Date of Award

1-2019

Rights

© 2019 LaToya E. Rolle

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Brianna Parsons

Second Advisor

Joel Lowsky

Third Advisor

Anika Anthony

Abstract

As more students enroll than earn a post-secondary credential, persistence toward completion and graduation have become issues in community colleges. This program evaluation highlights the AmeriCorps College Completion Coach program implemented across community colleges in Ohio during 2012–2017 under the leadership of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC). The program goal is to improve postsecondary credential obtainment by increasing course completion and credit hour accumulation. This outcome is achieved by providing coaching to at-risk students in community colleges across Ohio. This study sought to discover the AmeriCorps College Completion Coach program’s best practices for student support services and explored the program’s goal of increasing college completion rates. In studying the facets of the AmeriCorps College Completion Coach program, two cycles of descriptive coding were used, as it allowed for a comprehensive view of the program. Using a descriptive coding process with a thematic analysis, three themes emerged from the desk review program evaluation. The first theme was Interventions, which described the AmeriCorps College Completion Coach program’s strategy to improve student performance and increase a student’s persistence to completion. The second theme was At-Risk Students, which alludes to the program identifying students enrolled in one of the following courses: remedial English or math; first year experience; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); or other college gateway courses. The third theme was AmeriCorps, which described the commitment of a service member. This program evaluation contends that coaching can provide a focal point for a community college’s efforts toward increasing completion rates. This study provides insight to build capacity and knowledge of coaches, aiming to increase the educational attainment of community college students. The study also provides recommendations for future action and future research, such as evaluating the long term effects of coaching.

Comments

Ed.D. Dissertation

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