“American community colleges are much like the nation that invented them. They offer an open door to opportunity to all who would come, are innovative and agile in meeting economic and workplace needs, and provide value and service to individuals and communities.”
~George R. Boggs, American Association of Community Colleges
Research
My goal as an educational researcher is to explore ways to improve student success and eliminate equity gaps in higher education. I strive to produce rigorous scholarship that effectively translates empirical findings into improvements in educational practice, organization, and policy to strengthen college access, persistence, transfer, and completion. In much of my research, I draw upon advanced quantitative methods, especially quasi-experimental techniques, to rigorously explore relationships between educational policies and practices and key student outcomes. I am particularly interested in conducting research that informs, supports, and strengthens student success at community colleges.
Community colleges are resourceful institutions that are often asked to do more with less. They are democracy’s colleges. These open-access institutions serve nearly half of all students enrolled in higher education and serve more students with historically underrepresented and marginalized identities than any other sector. They ensure educational opportunity to all who seek it, preparing students for life, further education, and careers. I first developed a passion for these institutions while a community college student and later while working with students as an academic adviser at my local community college.
As a result, a significant portion of my research agenda focuses on persistence, transfer, and degree completion for students who attend community colleges. In addition to a number of reports I have authored at the American Council on Education addressing community college student outcomes, many of my peer-reviewed pieces have focused on persistence and degree completion at community colleges by examining topics such as developmental education, residence life, institutional research, and board action.
Currently, I am working on research focused on credit for prior learning, increasing local tax support for community colleges, and career and technical education. Here is a link to my Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ybQvV_4AAAAJ
Research Publications