Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
12-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Tara Hornor
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Dean Campbell
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Mary Christopher
Abstract
Community college students have always faced barriers to going to college and getting their degrees. Much of the research centers on the completion of their degrees. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of community college students during enrollment. To understand how community college students experience the enrollment process, the study used phenomenology to hear the experiences of students through semistructured interviews. Findings showed that three broad themes emerged from this research. First, students felt both nervous and uncertain about college, but they also recognized the importance of college to improve their lives. Second, students reported some challenges along the way to admission, particularly gathering the necessary documents to submit and preparing for financial aid to cover class costs. Third, students were able to overcome these barriers with support from both staff and family. These findings suggest that higher education leaders should ensure that staff have the necessary training and tools to support students through the admissions process. Some students have supportive families to help them through the admissions process. Other students rely on staff to help them understand what needs to be done to complete the admissions process. Colleges should not neglect admissions policies and procedures. Hearing from students can help leaders understand how students experience the process and the barriers they face.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Loy, Jeremy D., "Community College Student Admissions Experiences" (2025). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 968.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/968