Integration and Persistence Among Community College Students

This item is a Research Abstract from The League for Innovation in the Community College. This item is a longer version of the same report:

This study suggests that beginning community college students do become integrated into the college environment, as indicated by the sense of belonging reported by students in the sample. As predicted by Tinto’s integration framework and in congruence with research findings on students attending four-year institutions, the study further suggests that integration is related to community college students’ persistence. Moreover, as argued by many authors, the study supports the notion that community college students rarely experience social integration as a result of participating in activities such as clubs. But that does not mean that social integration itself is not significant.

The results indicate that integration, including social integration, is developed through participation in information networks. These networks are initiated in classroom-based activities. Classroom discussions, for example, help students feel academically connected to the college while also promoting relationships that extend to social activities outside the classroom. The networks allow students to navigate the campus environment, access knowledge about the college, create a sense of social belonging, and, ultimately, feel that there are people who care about their academic welfare.

Because much of this integration begins in the classroom, the results of this small, exploratory study suggest that practitioners should find ways to structure students’ academic activities so that they promote the development of information networks. In particular, it is worth considering whether a Student Success course should be required of all beginning students. In addition, student-centered pedagogies might also be encouraged. Finally, professors should be supported in their efforts to work individually with students in order to further develop their potential as information sources in students’ networks.

Participation, Persistence, and Attainment Rates: The US Standing

Writing in International Higher Education, Arthur M. Haputman compares metrics from other OECD countries and the US regarding persistence and attainment, describing some of the ways in which the apples and oranges differ:

Attainment in the United States really consists of two stories—one that relates to bachelor's degrees and the other to subbachelor's degrees such as associate's degrees awarded by community colleges. In terms of bachelor's degrees, the United States has ranked at the top of OECD countries for several decades. This continues to be the case; the United States is tied with Norway as having the highest rate among all adult workers (30 percent). But when attainment rates for bachelor's degrees among the youngest workers are compared, several OECD countries now have higher rates as their systems are growing rapidly while the United States has matured and reached an equilibrium point. . . . One key conclusion from this analysis is that a key challenge for the United States is to figure out how to improve the degree completion rate of its community college students.