I want to recognize Kintay Johnson, Director of Special Programs, for successfully defending his dissertation recently through North Central University. Dr. Johnson's dissertation titled "Examining the Success Rates of Matriculation Services in the California Community College System: A One-way Analysis of Variance Study" focuses on student matriculation in the California Community College System. Here's a an abstract of his dissertation:

The Student Success and Support Program (SSSP) in the California Community College (CCC) system changed the matriculation process in 2012. New students entering the system were required to receive support services in the form of initial assessment, initial orientation, counseling and advising, educational planning, academic probation, and follow-up appointments. The purpose of this study was to examine if differences existed in student success rates between groups for the matriculation services of initial assessment, initial orientation, counseling and advisement, and educational planning when based on students’ ethnicity. The study was non-experimental in design, using the available data of all students who did or did not received matriculation services during Fall 2017 - Summer 2018 in a system of higher education in California. Secondary data from the CCC Data Management Information System (MIS) Data Mart was downloaded free of identifying information for the proposed study. A sample of the data from Fall 2017 - Summer 2018 was compiled into one data file and served as the groundwork for this dissertation. The data was downloaded, then put together in an Excel spreadsheet prior to analysis. The data file was then uploaded into SPSS, and a One-way Analysis of Variance test for differences between groups was administered. The variables examined in this research were ethnicity, initial assessment, initial orientation, college/advisement, and educational planning. Analyzing the data from the CCCCO Data Mart database, it was determined that no differences were found in success rates between groups when based on ethnicity and the service of initial assessment, initial orientation, counseling and advisement, and educational planning, failing to reject the null hypothesis research questions. Although no differences were found between the groups; however, not all students receive the services who are eligible to do so. Further research is needed to determine why no differences were found and if there is a relationship between the matriculation variables and student success.

Gaining his doctorate is an important milestone for him. Please join me in congratulating Kintay.