· Web viewMy heartfelt gratitude goes out to my Dissertation committee, specifically, Dissertation Director, Anne George, Ph.D., Dissertation Chair, Sunil Chand, Ph.D., Dissertation

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