Despite evidence suggesting that standardized tests are an imperfect measure of academic readiness, many community colleges across the country rely on them alone to determine student course placement. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced campuses to transition to remote operations in spring 2020, proctoring in-person placement tests became…

In 2013, the state of Florida passed Senate Bill 1720, which reformed developmental education and gateway courses across the state of Florida. There was a gap in the research regarding how the institutions planned and implemented the changes necessary to comply with the bill. This basic qualitative study examined the strategies used by leaders to…

A growing number of community colleges and four-year universities are seeking to improve student outcomes by redesigning academic programs and student support services following the guided pathways approach. These institutions are mapping out highly structured, educationally coherent program pathways for students to follow by starting with the end…

In 2006, six community and technical colleges in Washington State joined the innovative national reform initiative called Achieving the Dream (ATD). This report describes the progress each college made in implementing ATD's "culture of evidence" principles for institutional improvement, examines strategies implemented by the colleges to…

In preparation for a 1996 restructuring at State Community College, in Illinois, from a state agency to an independent community college, a project was undertaken to develop a strategic plan to guide the transition. Specifically, the project sought to determine the necessary elements of and functions and activities required by the plan,…

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…

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…

This report analyzes the progress made in implementing the Illinois Board of Higher Education's policies on undergraduate education, with particular attention to the status of policy implementation concerning student achievement, scholarship, and general education. The report examines recent trends in the number of Illinois high school graduating…

An evaluation was conducted of the implementation by public universities and community colleges in Illinois of state policies on student scholarship and achievement in undergraduate education. The policies were proposed in 1986 and revised in 1990 by the Illinois State Board of Higher Education in the context of state and national education…

Case studies that describe the attempts of three colleges to improve institutional academic and program planning are presented. The institutions--Willamette University, Lorain County (Ohio) Community College (LCCC), and Ohio University--attempted to adapt and implement the planning process described in "A Handbook for Institutional Academic…

Senate Bill 156 of 1989 established the "Teacher Assistant, Associate of Arts" degree program in the California Education Code as a new offering of the California Community Colleges. It funded the creation of the program by two community colleges in different regions of the State, and it directed the California Commission on Teacher…

This report analyzes the progress made in implementing the Illinois Board of Higher Education's policies on undergraduate education, focusing particularly on public university and community college efforts to implement the Board's policies on student achievement, scholarship and general education and on faculty effectiveness and excellence in…

This report continues for a second-year analysis of progress made in implementing Illinois State Board of Higher Education policy on secondary education requirements for college admission and improving undergraduate education in Illinois. In particular this report examines the preparation of students for college and their achievement in their…

In 1989, in an effort to prepare the Texas economy for successful global competition, the Texas legislature mandated regional Quality Workforce Planning for vocational-technical education, calling on educators and employers to form training partnerships to strengthen the state's work force. In response to this legislation, 9 of Texas's 24 planning…

Perspectives on eight regional conferences that were held to discuss implementation of the 1978 master plan for higher education in Pennsylvania are considered. The development of statewide systems of higher education and their increased reliance on statewide master planning is traced, and the history of coordination, governance, and planning in…