Opportunity youth (OY; i.e., youth ages 16--24 who are neither working nor in school) are a population who is difficult to engage and retain in educational programs, particularly in community college career and technical education (CTE) programs. OY are an important population to community colleges, as CTE programs culminating in…

Despite research pointing to the crucial role nonacademic staff play in student success in higher education, large-scale reform efforts at community colleges and elsewhere typically focus little direct attention on interpersonal interactions between students and staff. Caring Campus is a program developed and administered by the Institute for…

Designing effective student retention programs is of critical importance from both a completion and a monetary standpoint. However, oftentimes colleges attempt to use nationally developed models rather than institutional-specific data to identify potential factors involved in student attrition. At a Midwestern community college, research…

Over the past four decades there has been a great amount of research on retention of students in higher education institutions (Tinto, 2006); however, few studies have examined the effect of what institutions provide for student support, regarding retention, specifically allied health program students. Retention of community college students in…

Collegiate athletic programs have often been referred to as the "front porch" of an institution. Coaches, athletic teams, student athletes, and athletic department staff serve as a "link between the immediate campus family and the larger community. It is this front-porch principle that makes managing intercollegiate athletics a unique and…

Community colleges face struggles in helping students meet their academic, career, and personal goals. Student affairs practitioners can be innovators by creating initiatives to engage students. Practitioners can act as a bridge between student and academic affairs. This article explores how a group of counselors redefined their roles by designing…

Describes the process of developing a marketing plan at Grand Rapids Junior College which involved the establishment of an all-college task force. Examines the committee structure utilized and the charge of each of nine subcommittees. Discusses problems encountered and provides a checklist for involving the whole college in marketing. (DD)

Discusses attrition research in terms of student characteristics predictive of persistence and reasons students drop out. Itemizes the steps of planning a retention program and suggests retention strategies in three categories: administration, faculty, and student personnel. (DD)

Defines marketing and discusses the eight steps of the marketing process. Emphasizes the necessity of having one individual or committee responsible for coordinating marketing functions. Notes that marketing's success depends on its acceptance by all levels of the institution. Lists the benefits of implementing marketing in a community college.…

Analyzes the major factors in the failure of student retention programs in community colleges by using an eight-phase hypothetical retention model which is compared with 18 principles of planned change. Concludes with generalizations and explanations for retention program weaknesses. (WL)

A study was conducted at Shelby State Community College (SSCC) in Tennessee to determine the extent, causes, and solutions to the problem of student retention. The study involved: (1) a comparative analysis of headcounts to assess the extent of the dropout problem, which indicated that enrollments declined sharply from 5,289 in 1983 to 3,399 in…

Provides references to ERIC documents dealing with marketing community colleges. Covers the purpose of marketing, planning, and implementing marketing programs, the extent to which marketing is being used, descriptions of programs and activities at individual institutions, and the role of institutional research in support marketing. (DD)

Reviews the development and growing institutional acceptance of the general studies program at the Parkington campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College which offers remedial courses in English, mathematics, and reading to over one-fifth of the student body. (MB)

Marketing in the community college serves to expand recruitment efforts in order to reach all members of the community, as a way to distribute information about the college, and as a means to discover new markets of students. The primary purpose of marketing is to increase the community's awareness of the college through better and more complete…

The report describes both the problems faced and the strategies that have been implemented to resolve some of the problems in the Distance Learning Program at Tomball College in Texas. An examination of their Distance Education (DE) Program revealed multifaceted problems: instructor incompetence and curriculum inconsistency; student…