This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest Community College Research Center (CCRC) research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "Strategies for Increasing Student Success," by Thomas Bailey, summarizes the discussion found in the CCRC Assessment of Evidence…

Describes the goals and status of developmental courses at Lewis and Clark Community College as they were when the college changed from a private to a public two-year college and relates present goals and status. Discusses growth in remedial enrollment, program expansion, and the importance of student evaluation and placement. (DD)

The Maricopa Community College District's (MCCD's) Commission on Student Assessment and Initial Course Placement was formed to assess the current status of student assessment for initial course placement across the district, to review the available instruments that assess student skills for placement, to discover what other community college…

Advocates the testing and placement of incoming college students, arguing that students need access to information on their personal attributes and institutional options. Identifies criteria to be considered in selecting placement tests and making placement decisions. Offers suggestions for creating a systematic placement process. (DMM)

In response to the large numbers of students who were failing or dropping out of basic algebra and calculus classes, Cottey College, in Missouri, developed a math placement program in 1982 using Basic Algebra (BA) and Calculus Readiness (CR) tests from the Mathematical Association of America's Placement Testing Program. Cut off scores for the…

Respondents to a 1982-83 survey of assessment practices in California's community colleges identified Sacramento City College (SCC), Fullerton College (FC), Sierra College (SC), and Victor Valley College (VVC) as having the most effective assessment/placement programs in the state. Interviews conducted on-site with at least three staff members…

Describes a model of student assessment which considers prior educational record, educational proficiencies, achievements, aptitudes, and personal characteristics which may be applied to decisions in admissions, selection of study program, placement, continuing education, and program modification. (JDS)

This document was designed to serve as a guide for coordinators of cooperative vocational education programs in the University of Hawaii community colleges. Areas covered include: (1) the purpose, definition, criteria for, and advantages of cooperative vocational education; (2) the role of the coordinator as it relates to legal responsibilities…

The model for student assessment and placement described in this report was developed by the Learning Assessment Retention Consortium (LARC), a year-old network of 17 northern California colleges organized to examine problems related to assessment and to implement specific action plans. The report begins by citing statistics on the increasing…

Student tracking systems are enabling increasing numbers of community colleges to respond to external demands for accountability with tangible measurements of student progress and institutional outcomes. Several recent trends in marketing, accountability, communications with students, and internal competition for resources have prompted interest…

In recognition of the need to increase academic standards in its freshman composition course and expand its remedial English offerings, Laredo Junior College (LJC) in Texas developed a three-level remedial English program, with the lowest level focusing on sentence writing, the middle level on paragraph writing, and the upper level on essay…

This five part paper reviews problems faced by underprepared students and describes a model developed by faculty at the South Campus of Florida's Palm Beach Community College for dealing with such students. Section I reviews issues related to defining student underpreparedness and developing a model to serve all types of underprepared students,…

The Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) is a statewide program designed to ensure that all students attending public colleges and universities have the basic reading, mathematics, and writing skills necessary to perform effectively at the college level. All entering first-time freshmen are required to take the TASP test, which has a basic skills…

Designed to provide information and guidelines for the formation of policy on English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction in the California community colleges, this report to the Board of Governors offers policy recommendations and reports on the findings of a survey of community college ESL offerings. Section I provides background information,…

The purpose of the project was to develop a formal needs assessment system for occupational education in the North Orange County Community College District and the Rancho Santiago Community College District. A brief summary of the purpose and scope of the project focuses on the need for an effective manpower information system, for…