Exploring Pathways from Community College to 4-Year Programs  

Hezal Patel, M.A. and Marianne J. Brosnan, Ph.D. '20, recently authored an article, "Websites That Support Guided Pathways Partnerships," for publication in the New Directions for Community Colleges journal, summer 2022 issue.

The authors examined how websites are used by community colleges to communicate transfer options for students seeking to move to 4-year institutions, allowing students to easily discover and pursue transfer partnership pathways. The qualitative website review included institutions in two states that were nationally recognized for exemplary practices and commitment to student success and outcomes. In their website content analysis, Patel and Brosnan explored how easily information about transfer pathways can be found, how the information is presented and what transfer- relevant information is communicated.

The authors found that exemplary institutions place pathways information prominently on their website's home page, use similar language to describe pathways information in multiple places on the website and provide connections to supportive transfer resources. It is recommended that community colleges implement similar practices to provide useful tools to eliminate information gaps, to close achievement gaps, and to ensure success for community college transfer students.

Hezal Patel, M.A., is a student in the Higher Ed Leaders Management and Policy program at the College of Education and Human Services. Patel has over a decade of professional experience working with transfer students at 4-year institutions and her doctoral dissertation research focuses on community college transfer student success. She currently works at Montclair State University as the Director of Academic Success Programs. Professor Brosnan teaches qualitative research in Seton Hall University's Educational Leadership, Management and Policy graduate programs and works with transferring students at Raritan Valley Community College. Her dissertation research focused on faculty roles in student career development. Both authors feel strongly about post-secondary education policy and practice reform needed to improve educational and career outcomes for community college and university students.

About the Doctoral Program in Ed Leadership, Management and Policy

The Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, Management and Policy is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the interrelated societal and organizational dimensions of higher education, in preparation for senior administrative, policy development and management posts in colleges and universities, as well as government agencies and foundations, or for careers in teaching and research. The program offers the opportunity to focus on areas, such as administration and education policy, international and comparative higher education, organizational culture and change, and the academic profession.

The program also offers a concentration in Education Research, Assessment, and Program Evaluation. This concentration is intended to meet the burgeoning demands for professional staff and leaders in educational organizations focused on data-driven decision making, program evaluation, assessment and testing, and teacher or faculty pedagogical development.

Categories: Education