Pam Schuetz

Nearbies: A Missing Piece of the College Completion Conundrum

Community colleges enroll nearly half of the students enrolled in public undergraduate programs and a disproportionate number of first-generation, low-income, underprepared and minority students. The new national completion agenda has brought both visibility and pressure to these open-access institutions, which have completion rates of less than 25% for first-time full-time students and even lower rates for part-time students. While interventions to improve success tend to be focused on the first year, a surprisingly large number of students successfully complete more than 1 year of college credits yet leave without completing a credential or transferring. This study focuses on these “nearbies,” successful students close to completion who leave higher education. Results indicate students have varied reasons for departing, demonstrate behaviors at odds with their espoused value of earning a certificate or degree, and need support and encouragement throughout their time at the college. Personal relationships are particularly important in fostering a sense of connection.Community colleges enroll nearly half of the students enrolled in public undergraduate programs and a disproportionate number of first-generation, low-income, underprepared and minority students. T...

Degree Ladder Maps: Helping Students Make Earlier, More Informed Decisions about Educational Goals.

ABSTRACT Community college students who arrive on campus knowing exactly what they want to do and how to do it are more likely to succeed. However, many students need help to choose which educational goal to pursue. Typically, colleges refer undecided students to campus advisors and websites, but these resources are underfunded and poorly organized to help disadvantaged students sort through the literally thousands of course, program, certificate, and degree options available. This mixed methods study of a matched pair of community colleges develops degree ladder maps and course checklists—low cost, interactive tools that colleges can create and use to help their students make earlier, more informed choice of education goals.

Unit Completion Ratio: Assessing Influences of Campus on Community College Student Success

This study examines survey and transcript data for a stratified random sample of over 4,000 students enrolled in the nine campuses of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and found that several campuses predict small but statistically significant differences in unit completion ratio (defined as the ratio of units [or credit hours] completed with a grade of A, B, C, or pass to units attempted) after controlling for influences of student characteristics (p < .05). Furthermore, split-file data analyses indicate that some campuses foster higher rates of completion for specific types of student subpopulations—such as first generation or nonnative English speakers—after controlling for other student characteristics. Limitations, implications for practice, and recommendations for further study conclude this article.