Colby Community College Student Success at the Baccalaureate Level

Colby Community College Student Success at the Baccalaureate Level Seth Macon Carter A.A., Allen Community College, 2007 B.A., Emporia State University, 2009 M.S., Pittsburg State University, 2013 Submitted to the Graduate Department and Faculty of the School of Education of Baker University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Date Defended: December 4, 2017 Copyright 2017 by Seth Macon Carter Abstract There is limited research that focuses on differentiating student success rates at the baccalaureate level (persistence and graduation status) among community college transfer students, and associate degree completing students. Data on student success provided to community colleges for students who transfer to a university do not designate or classify students by associate degree completers and individuals who transferred prior to obtaining an associate degree. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether differences existed in student success (persistence and graduation status) between Colby Community College transfer students who completed an associate degree and Colby Community College transfer students who did not complete an associate degree. For this study, student success was measured in two ways, persistence (persisted, did not persist) and graduation status (graduated, currently enrolled, did not graduate), among the cohort of Colby Community College transfer students who completed an associate degree and Colby Community College transfer students who did not complete an associate degree. The effect of student sex, race, and state of origin of Colby Community College transfer and associate degree completing students was also explored. Sex was defined as the classification of a student as male or female. Race was defined as minority (any race other than Caucasian) and non-minority (Caucasian) status. The state of origin was identified as Kansas or other state. Findings from the current study appeared to illustrate the correlation among the selected sub-groups of students earning an associate degree and experiencing student success at the baccalaureate level, even if only marginally significant. ii Dedication I would like to dedicate the completion of my doctorate to my family and my loved ones. Specifically, I would like to dedicate the completion of my doctorate to my wife and kids. Daddy is sorry for the things he had to miss, but I truly did this for the betterment of our family. Thank you for always being there and understanding. I would like to thank my wife who has always been incredibly supportive and selfless through the process of working toward my doctorate. Lastly, I would like to thank Les and Joy David. Without their generosity and kindness, the completion of my doctorate would not have been possible. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Colby Community College and the Board of Trustees for allowing me the opportunity to incorporate the program into our busy schedule. My co- workers’ kind words and advice helped me achieve this educational goal. Leaving work early on Tuesday nights was a very difficult thing to do, but the Trustees always provided me the freedom to achieve my educational dreams. I would like to thank Dr. Dean Hollenbeck for not only serving on my dissertation committee, but for helping me begin my career in education. Lastly, I would like to thank Dr. Marie Miller, Dr. Peg Waterman, and Dr. Tes Mehring who were instrumental in aiding me through the completion of my doctorate. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Background ..............................................................................................................2 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................7 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................8 Significance of the Study .........................................................................................9 Delimitations ..........................................................................................................10 Assumptions ...........................................................................................................11 Research Questions ................................................................................................11 Definition of Terms................................................................................................12 Organization of the Study ......................................................................................13 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ...................................................................................14 The History and Mission of Community Colleges ................................................14 The Roles of Community Colleges ........................................................................16 Student Success ......................................................................................................22 Community College Student Persistence ...............................................................25 Baccalaureate Success of Community College Transfer Students ........................28 Community College Student Graduation Rates .....................................................32 The History of Colby Community College ............................................................33 Summary ................................................................................................................35 Chapter 3: Methods ............................................................................................................36 Research Design.....................................................................................................36 Selection of Participants ........................................................................................37 v Measurement ..........................................................................................................37 Data Collection Procedures ....................................................................................38 Data Analysis and Hypothesis Testing ..................................................................40 Limitations .............................................................................................................48 Summary ................................................................................................................48 Chapter 4: Results ..............................................................................................................50 Descriptive Statistics ..............................................................................................50 Hypothesis Testing.................................................................................................53 Additional Analyses ...............................................................................................74 Summary ................................................................................................................83 Chapter 5: Interpretation and Recommendations ..............................................................86 Study Summary ......................................................................................................86 Overview of the Problem ...........................................................................87 Purpose Statement and Research Questions ..............................................87 Review of the Methodology.......................................................................88 Major Findings ...........................................................................................89 Findings Related to the Literature ...........................................................................92 Conclusions .............................................................................................................94 Implications for Action ..............................................................................94 Recommendations for Future Research .....................................................96 Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................98 References ..........................................................................................................................99 Appendices .......................................................................................................................112 vi Appendix A: Baker University IRB Request .......................................................113 Appendix B: Baker University IRB Letter of Approval ......................................119 Appendix C: Colby Community College Letter of Approval ..............................121 vii List of Tables Table 1. National Associate Degree Graduation Rates 2011-2013 .....................................5 Table 2. Kansas Community College Associate Degree Graduation Rates 2011-2013 ......6 Table 3. Colby Community College Associate Degree Graduation Rates 2011-2013 ........7 Table 4. Two-Year Sector Persistence Rates 2011-2013...................................................26 Table 5. Associate Degree Completion Frequency Table .................................................51 Table 6. Student Persistence Frequency Table ..................................................................52

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