Date of Degree
2026
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Kortegast, Carrie
Committee Members
Nyunt, Gudrun; Schimmel, Kari
Keywords
Community colleges, Strategic Enrollment Management, Enrollment policy, Student access, Student persistence, Late registration, Institutional decision-making, Organizational complexity, Mixed methods, Case study
Abstract
LATE REGISTRATION PRESSURES AND POLICY IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: A MIXED METHODS STUDY
Late registration policy sits at the intersection of competing pressures that challenge community colleges, including commitments to open access, student success, and enrollment sustainability. While prior research has consistently linked late registration to lower academic outcomes, many institutions continue to maintain flexible registration practices, suggesting that policy decisions are shaped by factors beyond quantitative outcomes alone. This two-phase, mixed methods case study explored one Midwestern community college’s approach to late registration policy through both quantitative analysis of student outcomes and qualitative exploration of stakeholder perspectives. Using Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) as a conceptual framework, the study examined the relationship between registration timing and student success outcomes as well as how institutional stakeholders interpreted and navigated competing priorities surrounding late registration policy. Quantitative analysis of institutional enrollment and course outcome data found that students who registered late were significantly less likely to successfully complete courses and persist into the following semester. Survey and focus group findings revealed that faculty, staff, and administrators understood late registration as both necessary and problematic, simultaneously emphasizing concerns related to access, equity, academic preparedness, and institutional accountability. Findings suggest that late registration functions less as a discrete policy problem to be solved than as an ongoing institutional tension to be managed. The study highlights the complexity of balancing access and completion priorities within the community college context and offers insight into how institutional stakeholders make meaning of competing pressures in enrollment policy decisions.
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Hawthorne, Julia, "Late Registration Pressures and Policy in the Community College: A Mixed Methods Study" (2026). Dissertations of Practice. 127.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/127
