Gateway courses in English challenge students to strengthen skills in critical thinking, reading, grammar, and writing structure and strategies -- skills that also help build competency in comprehension and composition. They can also prove to be a particular challenge to many community college students. This case study examines the efforts at…

Langara College, as one of the leading undergraduate institutions in the province of British Columbia (BC), offers the "Applied Science for Engineering" two-year diploma program as well as the "Engineering Transfer" two-semester certificate program. Three project-based courses are offered as part of the two-year diploma program…

"Working Together and Making A Difference: Virginia Western Community College and Goodwill Industries of the Valleys Partnership Case Study Report" is a report aimed at informing community college and workforce leaders of best practices for launching and expanding partnerships to serve students more effectively. Co-published by AspenWSI…

When an institutional program review determined the Hillsborough Community College Libraries Web site was out-of-date, lacked resources, and was in desperate need of a makeover, the authors embarked upon a redesign project. The article describes the challenges and considerations that contributed to the authors' decision-making and design…

Three community colleges--El Paso Community College, Bunker Hill Community College, and Patrick Henry Community College--incorporated technology into the curriculum to support student progress in mathematics through developmental education. Each college took its own path: El Paso developed a self-accelerated emporium-style computer lab, Patrick…

This paper triangulates perspectives on reflective pedagogy (Yancey, 2009), integrative learning (Eynon, 2009) and technology integration into learning and teaching (Wenzlaff, 1998) in order to connect the dots among a set of values, challenges and opportunities that concomitantly emerge from using eportfolios (electronic portfolios) in teacher…

Integration of informatics competency into a nursing curriculum is important to ensure success throughout the education and career of contemporary nursing students. As enrollment in nursing programs increases, the diverse population of students from many different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds presents a challenge for faculty in…

"Building Institutional Capacity for Data-Informed Decision Making" is the third installment of the Cutting Edge series, which aims to help colleges engage faculty, scale successful interventions, and create a strong culture of evidence through use of data to strengthen their institutional change and student success efforts. Though the…

The graduate of the Communication Technician apprenticeship program is a certified journeyperson who will be able to: (1) supervise, train and coach apprentices; (2) use a thorough knowledge of electrical and electronic theory and its application to communication and associated equipment used in the telecommunication industry; (3) understand…

Two Maryland colleges (one a four-year liberal arts college for women, and one a public community college) have worked to increase the number of graduates, especially women and other under-represented groups, in their computer science, computer information systems, engineering, and mathematics programs over a four-year period. In August 2004, they…

Like other literacies (textual literacy, numeracy), digital visual literacy (DVL) is the ability both to create and to understand certain types of information, in this case visual materials created with a computer. DVL is now essential in many daily life and workplace tasks, from looking critically at newspaper images or TV evening news to using a…

A web-based formula-driven tool has been developed for the purpose of performing two distinct academic department budgeting functions: allocation funding to the department, and budget management by the department. The tool's major features are discussed and its uses demonstrated. The tool's advantages are presented. (Contains 10 figures.)

In addition to experiencing the generic quality and cost problems faced by all colleges and universities, community colleges face problems particular to their student populations. They need to design more flexible schedules for working adult students, create a greater sense of community or engagement for commuting students, address the special…