SPRING 2022 - VOLUME 29, ISSUE 1
What Types of Articles Get Published in JARCC?
Bill Piland, Marissa Vasquez, Lawson Hardrick
The Journal of Applied Research in the Community College (JARCC) has been published by San Diego State University since spring 2015. During this time, we have published 14 editions of the journal, released on a semiannual basis. Following is an analysis of the types of articles published in JARCC and includes the current edition. There have been 99 articles published within this time frame. We analyzed the types of articles (research articles and practice briefs), the methodologies used within the research articles, and the broad subject matter areas covered in the research articles and practice briefs.
Piland, B., Vasquez, M., & Lawson, H. (2022). What types of articles get published in JARCC? Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 1-5.
A Supply Chain Model for Student Enrollment and Faculty Workload Planning
Kathleen Plinske, University of Florida
Christos Giannoulis, Valencia College
Mengyu Li, University of Florida
First-year seminars have been shown to have positive impacts on student retention and success. At Valencia College, the population of new students tends to be much higher in fall than in spring and summer, creating a seasonal demand pattern for its New Student Experience course. Under current conditions, faculty workloads are unable to fluctuate at the same rate as student demand, resulting in artificially constrained enrollment in the course in fall semesters in order to guarantee faculty workload in the spring and summer. An application of an aggregate production planning model would allow the college to model optimal student enrollment in the course to maximize the number of students who have the opportunity to take the course in their first semester while obeying established faculty workload constraints. The aggregate production planning model also allows the college to test the impact of different constraints on optimal student enrollment.
Keywords: enrollment; faculty workload; aggregate production planning
Plinske, M., Giannoulis, C., & Mengyu, L. (2022). A supply chain model for student enrollment and faculty workload planning. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 7-18.
Transfer Student Destinations: Mapping Geographic Diversity and Equity Patterns in Vertical Transfer
Mark M. D’Amico, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Sandra L. Dika, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Tong Wu, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Paul Holliday-Millard, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Ryan A. Miller, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Adam Atwell, Jobs for the Future
Though a robust, statewide articulation agreement is in place from the North Carolina Community College System to the University of North Carolina (UNC) System, the state is considered an “institution-driven system” due to pre-major pathways being specific to each senior university. Thus, students and their advisors need to know both the destination university and major by the end of the first year at the community college. The purpose of the study was to display the vertical transfer enrollment patterns from the state’s 58 public community colleges to 15 UNC System campuses. It was found that only about 43% of vertical transfer students followed the primary feeder pattern, most often the university geographically close to the community college. Thus, we concluded that more transparent statewide transfer pathways would be advantageous as students transfer beyond the local region to ease the process for both students and advisors.
Keywords: transfer; vertical transfer; community college; equity
D’Amico, M., Dika, L. S., Wu, T., Holliday-Millard, P., & Miller, A. R. (2022). Transfer student destinations: mapping geographic diversity and equity patterns in vertical transfer. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 23-35.
Voices of Community College Generation X and Millennial CEOs: Perceptions of Underrepresentation
CharMaine Y. Hines, Wayne County Community College District
Research has identified a clear underrepresentation of race and gender diversity in the community college presidency. An analytical review of the research shows scant progress in diversification. This phenomenological study, using critical race theory and glass ceiling theory lenses, examined the lived experiences of minority community college presidents. Thirty-four currently serving and/or emeritus African American, Asian Pacific Islander, and Latino/Hispanic CEOs were interviewed; 13 of the CEO participants in the study reflect the newest and least-explored generation of leaders and represent diverse ethnicities, including African American, Asian Pacific Islander, and Latino/Hispanic. Voices from Generation X and millennial leaders emerged. Findings include evidence of a leaky pipeline, a flawed hiring process with gatekeepers along the hiring continuum, and biases and stereotypes encountered, illustrating leaders’ perceptions of underrepresentation of minorities serving in presidential roles in community colleges. This study identifies numerous deficiencies impacting this underrepresentation and offers recommendations to improve practice.
Keywords: Gen X and millennial leaders; Generation X; leaky pipeline; institutional culture
Hines, Y. C., (2022). Voices of community college generation X and millennial CEOs: perceptions of underrepresentation. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 33-49.
Successful Partnerships: Collaborative and Coordinated Solutions to Baccalaureate Attainment
Laura E. Boche University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Higher education, specifically community colleges, has had increased pressure of accountability for students’ outcomes. Many community colleges have gravitated toward collaborative programs to help ensure students complete associate degrees and to create more access to baccalaureate degrees. These partnership programs benefit from a coordinated approach and a formation of the partnership collective identity with shared goals and vision, but the end product is often uncoordinated. The purpose of this practice brief is to provide higher education leaders with recommendations based on the evidence in the research literature related to partnership management and strategic collaboration. How to effectively coordinate and manage partnerships, particularly focusing on building and sustaining the cooperative network of institutions, as well as discovering solutions and strategies, specifically utilizing the scrum methodology are contained herein.
Keywords: community college; partnership; strategic; collaboration
Boche, E. L. (2022). Successful partnerships: collaborative and coordinated solutions to baccalaureate attainment. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 55-68.
“We’re Not Magical; We’re Powerful”: Gendered Racial Identity, Sense of Belonging, and Perceived Barriers Among Community College Black Women Students
Adrienne E. Grayson, Riverside City College
This qualitative study utilizing a constructivist grounded theory approach facilitated a rich understanding of the association between socio-academic factors and gendered racial identity among African American women enrolled in community college. Examining narratives from 16 African American community college women revealed participants’ discernments of gendered racial identity, barriers to success, and their sense of belonging on their college campuses. Findings revealed themes related to (a) intersectional oppression on college campuses; (b) unhelpful practices from educators that hampered student success; (c) the development of coping responses and the varying impacts of maintaining gendered racial centrality; (d) intentional collectivistic belongingness practices with the aim to build community between past, present, and future Black women; and (e) an explicit pursuit toward self-actualization. Analyses yielded the community college academic Black women’s self-actualization model as an explanatory model for student experiences and perceptions.
Keywords: Black women; community college; gendered racial identity
Grayson, E. A. (2022). “We’re not magical; we’re powerful”: gendered racial identity, sense of belonging, and perceived barriers among community college black women students. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 65-80.
Pathways Toward (Unequal) Earnings: Students’ Choice of Career Training Programs in Washington State
Scott J. Latiolais, Clover Park Technical College
Xiaodan Hu, Northern Illinois University
Given the unique mission of two-year technical colleges emphasizing workforce education and career training, this study examined the relationship between career and technical education (CTE) students’ characteristics and their selection of career training programs with varying earning potentials. Using student-level data in the state of Washington’s five technical colleges, we found that CTE students made systemically different career training program decisions, potentially leading to inequitable workforce outcomes. Our findings indicate that CTE students who are Asian, older, and with earned college credits in high school, are more likely to enroll in higher wage-earning career training programs. Female CTE students are more likely to enroll in higher wage-earning career training programs given their higher likelihood of majoring in healthcare. Excluding students in healthcare majors, racial minority students (i.e., Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, American Indian/Alaska Native) and female students are more likely to enroll in lower wage-earning career training programs. Equity-minded practices in student advising and partnership building are recommended.
Keywords: career and technical education; labor market returns; educational equity
Latiolais, J. S., & Hu, X. (2022). Pathways toward (unequal) earnings: students’ choice of career training programs in Washington state. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 81-103.
Exposing Racism: A Critical Race Study of Persistent African American Students at a Predominantly White Community College
Elena Favela Naca, University of North Dakota
Using critical race theory as a theoretical framework and phenomenology as a methodology, this study examined the assets of African American students who have persisted beyond their first year in a predominantly White community college. A student who has persisted has re-enrolled, transferred, or graduated by the second fall or spring term following the initial fall or spring term enrollment. Two themes are discussed from the analysis of in-depth interviews with seven self-identified African American research participants: (a) dispelling and overcoming imposed stereotypes and (b) negotiating predominantly White institutions using self-identified strengths and strategies. An analysis of participant experiences using three of Ladson-Billings’s tenets of critical race theory (exposing racism, counter-stories, and critique of liberalism) is provided, allowing for further explication of the ways race and racism take form and influence outcomes for marginalized students.
Keywords: critical race theory; African American; persistence
Naca, F. E. (2022). Exposing racism: a critical study of persistent African American students at a predominantly white community college. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 105-122.
Effect of a Free Tuition Program on Community College Mental Health Counseling
Kyle Gamache, Community College of Rhode Island
Tanekar Alexander, Community College of Rhode Island
A growing number of states are enacting programs offering free or reduced tuition at community colleges. These programs have increased access and reduced costs for students attending postsecondary institutions, increasing the number of students attending these colleges. Increases in enrollment have a significant effect on the staffing and management of institutions, particularly counseling centers. This study investigates changes observed at a community college counseling center after the enactment of a “Promise program,” which offered free tuition at the host institution. A secondary data analysis of 6 years of chart audits suggests significant changes in the population of students using mental health services, as well as the clinical needs of the students. The authors conclude with recommendations for community college counseling centers at institutions starting similar programs.
Keywords: student mental health counseling; free tuition; community college
Gamache, K., & Tanekar, A. (2022). Effect of a free tuition program on community college mental health counseling. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 129-141.
The Effectiveness and Necessity of Early Childhood Education Laboratory Schools on Community College Campuses
Sandy Visser-Jones, Victor Valley Community College
Sunny Liu, University of La Verne
Based on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Dewey’s progression education, the purpose of this mixed methods inquiry was to study the differences in teacher candidates’ perceptions in two types of community colleges: the ones that have early childhood education lab schools and those without these schools. Teacher candidates who enrolled in a student teaching course during Spring 2019-2020 semesters in seven community colleges were invited for this study. Quantitative data (n=214) showed a significant difference in perceived feedback from practice supervisors between teachers within the two types of colleges, but not in perceived relevance on knowledge and practice and subject and practice. Qualitative data (n=167) showed that teacher candidates with lab schools on campus had consistent interactions with practice supervisors while the experiences and the interaction varied for teacher candidates without lab schools. Several recommendations were offered based on the results of the study.
Keywords: Community College Campuses; Early Childhood Education Lab schools; Knowledge Pedagogy; Subject; Supervising Teachers; Teacher Candidates
Visser-Jones, S., & Liu, S. (2022). The effectiveness and necessity of early childhood education laboratory schools on community college campuses. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 29(1), 143-157.