This case study tracks the application of project-based learning (PBL) during four separate college terms at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. Each term follows a different learning community of first-term college students enrolled in a program of developmental education (DE), reading, writing, math, and college survival and success…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Mission Accomplished! The Development of a Competence-based E-portfolio Assessment Model (Shelley Schuurman, Scott Berlin, Jamie Langlois, and Julie Guevara); (2) The Third Rail of Assessment--Dangerous but Powerful (Dale L. Mort); (3) Video Killed the Radio…

Frederick Community College (FCC) is a comprehensive open-door community college that serves the citizens of Frederick County, Maryland, the state's largest county by size and seventh in population (230,000). It is located in central Maryland, equidistant from Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The college's character as a learning college is…

Isothermal Community College (ICC) is located in Spindale, North Carolina. The college serves approximately 2,000 curriculum students every fall and spring semester and about 1,000 curriculum students in summer semesters. The Student Affairs department at ICC is divided into 10 functional areas. Over the last several years, student affairs staff…

The Program Evaluation Process described in this report was initiated at Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) in spring 1981. Section I of the report presents the philosophy supporting the evaluation process which emphasizes program quality, cost effectiveness, and assistance with program improvement. Section II outlines the Program Evaluation…

The results of an evaluation of the Medical Assistant Program's first year are presented. Specifically, the matriculation, course enrollment, and program completions for the first year are compared with goals established at the program's inception. The evaluation findings were: (1) the program was offered as planned; (2) the discrepancy between…

Offers guidelines for the assessment of critical thinking ability, suggesting that assessment be integral to learning, involve a range of behaviors, emphasize expected course, program, or institutional outcomes, incorporate structured feedback and an external dimension, and be cumulative. Lists steps in developing an assessment plan. (DMM)

Accepted guidelines for academic program review often clash with the needs of administrators, who require timely and frequent information for monitoring the quality of academic programs. A method is described for developing key indicators that permit annual scanning of all programs. The goal was to develop indicators that would flag programs…

The purpose of this report is to provide information about educational programs offered by the Los Angeles Community College District colleges in which student enrollments as expressed in weekly student contact hours have significantly declined. Programs showing a 16% or greater decline in weekly student contact hours (WSCH) as compared with 1973…

This report and its appendices are the results of a study of recruitment and retention "problems" in the various engineering technology programs offered by the community colleges of the State University of New York (SUNY). The focus of the report and all but one of the appendices is upon the recruitment problem. There are five sections…

Analyzes the concepts of "planning and reallocation" and "pruning and grafting" as approaches to reducing academic costs when reductions are inevitable. The former concept involves long-range planning and organizational analysis of present programs and future goals; the latter focuses on elimination and consolidation of courses in accordance with…

Describes a state survey conducted to assess the effectiveness of postsecondary remedial education programs in Texas. Reviews current practices and offers recommendations with respect to student assessment and placement, remedial course offerings, program evaluation, and curricular coordination. (DMM)

Uses New Jersey's curriculum requirements as an example to present a model for the planning, development, approval, and evaluation of occupational curricula. Describes the steps of a three-phase development process involving program identification, program documentation and approval, and program execution. Considers evaluation needs. (DMM)

Program review at Independence Community College (ICC) is structured so that every program of study will undergo review within a 5-year period. The purpose of the program review effort is to assess the relationship of inputs to outcomes, so that actual outcomes can be compared to expected outcomes. Each program of study is evaluated according to…

This self-evaluation report provides descriptive and evaluative information on the Associate Degree Nursing program at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. After a brief outline of institutional information, the report describes the philosophy, purposes, and objectives of the nursing unit. The next section examines the organization and…