{"id":{"repo_id":"utc","oai_identifier":"oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1795"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/utc/oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1795","repository":{"repo_id":"utc","name":"University of Tennessee - Chattanooga","base_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Examining the effect of emergency assistance programs on student retention in rural community colleges","abstract":"Community colleges are public educational institutions that are designed to meet students' educational and career goals in an affordable and accessible manner. While community colleges have expanded access to higher education opportunities, serving more than 5.1 million students in 2019, the number of students who complete their educational goal is remarkably low. Numerous studies have been undertaken to determine factors that contribute to student attrition in community colleges. These studies indicate that rural community colleges serve primarily low-income students who demonstrate lower academic high school achievement levels and have lower parental expectations to complete a college degree than their urban and suburban peers. In addition, community colleges often serve rural populations that are challenged by transportation, family, and financial needs. This dissertation examined emergency financial assistance as a strategy to increase student retention rates in the rural community college setting. The goal of this study was to provide evidence to assist community colleges in their efforts to raise retention rates and subsequently increase the number of students graduating with a two-year associate's degree.","abstract_html":"Community colleges are public educational institutions that are designed to meet students&#x27; educational and career goals in an affordable and accessible manner. While community colleges have expanded access to higher education opportunities, serving more than 5.1 million students in 2019, the number of students who complete their educational goal is remarkably low. Numerous studies have been undertaken to determine factors that contribute to student attrition in community colleges. These studies indicate that rural community colleges serve primarily low-income students who demonstrate lower academic high school achievement levels and have lower parental expectations to complete a college degree than their urban and suburban peers. In addition, community colleges often serve rural populations that are challenged by transportation, family, and financial needs. This dissertation examined emergency financial assistance as a strategy to increase student retention rates in the rural community college setting. The goal of this study was to provide evidence to assist community colleges in their efforts to raise retention rates and subsequently increase the number of students graduating with a two-year associate&#x27;s degree.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Greear, Amy"],"institution":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Rausch, David W.","Crawford, Elizabeth K.; Bernard, Hinsdale; Rector, Jeff L.","College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:46:59Z","subjects":["Community college dropouts -- Appalachian Region","Educational attainment -- Appalachian Region","Community college students -- Appalachian Region"],"languages":["English","eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/635","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Rausch, David W.","Crawford, Elizabeth K.; Bernard, Hinsdale; Rector, Jeff L.","College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Greear, Amy"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2020-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Doctoral dissertations","Text"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Community college dropouts -- Appalachian Region","Educational attainment -- Appalachian Region","Community college students -- Appalachian Region"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/635"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["School of Professional Studies","Ed. D.; A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Community colleges are public educational institutions that are designed to meet students' educational and career goals in an affordable and accessible manner. While community colleges have expanded access to higher education opportunities, serving more than 5.1 million students in 2019, the number of students who complete their educational goal is remarkably low. Numerous studies have been undertaken to determine factors that contribute to student attrition in community colleges. These studies indicate that rural community colleges serve primarily low-income students who demonstrate lower academic high school achievement levels and have lower parental expectations to complete a college degree than their urban and suburban peers. In addition, community colleges often serve rural populations that are challenged by transportation, family, and financial needs. This dissertation examined emergency financial assistance as a strategy to increase student retention rates in the rural community college setting. The goal of this study was to provide evidence to assist community colleges in their efforts to raise retention rates and subsequently increase the number of students graduating with a two-year associate's degree."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Examining the effect of emergency assistance programs on student retention in rural community colleges"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Rausch, David W.","Crawford, Elizabeth K.; Bernard, Hinsdale; Rector, Jeff L.","College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies"],"dc:creator":["Greear, Amy"],"dc:date":["2020-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["School of Professional Studies","Ed. D.; A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education."],"dc:description.abstract":["Community colleges are public educational institutions that are designed to meet students' educational and career goals in an affordable and accessible manner. While community colleges have expanded access to higher education opportunities, serving more than 5.1 million students in 2019, the number of students who complete their educational goal is remarkably low. Numerous studies have been undertaken to determine factors that contribute to student attrition in community colleges. These studies indicate that rural community colleges serve primarily low-income students who demonstrate lower academic high school achievement levels and have lower parental expectations to complete a college degree than their urban and suburban peers. In addition, community colleges often serve rural populations that are challenged by transportation, family, and financial needs. This dissertation examined emergency financial assistance as a strategy to increase student retention rates in the rural community college setting. The goal of this study was to provide evidence to assist community colleges in their efforts to raise retention rates and subsequently increase the number of students graduating with a two-year associate's degree."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/635"],"dc:language":["English","eng"],"dc:publisher":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"],"dc:relation":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"],"dc:rights":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"dc:subject":["Community college dropouts -- Appalachian Region","Educational attainment -- Appalachian Region","Community college students -- Appalachian Region"],"dc:title":["Examining the effect of emergency assistance programs on student retention in rural community colleges"],"dc:type":["Doctoral dissertations","Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:46:59Z"}