Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

2-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Sandra Harris

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Ana Gomez de Torres

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Mark Weatherly

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore freshman student experiences in developmental education courses that encourage their persistence at one college in the West Texas region. More specifically, this study focused on the programs and services that benefit freshman community college students enrolled in developmental education courses. This study followed case study methodology to examine the student experience. The data were collected by way of personal interviews with students and employees that lasted on average of 45 minutes via the software Webex. The interviews were all conducted online from one community college in the West Texas region. Participants were invited to be involved with the study by way of a recorded two-minute video sent to two instructors at the identified campus location. The researcher interviewed all of the participants online, transcribed the data, member checked, and then analyzed for common themes. Four students and three employees elected to participate in this study. Students were identified as either a traditional, nontraditional, or transfer student. The employees who elected to participate were all part of the instructional division of the community college. Both male and female participants in each identified group were interviewed by way of a created guided protocol. The data were analyzed by two coding methods. The first cycle of coding was done by an open coding process. The second cycle of coding was completed by way of pattern coding to analyze interrelated themes. The findings in this study yielded nine total themes. The findings indicate that a variety of programs and services, when utilized well within the campus community, engage students, and create an atmosphere of success. Moreover, the continual engagement with faculty members as well as the programs and services that are offered do support students toward persistence.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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