Study of Vietnamese-American Community College Students

Community colleges have seen an increase in the§proportion of minority students in their enrollments.§These minority students include individuals who have§immigrated to the United States. This trend is§occurring as the country is working to determine how§to properly address the issue of immigration on a§larger, national, scale. The Vietnamese-American§population is one of the most recent Asian groups to§enter the United States. §The purpose of this study was to discover how§heuristic knowledge is evident in the academic and§social journeys of Vietnamese-American students§enrolled at a community college in the midwestern§United States. Vietnamese-American students were§interviewed in an effort to understand their§experiences while attending the college. The§interpretation of their experiences is reported using§a narrative approach to produce a more complete image§of the experiences of the students. This research may§have implications for community college faculty,§administrators, and staff. This may affect the design§and delivery of student services such as advising and§student development programs, and the teaching and§learning perspective of faculty members.