Transitioning Learners to Calculus in Community Colleges (TLC3) is a research project aimed at transforming institutional approaches to matriculating underrepresented racial minority (URM) students into and through Calculus II in the nation's 1,023 public associate degree-granting institutions (community colleges). The broader goal of the TLC3…

Having garnered national attention, high failure rates in developmental education present a significant barrier to state and national policymakers' goals of increasing the percentage of adults who earn a college credential. However, a majority of the research fails to consider why students place into developmental education. This piece examines a…

For the past decade, MDRC has evaluated a number of interventions designed to improve the outcomes of community college students, including enhanced counseling, learning communities, and financial incentives. Encouragingly, many of these strategies have produced positive effects, affirming that changes in institutional practices and policies can…

Community colleges across the United States have initiated programs that are making an impact on the productivity of rural America and its residents. Profiles of 20 community and technical college initiatives in rural economic development are contained in this report intended for use by community and technical college administrators. The programs…

Community colleges, which serve almost half of postsecondary students in the United States, are receiving ever-increasing attention from policymakers and researchers. Although these institutions have always served a wide range of people in their communities, the number of students who enter community college requiring additional preparation before…

Community colleges play an important role in the U.S. economy, providing access to higher education for low-income young people, a path to higher-earning employment for low-income workers, and a supply of well-trained employees for local industry. In order to remain competitive with other major economies, however, the U.S. must sharply increase…

Describes the involvement of the library staff in developmental studies instruction at Chattanooga State Technical Community College in Tennessee. Examines the different approaches to library instruction used in English, developmental reading, and study skills classes. (DMM)

Criticisms have been raised about large scale community college involvement in developmental education. A number of these criticisms seem valid, while others clearly are not. Some of the most commonly voiced concerns include the following: (1) "The community college is the wrong place to provide developmental education"; (2)…

Despite their vital role in open-access, two-year colleges, remedial education efforts have increasingly come under attack by legislators and the public, who view such programs as duplicating the appropriate function of high schools, and who believe that limited state resources should be devoted to more prestigious programs. For a college to…

Guidelines are provided for the development of a community college course in critical thinking. The first sections offer an overview of the nature and basic concepts of critical thinking, indicating that: (1) the skills developed in critical thinking classes include the ability to formulate a clear statement of a thesis or problem, evaluate…

In response to a deficiency in basic skills demonstrated by students admitted to Santa Fe Community College (SFCC), a Vocational Skills Assessment (VSA) program was developed to increase student awareness of personal and vocational strengths through hands-on assessment of their abilities. The VSA program has four integrated courses: (1) Skills…

This examination of the issues of reform pertinent to adult and developmental education focuses largely on the activities and recommendations of the Learning, Assessment, Retention Consortium (LARC) of California with respect to these concerns. The first sections of the paper address the problem of underprepared college students, and the policy…

Reviews the types of remedial programs offered at community colleges and the ways learning resources centers (LRCs) have been involved. Notes professional calls for more active involvement in this area. Describes a model library/developmental education program and cites examples of successful literacy programs. (DMM)

In an effort to help basic skills students learn the skills they need to survive in college-level studies and remediate critical areas as quickly as possible, many community colleges have overlooked the value of other studies and the more general literacy that is essential to any education. By rushing to comply with students' utilitarian goals,…

Makes a distinction between developmental and remedial programs and suggests reasons for the difficulty in evaluating these programs. Identifies basic limitations in educational research, factors found in successful programs, questions to be considered in selecting and formulating the evaluation design, and five useful educational research…