Econ Stat 37(2):1–18, 2017). The results consistently indicated that, among all participants, student borrowing participation increased by 15 percentage points in the 2000s, compared to the 1990s, and individual debt accumulation at least doubled across decades. Notably, among 4-year degree holders, the 2-year path toward a 4-year degree consistently resulted in about 10% lower debt accumulation compared to the 4-year path toward a 4-year degree. Students who did not attain a 4-year degree were better served by having started college in the 2-year sector. In terms of overall debt increase, 4-year degree holders accrued about $8000 more on average than their counterparts did during the 1990s, however, the recent cohort also repaid about $11,000 more, on average (or three times as much), than participants did in the 1990s. These higher repayment behaviors observed among 4-year degree holders, resulted in similar amounts of their respective debt balances across decades. The implications are clear: students with higher propensities toward a 4-year degree attainment are likely to incur lower debt if they start college in the community college sector. However, before fully recommending this pathway, 2- and 4-year colleges' articulation agreements should be strengthened to ease transfer and eventual degree completion. Without recommending consolidation or merger between 2- and 4-year institutions, researchers and policy makers can learn from the strategies implemented by successful cases such as Perimeter College and Georgia State. Finally, 4-year entrants with lower likelihood to attain a 4-year degree may be better served by beginning college in the 2-year sector instead. Predictive analytics and machine learning techniques can be used to identify these cases, as depicted in the discussion section of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-academic characteristics and traits, such as academic self-efficacy and conscientiousness, have maintained the interest of higher education researchers for decades. A considerable amount of research has found that these non-cognitive variables (NCVs) are generally predictive of undergraduate success. However, most prior studies have focused on the use of NCVs in 4-year colleges, and understanding if and how these measures predict the academic trajectories of community college students has received less attention. As past work has indicated that NCVs are differentially predictive for students from different backgrounds, such an examination is needed. Drawing on data from two diverse community colleges, our study addresses this need by exploring if seven popular NCVs predict both short and longer-term student outcomes, how these measures are related to help-seeking behaviors, and their utility in identifying students at risk of serious academic failures. We find statistically significant relationships between NCVs and GPA outcomes but conclude that their practical utility appears trivial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prior literature on relationships and the transition to college largely documents either the relationships college students at 4-year institutions have on-campus who provide information or relationships they have off-campus who provide support. Using a unique dataset of interviews with 96 first-year community college students, this paper compares the roles of on- and off-campus relationships in information and support provision to understand whether both provide information and support, and how the information and support they provide varies. We find that (1) because on-campus relationships are predominately distant, they provide general and impersonal information about policies and procedures and very little support, while (2) off-campus relationships, which are predominately close, provide personal insight and personalized information in addition to support and motivation. The findings demonstrate that community college students' on- and off-campus relationships are complementary in providing insight into policies and procedures at the college, a sense of belonging on campus, and personal and personalized advice and support for their college goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students who transfer between institutions of higher education often experience a transfer penalty or a decrease in the odds of degree completion. While the transfer pathway is deemed a responsibility shared between 2- and 4-year institutions, failures in the transfer process are typically attributed to community colleges. The aim of this study was to examine the post-transfer experiences of STEM community college transfer students with particular emphasis placed on how institutional policies and practices at 4-year institutions contributed to the transfer penalty and poorer attainment rates of this population. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate the effect of performance-based scholarship programs for post-secondary students on student time use and effort and whether these effects are different for students we hypothesize may be more or less responsive to incentives. To do so, we administered a time-use survey as part of a randomized experiment in which community college students in New York City were randomly assigned to be eligible for a performance-based scholarship or to a control group that was only eligible for the standard financial aid. This paper contributes to the literature by attempting to get inside the "black box" of how students respond to a monetary incentive to improve their educational attainment. We find that students eligible for a scholarship devoted more time to educational activities, increased the quality of effort toward and engagement with their studies, and allocated less time to leisure. Additional analyses suggest that students who were plausibly more myopic (place less weight on future benefits) were more responsive to the incentives, but we find no evidence that students who are arguably more time constrained were less responsive to the incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare community college students' learning experiences and performance for lecture-based, active learning, and flipped classroom teaching approaches. Participants were second-semester computer programming students (n = 103) at a mid-sized college of applied arts and technology. Garrison's (2011) Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework informed our analysis of students' learning experiences within each approach. Overall, active learning resulted in the highest mean scores for teaching, social, and cognitive presence. In particular, students rated teaching presence significantly higher for the active-learning approach than the lecture-based approach. Students rated social presence significantly higher for the active-learning and flipped classroom approaches compared to the lecture-based. There were no significant differences among the three approaches with respect to cognitive presence or learning performance. Student comments indicated that all three approaches had distinct benefits and challenges regarding teaching, social and cognitive presence. Regardless of the teaching approach employed in this study, five desired learning characteristics emerged based on student feedback including clarity, flexibility, opportunities for application, timely guidance and feedback, and cognitive engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community college students often are unaware of the stakes involved in their performance on placement exams, used to sort the students into their first math and English courses. In our randomized experiment of approximately 13,000 newly admitted community college students, we test whether informing students, via a supplemental notification letter, about the implications of placement exam scores influences their placement exam participation, preparation, and performance. We also test whether message framing (loss-framed vs. gain-framed) alters the effect of the information on study outcomes. We find that neither type of message has an effect on placement exam preparation or performance. We find limited evidence to suggest that the loss-framed message may have a small effect on the avoidance of placement exams by increasing the likelihood of students' submitting alternative evidence of academic preparation. Overall, our evidence suggests that students' prior knowledge about the ramifications of placement exams is not enough to improve performance. Colleges should consider alternative means of assessing college readiness, such as measures of high school achievement, and should provide students who still have to take placement exams with detailed information about test content and study materials before testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive course dropping is costly to students and institutions. Using longitudinal transcript data, this study investigated course withdrawal patterns among 5900 students at a large, racially/ethnically diverse community college district in Texas. Two-thirds of the students dropped at least one course, and 13.5% of the total course enrollments resulted in withdrawal. Course withdrawal rates were significantly higher among students who were: male, African American, age 20-24, GED holders, academically underprepared, enrolled part-time, and had a cumulative college GPA of less than 2.0. Science, mathematics, and writing courses had high drop rates, as did Second Start and fully online courses. Dropping 20% or more of attempted courses was associated with 44% lower odds of a successful enrollment outcome. We hypothesize that community college students are rational, act in their own self-interest, and perform a cost-benefit analysis with the knowledge they possess when deciding whether to drop a particular course. However, students often overuse or misuse the course withdrawal function. Despite acting in self-interest at the moment, the decision to drop a course is often not in students' long-term best interest, and excessive course dropping can resemble a 'cooling out' mechanism by which students' reduce their aspirations toward degree completion. Recognizing community college structures and rules (e.g., withdrawal procedures, tuition refund policy) influence course dropping decisions, we describe academic policies and classroom practices that can help reduce course withdrawals. We believe that reducing course attrition is a foundational, yet often overlooked, mechanism for reducing community college attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I present a study on learners’ conceptions in cosmology by situating the results in the context of broader historical and sociocultural themes. Participants were community college students in California from non-dominant cultural and linguistic backgrounds finishing their first semester of astronomy. Data were collected through a drawing activity and card sort given during clinical-style interviews. This type of work is typically done from the perspective of conceptual change theory, using drawings to reveal student “misconceptions.” I argue that in analyzing this kind of data, we need to come from the perspective that students are competent, and put their conceptions in context. I begin by presenting traditional frameworks for evaluating and describing learning, all of which rely on an outdated “banking” or “transmission” model of learning that puts an over-emphasis on the performance and attributes of individuals. Not only do these theories provide an incomplete picture of what learning looks like, they create and reify unnecessary divides between “scientific” and “unscientific” that can contribute to student alienation from the world of science. To illustrate this, I present my own results as a window into the logic of learners’ assumptions within a sociocultural context, and suggest ways to support their learning trajectories, rather than figuring out how to unlearn their misconceptions. Through this analysis, I hope to show how taking student conceptions out of sociocultural context can potentially exclude students from non-dominant cultural and linguistic backgrounds from science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the complicated interlink between the Korean state’s neoliberal identity politics and working- and lower middle-class Korean students’ study abroad as a form of voluntarily exile. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis and a 14-month ethnographic study, this study discusses how these students’ decisions to study abroad are inextricably intertwined with the authoritarian Korean state’s neoliberal political-economic strategies of pushing out seemingly less-profitable citizens (namely, students and graduates of low-ranking 4-year institutions). This study also examines students’ strategies for simultaneously resisting and conforming to this neoliberal ethos. For working-class and lower middle-class Korean community college students, study abroad means a deviation from the normal educational and life trajectories in Korea while, at the same time, their education in the USA opens a pathway for reentering the Korean neoliberal system as more profitable citizens. Their being recognized as members of a profitable workforce indicates their achievement of neoliberal normalcy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Youth in Transition Survey is used to follow the postsecondary education (PSE) pathways and outcomes of Canadian youth over the mid 2000s. Students starting at community colleges and four year universities are analyzed separately. First program outcomes are reported, showing the proportions of students who leave their first programs but remain in PSE by switching/transferring to other programs, institutions, or levels. Multinomial regression estimates correlates of students' first program switching and leaving decisions. Five year graduation rates are calculated to show the importance of different pathways (across programs, institutions, and levels) to earning a PSE credential; in the aggregate and for subgroups of students. Transfers constitute important but not terribly large pathways for Canadian students to adjust their PSE and obtain PSE credentials. We calculate the resulting extent to which institution specific measures of persistence, PSE leaving, and graduation rates misstate the rates experienced by students. Compared to American students, university and community college starters in Canada have higher persistence and graduation rates and lower transfer rates across institutions. For community college starters, much of the difference is due to the relative lack of well defined pathways from community colleges to universities in Canada. We find that students with more family resources are better able to transfer across programs or institutions in order to obtain a PSE credential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nowadays, there are common phenomena among college nursing students who reported increasingly test anxiety. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to increase understanding of American community college nursing students and their experiences using an extended time and other form of supportive accommodation to address test anxiety. Methods: This study utilized focus group interview and carefully selected eight participants to join this research. The authors completed coding, categorizing, and identification of themes based on Moustakes' (1994, in Phenomenological research methods. Sage, Thousand Oaks) approach to data analysis. A transcription of the focus group recording was read to inform a general impression of the experiences of our participants. A final list of significant statements was developed, and from this list the authors grouped them into larger units of information and from these units, identified common themes (Creswell 2013 in Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches. Sage, Thousand Oaks). Results: Implementation of, and data analysis from, an eight-member focus group interview revealed six themes: (a) students' feelings of being anxious and overwhelmed, (b) the impact of nursing school stress, (c) the perceived benefits of using test accommodations, (d) environmental influences, (e) challenges and supportive structures for securing accommodations, and (f) metaperception of stigmatization. Conclusions: In this study, students reported a benefit from using extended time for testing and noted the importance of the testing environment as an essential feature of the accommodation. Challenges faced by students included the ordeal of getting a diagnosis and potential for stigmatization. Participants indicated teachers provided essential support during this process. Study results suggest extended time accommodation provides an added level of fairness in the process of learning evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research uses the nationally representative Beginning Postsecondary Study: 2003-2009 to investigate the relative significance in upward transfer of individual and institutional factors for different groups of students, considering their state policy contexts of variable support for improved articulation and transfer between 2-year and baccalaureate-granting colleges. Layered analyses of hierarchical generalized linear model population-average results found that a few community college characteristics and state transfer policy components (such as a state articulation policy, cooperative articulation agreements, transfer data reporting, etc.) demonstrated a statistically significant association with individual upward transfer probability within 6 years of community college entry. Student characteristics found to be influential and positive for increasing upward transfer probability included: having an intention for upward transfer at entry, attending primarily full-time, working between 1 and 19 h per week (not more or less), and declaring a transfer-oriented major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics), Arts and Social/Behavioral Sciences, or Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the effectiveness of math placement policies for entering community college students on these students' academic success in math. We estimate the impact of placement decisions by using a discrete-time survival model within a regression discontinuity framework. The primary conclusion that emerges is that initial placement in a lower-level course increases the time until a student at the margin completes the higher-level course they were not assigned to by about a year on average but in most cases, after this time period, the penalty was small and not statistically significant. We found minor differences in terms of degree applicable and degree transferable credit accumulation between students placed initially in the lowerlevel course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data on over 41,000 students in one state who entered community college before transferring to a 4-year institution, this study examines the following question: Are community college students who earn an associate degree before transferring to a 4-year college more likely to earn a bachelor's degree? Due to the causal nature surrounding this question we employ several strategies to minimize selection bias, including the use of propensity score matching. Analysis reveals large, positive apparent impacts of earning the transfer-oriented associate degrees (i.e., Associate in Arts and Associate in Science) on the probability of earning a bachelor's degree within 6 years. We do not find any apparent impacts associated with earning one of the workforce-oriented degrees (i.e., Associate in Applied Science) that are awarded by programs typically designed for direct labor market entry. This is an important distinction, as all associate degrees are not equal in their potential impacts on future baccalaureate completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]