This study used the five benchmarks from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) to form clusters of colleges within the CCSSE classification of extra-large community colleges (greater than or equal to 15,000 students). Cluster analysis produced a five-cluster solution for the 48 identified extra-large community colleges. Using…

This study provides community college leaders with insights regarding how administrators and faculty members perceive faculty portfolios as an evaluation tool in two-year colleges. Utilizing a qualitative design, this study focused on perceptions of administrators and faculty members regarding the use of portfolios as the primary instrument for…

This study showcases cluster analysis as a useful tool for those who seek to understand the types of students their community colleges serve. Although educational goal, academic program, and demographics are often used as descriptive variables, it is unclear which, if any, of these are the best way to classify community college students. Cluster…

This study examines two community college instructional support programs to explore the effectiveness of an evaluation model--responsive evaluation theory--that may ease the tensions between a concern over programs' processes and reporting requirements for program outcomes. The study uses a comparative qualitative case study design and applies…

Manufacturers in the United States are struggling to recruit and hire high-skilled workers needed to maintain productivity and to compete globally. While the total number employed in the manufacturing sector is shrinking, the demand for high-skilled workers has increased. Community and technical colleges have traditionally been an important source…

This study hypothesized that student performance in a First Year Introduction program (FYI), representing an initial sampling of students' academic behaviors, would correlate with subsequent academic success. Subjects were 1,501 first-time, first-year students attending Columbia Basin College in fall quarter 2007, whose FYI performance was graded…

Community colleges nationwide are tasked with meeting the needs of a wide range of students, many of whom come to higher education with financial, educational, and social disadvantages. Developing strategies to effectively serve these students and promote their academic and personal success can be challenging and resource-intensive. The study…

This study explores the degree of alignment between high school mathematics and language arts assessments and community college placement examinations in widespread use in California. The study was conducted in two stages. The first stage analyzed the variety of placement exams used to determine their core content. The second stage analyzed the…

In this study, the different types of research designs used to assess the impact of prerequisite courses are presented. Supported by an in-depth literature review, the challenges that are faced in the assessment of the impact of prerequisites, from statistical to political, are identified and their pitfalls are pointed out. In particular, the…

This study applies competing risks survival analysis to describe outcome attainment for an entire cohort of students who first attended a Midwestern community college in the Fall Semester 2001. Outcome attainment included transfer to a four-year institution, degree/ certificate attainment from the community college under study, and transfer to a…

Current research indicates that students often have a difficult time getting started on reaching their course goals. This study examines the impact of an intervention exercise on the final grades and success rates of two groups of community college students in California. At the beginning of the spring semester 2007, students in two English…

This article presents a case study of a two-year pilot to increase pre-collegiate math course success rates at a large community college. The EnableMath pilot involved the use of computerized software that allowed students to practice math problems in a lab during class time. Additional components of the program included the administration of the…

Argues that community colleges are becoming more reliant on support from external stakeholders to design programs and deliver services to customers. Suggests that colleges need to supplement traditional academic indicators of performance with external indicators, which involves a shift from a closed to an open systems-assessment approach. (JDI)

Community colleges are truly an American invention that, despite many documented successes, remains controversial. There is a large body of research that criticizes these institutions citing non-successes (Dougherty, 1987, 1994; Brint & Karabel, 1989). Debates whirl not only about the overall outcomes of these institutions, but also about how to…

Analyzes the similarities and differences between two outcomes-based assessment schemes: the institutional effectiveness model, which measures an institution's effectiveness at improving teaching and learning; and the performance funding model, which focuses on product, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of programs. Contains 15 references. (JDI)