The Academic Worries Project (AWP) was founded on the idea that the student voice and experience is often overlooked at times of policy making and allocation of resources for community colleges. In addition, the creators of the Academic Worries Project noticed the minimal research done on factors affecting students who withdraw from their college or those who withdraw from their college prior to transferring. Therefore, the research conducted through the Academic Worries Project dives deeper into the various factors and unique experiences of community college students and the obstacles that these students face in the path towards transferring or completing entry level English and Math courses. Through the results of the AWP research, we hope to provide community colleges with the guidance on how to improve students' transfer ability and retention through adaptations in current programs and teaching methodologies.

AB 705 is a bill which attempts to increase California community college student access and success by providing effective core matriculation services of orientation, assessment and placement, counseling, and other education planning services, and academic interventions.

AB 705 requires California community colleges to maximize the probability that a student will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and math within a one year timeframe.

Colleges must place students into English and math courses using one or more of the following: high school coursework, high school grades, or high school grade point average. Under the new law, you cannot be denied entry into a transfer-level math and English class unless the college can prove that you are highly unlikely to succeed.

Implementation of AB705 is important for students because they are often held back by the placement test, becoming stuck in sequences that statistically ensure failure to transfer to higher institutions.

What was done previously?

Community colleges had previously largely relied on ineffective standardized tests that placed more than 75 percent of incoming students into lengthy remedial course sequences, where few ever reached transfer-level courses or achieved their college goals. But thanks to Assembly Bill 705, California’s community colleges are ushering in a new era of placing students into courses where they are most likely to succeed (What Is the Law? (n.d.). Retrieved 2020, from https://ab705.org/what-is-the-law).

The AWP employs a mixed-methods approach when collecting and analyzing the unique experiences of community college students.

Scales we employ in this study:

Likert Scales:

Measures the extent to which they agree or disagree with a statement.

Friendship Scale:

The scale examines 1.) closeness, 2.) help, 3.) acceptance, 4.) safety.

How do community college students make friends and how does this contribute to the community overall?

Perceived Stress Scale:

Measures the perception of stress

The items gauge the extent of the unpredictable, and overwhelming aspects in the participants lives in the academic realm.

Sibling Demographics:

The survey incorporated background on the participants siblings due to the influence that they contribute to each other’s academic career.

Goal Attainment Scale:

Goal attainment is the process where individuals and other resources are mobilized for the attainment of a collective goal.

Using this measure, we are able to examine:

*How the student finds and utilizes resources

*How the resources impact their ability to solidify their academic goals