Essential Elements of High-Impact Community College Student Success Courses: A Delphi Study

Student success courses are a common strategy for addressing student retention in higher education. Though the literature implies positive effect on student outcomes, few studies have explored factors contributing to their efficacy, especially within the community college context. The purpose of this modified Delphi study was to identify essential curricular elements and implementation factors in high-impact success courses offered to community college students. The study engaged a panel of 33 experienced success course instructors currently working in community colleges across the United States to evaluate the essentiality of curricular elements and implementation factors within these courses. Through four rounds of consideration, the panel reached consensus regarding the essentiality of 33 curricular elements and 21 implementation factors. Findings support community colleges in planning success courses to improve institutional and program completion rates by identifying what is standard and necessary for delivering a course to positively impact student outcomes such as credits earned, GPA, persistence, degree completion, and other personal development goals. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]