High school dropouts are usually academic underachievers who adjust to social environments with difficulty. When they leave school, they develop even greater behavior problems and have more trouble getting employment than do high school graduates. To prevent dropouts, schools try to find funds for dropout prevention programs, work with agencies…

Higher standards in public schools have made it necessary for educational reformers to identify at-risk students and to develop effective programs for preventing their failure. This pamphlet begins by delineating the characteristics of at-risk students and discussing evaluation instruments that are useful for identifying such students. Successful…

The "revolving door syndrome" refers to the ease with which students are able to enroll in community colleges and the equal ease with which they can drop out. In addition to traditional retention strategies, such as assessment, placement, orientation and advising, innovative approaches have been implemented at five community colleges…

Community colleges can play an important role in increasing the number of people in the scientific talent pool and diversifying its ethnic and gender composition. In an effort to recruit more women and minorities into two-year college science, math, and engineering technology programs, community colleges are engaging in a wide range of special…

Community colleges play a major role in improving the access of Hispanic students to higher education, with roughly 56% of all college-going Hispanics attending these institutions. Relatively few however, have attained a postsecondary degree of any kind. A study of 145 community colleges found that Hispanic student retention was influenced by such…

As a college degree becomes increasingly important for individuals seeking employment, the numbers of first-generation students continues to grow. With the first-generation student pool comprised largely of members of working class families, ethnic minorities, women, and or adults, community colleges have always viewed first-generation students as…