A first publishing experience can open doors and be a critical first step in a long and prolific academic career for many students.

Four adult and lifelong learning doctoral students in the College of Education and Health Professions, Ashley Rader, Chris McBeath, Amanda Fuller and Becky Warren, and one U of A graduate student, Crystal Branch, were published, many for the first time, in the Journal of Applied Research in Community Colleges (JARCC) fall 2023 issue thanks to hard work and dedication researching a range of topics from improving enrollment and completion of degrees among nontraditional students to the struggles of Black single mother students.

JARCC is the official publication of the doctoral program in Community College Leadership at San Diego State University and the SDSU Community College Leaders Alumni Chapter and has served the institutional research and planning professionals in community colleges since 1993.

Ashley Rader, an associate professor of communication studies at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, published her paper "Playing the Long Game: Using Communications Theory to Create Community College Faculty Support for Assessment of Student Learning" thanks to inspiration from a close colleague and her passion for communication.

"This is a proud moment for me, and I appreciate everyone who has supported me, not only in this one published piece but throughout my journey to earn a doctorate at the University of Arkansas," Rader said.

The opportunity to publish their research came in Survey and Significance of the Community College, a spring adult and lifelong learning graduate course taught by assistant professor Brett Ranon Nachman.

Nachman said the opportunity to publish and gain practical experiences are essential cornerstones to how he approaches teaching his courses.

"It was a pleasure to work with [these students] to develop their applied research papers where they could explore topics of interest pertaining to community college issues and then support them in submitting these to publication," Nachman said. "I'm very proud that several of our ADLL students can now call themselves published authors in a peer-reviewed community college journal."

Doctoral student Chris McBeath called upon his experiences as a faculty member at Connors State College in Oklahoma while developing the idea for his research into college-in-prison programs titled "Navigating Prison Education: A Guide to Establishing a College in Prison Program." Connors State runs two college-in-prison programs, and the Second Chance Pell Experiment will allow more colleges and universities to be added.

McBeath shared that he "could contribute to some of our successes and challenges that other community colleges may find valuable."

More information about the research papers of all five students can be found here.