Research Interests
My research interests include higher education, SoTL, as well as workforce development and degree-completion programming.
Dissertation
Exploring “No-Loan” Policies in Community Colleges: An Analysis of Factors that Predict Opting Out of the Federal Student Loan Program (Under the direction of Dr. Paul Umbach).
My dissertation research focused on understanding why some community colleges adopt "no-loan" policies (that is, they do not allow students to access federal student loans). Nationally, around 10% of community colleges have a "no-loan" policy, which limits students' borrowing options despite an increased need and reliance on federal loans to fill financial aid gaps. To explore the factors behind these decisions, I analyzed data from 967 community colleges across all 50 states from 2002–2019 using descriptive statistics and linear probability models with fixed effects. The findings reveal clear differences between states with high and low concentrations of “no‑loan” colleges and identify factors such as cohort default rates, state funding levels, tuition and fees, and nonfederal borrowing rates as associated with opting out. Although statistically significant, these factors had small effect sizes, suggesting a complex decision-making landscape.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles and Book Chapters
Breeden, R., VanZoest, E., Lewis Sessoms, M., Harry, D., Meachum Lewis, E., Nichols, H., Jaeger, A. J., & Thomas, E. (2022). Adult learner guidebook: A guide to recruit and retain adult learners at North Carolina community colleges [Research brief]. The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. https://belk-center.ced.ncsu.edu/2022/07/13/belk-center-releases-adultlearner-guidebook-to-aid-in-the-recruitmentand-retainment-of-adult-learners-at-northcarolina-community-colleges/
Work in Progress
Lewis, Erin, Alyssa Degreenia, and Parker Greene. “Perceptions of Soft Skills and Workforce Preparedness Among Agricultural Student Interns and Employers: A Narrative Inquiry at a Two-Year Institution.” The Journal of Career and Technical Education (revise and resubmit).
Degreenia, Alyssa, and Erin Meachum “Student Perceptions of Soft Skill Development Before and After Agricultural Internship. “The Journal of Agricultural Education (in development).