6/6/2020Community College Student Success: The Role of Motivation and Self-Empowerment - Kimberly Martin, Richard Galentino, Lori Townsend…1/26Community College ReviewFirst Published April 4, 2014 Research ArticleAbstractNationwide, low percentages of community college students graduate. Althoughcommunity colleges’ higher percentages of low income, academically underprepared,non-traditional, and minority students are often cited as the reason for low graduationrates, this study sought to examine common characteristics of community collegestudents who do graduate. The qualitative study included interviews of community collegegraduates from a large, public community college in the Southeastern United States, aswell as interviews of faculty and staff members at the institution. The students in this studywere found to have the following characteristics in common: clear goals, strong motivationand a drive to succeed, ability to manage external demands, and self-empowerment.Keywords persistence, community college, graduation, characteristics, successCommunity colleges are a vital component of the U.S. postsecondary education systemserving 45% of all U.S. undergraduates in fall 2012 (American Association of CommunityColleges, 2014). These 13 million students attend 1,132 institutions representing diversepopulation groups and communities—and the population of community college students isgrowing (American Association of Community Colleges, 2014). Educating this largeCommunity College Student Success: The Role of Motivationand Self-EmpowermentKimberly Martin, Richard Galentino, Lori Townsend
