Student engagement with an academic support center during Covid-19

Doctor of EducationDepartment of Educational LeadershipMartha M. EllisThe challenge to improve academic achievement for community college students has generated concern for decades, with renewed emphasis during the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020-2021, known as Covid-19 (Roueche, 1968; West & Fabre, 2021). National and local initiatives for student success have been launched with mixed results from a broad coalition of champions (Smith, Baldwin, & Schmidt, 2015). The challenge of succeeding in higher education for many students suggests that a corresponding demand for academic support services would exist, but that has not been the universal student response at every institution (Friedlander, 1980; Hendriksen, Yang, Love, & Hall, 2005). Research has demonstrated the efficacy of academic support services for students when used, dispelling most doubts about their utility (Center for Community College Student Engagement, CCCSE, 2012; Kostecki & Bers, 2008). This quantitative study is about factors that relate to student engagement with an academic support center during Covid-19. That support center is the Tutoring and Academic Skills Center (TASC) at College of the Desert (COD) in Palm Desert, California