Community college advising and counseling practitioners provide a productive setting for establishing a positive tone for self and academic discovery, while assisting students in finding their place within higher education. This brief compares current advising strategies for under-prepared students or students with low college readiness. One of…

An analysis of about 10 years of efforts to increase the number of disadvantaged students who graduate from Michigan State University business programs and the experiences of 845 disadvantaged students suggest that the special sections developed for these students have helped increase graduation rates. (SLD)

Study of Upward Bound programs, designed to help disadvantaged high school students attend and succeed in college, finds participants have higher educational expectations and college-preparatory achievement than do nonparticipants; Hispanic students and students with initially lower expectations benefit most; there is no impact on students' high…

Addresses the impact of Supplemental Instruction (SI) on students in a large urban university. Questions, specifically, what academic performance benefit is realized beyond the target course supported by SI, and whether SI participation strengthens the persistence patterns of particular student populations. Finds that SI has substantial impact on…

Discusses the increasing number of legal challenges to high-stakes testing, which can potentially impact developmental education programs nationally. Analyzes challenges to the tests in four states, and suggests that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) may lead to lawsuits if a child has not received an appropriate education. (Contains 15…

Compares the self-reported study behaviors of developmental students to those of regular admission students. The virtually identical self-reported study skills between the groups may be an artifact of using a Likert study skill measure. Discusses the rationale and evidence from other studies that substantiate the threat to validity posed by using…

In 1987, Rockland Community College (RCC) established a Developmental Studies Department to serve students in need of remedial/developmental services. This report describes the services of the department and two special related projects. Part I focuses on the Developmental Studies Department, covering assessment, placement, and advisement; college…

Results of a 1983 evaluation of Pennsylvania's ACT 101 programs, which provide support services to educationally and economically disadvantaged college students, are presented. Attention focuses on: the achievement and persistence of this population of students in 1975, 1977, and 1979; the attitudes of currently enrolled students; the attitudes…

An evaluation of the TRIO/Special Services program at the University of Minnesota, General College, is presented. Descriptions are provided of program operations, services offered, the program participants, and student eligibility. Program effectiveness is also assessed in terms of student outcomes, and individual program services are examined as…

Techniques and procedures used to evaluate the outcomes of the student development program, and to use the evaluation results, are presented. Specific evaluation questions are posed that address overall outcomes, not individual student outcomes, and quantitative measures are suggested to accompany the questions. The measures include statistical…

Because of the tremendous growth in college populations in the last 30 years, the number of programs designed to help underprepared students has grown significantly. Whether or not these programs work is still in question. This study used the meta-analysis techniques of Glas (1976) and Hedges (1985) to study a subset of developmental studies…

The 1983-1984 evaluation of the TRIO/Special Services program at the University of Minnesota, General College, is presented. Program goals and course descriptions for the integrated course of study are described, as are counseling and tutoring services, student eligibility, and characteristics of program participants. A demographic profile for…

The Transition Class is an alternative model to the traditional college sequence of developmental courses. Offered as an option to prospective students before they complete the college application and financial aid procedures, the 12-week Transition Class is nongraded and free of charge. By taking the class before they fully matriculate in the…

A 3-year followup evaluation of the Personalized Education Program (PEP) of the General College, University of Minnesota, is presented. The program, which is designed to improve the academic retention and achievement of underprepared, freshman minority students, has served 273 students since the fall 1979 quarter, including 86 American Indians, 72…

The federally funded Special Services for Disadvantaged Students (SSDS) program is examined for the 1979-80 academic year in 58 institutions; the program's short-term impact on participating freshmen is summarized. Up to 200 students at each site were studied to determine whether program participation levels correlated with outcomes and whether…