Reports and Briefs
The Belk Center is dedicated to meeting the research needs of North Carolina community colleges by developing reports and recommendations that help executive leaders make timely, evidence-based decisions. We pursue high-impact research that examines what is working, what is not working, and what is yet to be learned—and we work to translate our findings into useful tools and resources for community college leaders in North Carolina and across the nation.
Our current research areas are purposefully designed to align with and reinforce leadership programs that catalyze community college change.
View our latest Reports and Briefs
Adult Learners
- Policy Brief Series: Adult Learners, June 2021
- Adult Learner Guidebook, July 2022
- Getting Strategic About Investing: How NC Reconnect Colleges Used Funding to Maximize Re-Engagement Efforts, March 2023
- Incorporating NC Reconnect, March 2023
- Launching NC Reconnect: Five Key Leadership Decisions to Consider, March 2023
- Recruiting Adult Learners Through NC Reconnect, March 2023
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
- External Levers to Maximize Career Coaches’ Impact on North Carolina High School Students, August 2022
- Supporting the College and Career Transition from High School to Beyond During Times of Uncertainty: Viewpoints from College and Career Access Programs, June 2021
- The Effect of the Career and Technical Education Pathway on Community College Attainment: An Instrumental Variables Approach, May 2021
- College and Career Promise Leading to Transfer Outcomes: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis, November 2020
- The Relationship Between Participation in Career and College Promise and Community College Attainment, November 2020
- Postsecondary Participation in SkillsUSA, June 2020
Student Experiences & Support
- How Can We Work Together? Findings and Recommendations for Improving Communication Strategies for College and Career Access Service Providers, December 2022
- Who Does What? Findings and Recommendations for Clarifying Roles for Overlapping College and Career Service Providers, December 2022
- How Do We Get the Word Out? Findings and Recommendations for Improving Student Engagement for College and Career Service Providers, December 2022
- External Levers to Maximize Career Coaches’ Impact on North Carolina High School Students, August 2022
- Supporting the College and Career Transition from High School to Beyond During Times of Uncertainty, June 2021
- North Carolina Community Colleges and the CARES Act Student Emergency Aid, January 2021
- International Education at North Carolina Community Colleges, August 2020
- Understanding Who Studies Abroad at Community Colleges, June 2020
Transfer & Dual Enrollment
2022
- Expanding the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement to Applied Associate Degree Earners: A Transfer Policy Brief, November 2022
- Hispanic Student Experiences with High-Impact Practices and Transfer Success, November 2022
2021
- Exploring Pathways to Completion by Field of Study for North Carolina Community College Transfer Students, October 2021
- Does the CAA Need Further Revision? – Perspective from a Scholar Practitioner, August 2021
- Effective Community College and Public University Transfer Partnerships in North Carolina, April 2021
- Identifying Effective Community College and Public University Transfer Partnerships in North Carolina, April 2021
- Opportunities for All? The Differential Impacts of North Carolina’s Revised Comprehensive Articulation Agreement by Race/Ethnicity, March 2021
- Examining the Baccalaureate Completion of Associate in Applied Science Transfers, March 2021
- Community College-HBCU Transfer Students: Promising Practices for Student Success, February 2021
- Credential Completion and Transfer Outcomes at North Carolina’s Community Colleges Using IPEDS Outcome Measures, February 2021
- Transfer Equity in Access and Completion: A Demographic Profile of North Carolina’s Community College Students Who Transfer to University of North Carolina Institutions, February 2021
2020
- Low-Income Transfer Students: Paths to Bachelor’s Degree Completion, December 2020
- The Relationship Between Participation in Career and College Promise and Community College Attainment, December 2020
- College and Career Promise Leading to Transfer Outcomes: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis, December 2020
- The Role of North Carolina’s Comprehensive Articulation Agreement in Transfer Efficiency, October 2020
- Baccalaureate Degree Completion in North Carolina: Through a Dual Enrollment Pathway, October 2020
Community College Leadership Doctoral Dissertations
2022:
- Career Transfer Efficiency Study for North Carolina Public Sector Community College to University Pathways in Associate in Applied Science Programs, Keegan Anderson
- Faculty Perceptions of the Equity Gaps in First-Year Student Progression for African American Community College Students, Erica Andrews
- Faculty Advisor Viewpoints of Advising Roles – A Q Methodology Study, Maryann Aucompaugh
- Defining and Improving High-Quality Postsecondary Career and Technical Education, Jordan Dolfi
- The IT Factor: Exploring Veterans’ Success in Registered Apprenticeships Using Propensity Scoring Matching, Kamisha Kirby
- MilSpouseEd: Ethnographic Representations of Military Spouses’ Educational Journeys, Maggie May
- Marine by Design: The Marine Military Microcosm and its Effect on Transition in Higher Education, Nicole Messina
- An Analysis of Hurricane Preparedness and Crisis Communication During a Pandemic at Community Colleges in North Carolina, Elizabeth Muckensturm
- A Quantitative Study of Institutional and Programmatic Characteristics and Their Relationship with Student Achievement Outcomes at Postsecondary Vocational Schools, Corey Rosso
- Measuring Community College Student Success Associated with Performance Funding: Research to Action, William Schneider
- History Doesn’t Decide for Us: A Case Study of Black Parents and their Perception of Career and Technical Education with an In-depth Look at the Philosophies of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, Nzingha Williams
2021:
- Female Community College Presidents and Effective Utilization of Senior Leadership Teams, Rebecca Berry
- Examination of Virtual Reality on Online Workforce, Fallon Brewington
- Effects of Reinforced Instruction for Student Excellence (RISE) on Student Success in Gateway Mathematics Courses in North Carolina Community Colleges: A Regression Discontinuity, Katie Bowman
- How North Carolina Community College Faculty Transitioned from Traditional Course Delivery to Online Course Delivery using Emergency Remote Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Case Study, Karmen Cooper
- Momentum and Collision: A Qualitative Case Study Understanding Pre-and Posttransfer STEM Success by Exploring Gender and Racial Experiences among Community College Transfer Students, Lancelot Gooden
- The North Carolina Comprehensive Articulation Agreement: A Differences-in-differences Analysis of Applicable Credit, Jonathan Loss
- Quantitative Assessment of Employee Compositional Diversity in Relation to Student Completion in North Carolina Community Colleges, Carmen Nunalee
- Exploring Access in a Community College Radiography Program: Relationships Between TEAS Test Scores and Student Success, Angela Thomas
- A Collective Case Study of the Experience of High-Impact Practice Participation upon Hispanic Student Transfer Success, Stephen Turner
- Community College Faculty and Administrator Perspectives of Trauma – Informed Principles in Early Childhood Education: A Q Methodology Approach, Robin Warfield
2020:
- A Q-Methodology Study of African American Male Perceptions of the Factors that Contribute to their Persistence at a Rural Community College, Jeffrey Allen
- Predicting Student Success in Online Postsecondary Career and Technical Education: Engaging with Peers, Faculty, Content and Work-Based Learning, Alain Ayangma
- The Impact of Institutional Characteristics on Performance Measure Success Rates at Community Colleges in North Carolina, John Bakken
- Mixed Methods Analysis of Effective Transfer Partnerships at Two- and Four-Year Colleges in North Carolina, Carrie Bartek
- The Experiences of Dual Enrollment Students on Completion of Baccalaureate Degrees in North Carolina, Kara Battle
- Examining the Perspectives of Geospatial Professionals Toward the U.S. Department of Labor’s Geospatial Technology Competency Model: A Q Methodology Approach, Rodney Jackson
- A Case Study Exploring Perspectives of Community College Experiences’ Role on Soft Skills Development of North Carolina Students Enrolled in Career and Technical Programs, Micara Lewis-Sessoms
- Exploring the Role of Demographics and Occupation-type (Based on Career Clusters) on Labor Market Outcomes Among the Associate Degree Holders: A study Based on American Community Survey (ACS) Data from 2016, Fawad Rafi
- The Experiences of Low-Income Transfer Students and Their Paths to Bachelor’s Degree Completion, Ashley Swing
2019:
- The Role of Relational Trust in Promoting Faculty Engagement in Student Success Reform Efforts at Community Colleges, Susan Burleson
- The Influence of Late Course Registration on Student Success in Higher Education, Adrianne Freeman
- Competency Identification for Threat Assessment and Management Trainees: A Modified Delphi Study, Heather Kloeker-Webster
- Community College Students’ Viewpoints of an Outstanding Advising Process: A Q Method Examination, Melvina Lee
- Stakeholder Perceptions on the Most Important Knowledge and Skills to Gain Through a Graduate Program in Training and Development: A Q-Study, Austina White
- Middle Leaders Communication with Faculty during Student Success Reform Efforts in Two Community Colleges, Constance Wolfe
2018:
The Belk Center welcomes data requests from researchers interested in collaborating with us or to reference for dissertation development. Please see the links below regarding our process:
NC State Community College Leadership (Ed.D.) Students
Other NC State or External Researchers
Please contact Holley Nichols with any questions regarding data requests.
