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THE IMPACT OF ACHIEVING THE DREAM ON STUDENT SUCCESS OF FIRST-YEAR, FULL-TIME DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS AT A STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BY
STEPHEN J. SPENCER
A DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED TO THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HEALTH SCIENCES
BENEDICTINE UNIVERSITY
LISLE, ILLINOIS
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
MAY 2015
i
Copyright by Stephen J. Spencer, 2015
All rights reserved
xii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The academic journey for this program, fulfilled in the completion of this dissertation, has been challenging. It was not so much the program, the professors, or the institutions involved, rather the personal obstacles that became nearly insurmountable at times. Yet, when taking on a challenge such as this, one must believe to the point of absolute confirmation in the mind that the journey shall be fulfilled, no matter what may occur. Life itself was a challenge during these years. The program, the professors, and the committee were challenging me to succeed, to excel, and to perform to my utmost. For the life challenges, I wish they could have been avoided. For the challenges in the program, from my professors and my committee, I would expect nothing less.
My heartfelt gratitude goes out to my Dissertation committee, specifically, Dissertation Director, Anne George, Ph.D., Dissertation Chair, Sunil Chand, Ph.D., Dissertation Reader, Marc Dielman, Ph.D., and Thomas Schick, Technical Advisor. They kept me alert, challenged, and guided the journey. My strongest belief is that I learned more in the Internship and the dissertation process than I did the rest of the program combined. I am also grateful to every professor at Benedictine University that taught the courses leading up to the dissertation journey.
Thanks also goes out to the Institutional Research Office at College X, which coordinated data at College X, and assisted with the cooperation between College X and the Community College Survey for Student Engagement (CCSSE) at the University of Texas.
Next, I am grateful to E. Michael Bohlig, Ph.D., who directed the data from the CCSSE and College X. I am also thankful for those that assisted him, namely, Kyle Lovseth and Catherine A. Cunningham.
On a personal note, I am grateful for my wife, Debra Spencer, who accompanied me and was supportive in my efforts to continue on course to completion. Most of all, I am grateful to God, who gave me the opportunity and the strength to finish the course.
DEDICATION
To students that have known poverty of spirit and mind, that they may learn purpose and confidence, experience an enriching academic life, and achieve their dream to succeed in their academic life and beyond.
The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.
-C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man (1943)
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to determine whether a significant relationship exists between Achieving the Dream (AtD) efforts and student success among first-year, full-time degree-seeking students at a state community college. For this study, student success was measured in terms of student engagement, student persistence, and academic performance, measured by grade point average (GPA). The data on student persistence and grade point average were retrieved from the institution where the study was conducted, for students in their first to second semester of full-time enrollment. The data for student engagement were retrieved from results on the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), administered by the institution. The data were grouped into longitudinal periods of 2002-2004 and 2005-2011, to track pre-AtD and post-AtD student performance and engagement.
The selected student population excluded students in certificate and specialized non-credit programs and part-time students. The study was conducted using a non-experimental exploratory research design. Data were collected from fall and spring semesters each year from 2002-2011, and aggregated for analysis to explore significant relationships and trends prior to and after the implementation of AtD. Specifically, data was analyzed for statistically significant relationships among variables, using Pearson's correlation coefficient. In addition, statistically significant differences in student success before and after the implementation of AtD was explored through the use of t-tests and Analyses of Variance (ANOVA).
The results of this study provided information about student success in relation to Achieving the Dream in the sample population. The AtD implementation was correlated between the variables of student engagement benchmarks, GPA, and student persistence rates.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACTvi
LIST OF TABLESxi
LIST OF FIGURESxiii
Chapter 1: Introduction1
Statement of the Problem5
Moving from Measuring Student Attrition to Student Persistence6
Purpose of the Study8
Research Questions8
Hypotheses8
Significance of the Study10
Assumptions of the Study13
Limitations of the Study13
Delimitations of the Study13
Definitions13
Chapter 2: Literature Review18
History and Context of Achieving the Dream-The Lumina Foundation18
Achieving the Dream (AtD)20
Policy Change25
Knowledge Development26
Leader Colleges26
The Community College Survey on Student Engagement (CCSSE)27
The League for Innovation in the Community College29
Learning Centered Colleges29
Learning Centered Paradigm30
The Learning College Project31
The Vanguard Colleges31
Gauging Student Success in Higher Education33
Orientation and Student Success36
Developmental Education Restructuring37
Training of Faculty and Staff for Achieving the Dream Initiatives39
Achieving the Dream's Training of Faculty and Staff at the College42
Learning Communities42
Establishing a Culture of Evidence44
Learning Outcomes45
Measuring Student Engagement47
Measuring Student Persistence48
Academic Performance in Community Colleges50
Grade Point Average - Academic Performance and Its Significance in the Job Market51
First Year Students52
Models of Student Persistence53
John McNeelys College Student Mortality (1937)53
John Summerskills Research54
Arthur Chickerings Theory of Student Development and Program Design55
John W. Meyer56
David H. Kamens Research on Retention Using Multi-Institutional Data56
The Spady Model (1971)57
Vincent Tintos Theory of Student Departure (1975, 1987, 1993)58
Astins Theory of Involvement60
Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick Terenzini61
Beans Model of Work Turnover to Student Attrition; Bean and Metzners Model of Student Attrition61
John M. Braxton Theory of Pedagogical Engagement62
The Achieving the Dream (AtD) Study on Guilford Technical Community College by John M. Chapin63
Review of Literature Summary65
Chapter 3: Methodology69
Introduction69
Data Collection69
Research Design69
Achieving the Dream Student Participants70
College X Community College Survey on Student Engagement (CCSSE)71
Reliability and Validity71
Sample and Population72
Research Questions73
Hypotheses73
Data Analysis75
Summary75
Chapter 4: Results77
Introduction and Overview of the Study77
Demographics78
Research Question 1.78
Research Question 295
Research Question 3.99
Pearson's Correlation Coefficient Aggregate for Total Years of Study104
Pearson's Correlation Coefficient of AtD Years' Aggregate105
Chapter 5: Discussion109
Grade Point Average109
Student Persistence109
Student Engagement Benchmarks110
GPA, Student Persistence, and Student Engagement110
Institutional Changes Affecting Curriculum114
The Hispanic Population in the County of College X115
Hispanic Students and ESL116
National Trends and College X117
Trends in College X118
AtD Student Engagement Model at College X119
Implications of the Study120
Limitations120
Recommendations for Future Research120
Recommendations from the Study121
References123
APPENDICES.136
APPENDIX A. The 2003-2011 CCSSE Community College Student Surveys and Codebooks 136
APPENDIX B. IRB Approval Host College (College X)137
APPENDIX C. IRB Approval Benedictine University Office of Institutional Research139
APPENDIX D. NIH Certificate141
CURRICULUM VITAE143
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1Aggregate Student Engagement, Persistence, and GPA Data
for Total Years of Study....79
Table 2T-Test Means for Student Engagement Benchmarks Aggregate
for Total Years of Study85
Table 3Student Engagement Benchmark Scores by Race and Gender
for Total Years of Study87
Table 4T-Test African-Americans Student Engagement
for Total Years of Study89
Table 5T-Test Asian/Pacific Islanders Student Engagement
for Total Years of Study90
Table 6T-Test Caucasian Population Student Engagement
for Total Years of Study91
Table 7T-Test Hispanics Student Engagement for Total Years of Study..92
Table 8T-Test Other Students Student Engagement for Total Years of Study......................................93
Table 9T-Test Student Engagement Males for Total Years of Study94
Table 10T-Test Student Engagement Females for Total Years
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