This three-part report describes the Bridging Program at San Diego Mesa College (SDMC), a basic skills program to prepare students functioning at the 7th grade level or below and to thus provide a bridge between developmental education and adult basic education (ABE). Part I begins with a review of the program's background and a list of its…

In 1979-80, a study was conducted at Dundalk Community College (DCC) to assess the procedures and instruments used to place students in the three options of its developmental education program: Option A (for students with the lowest assessment scores), Option B (for those with low assessment scores), and regular developmental courses. The study…

This three-part report summarizes the accomplishments of Illinois' Disadvantaged Student Grant Program, through which public community colleges receive special funds for aiding educationally disadvantaged students on the basis of enrollment in remedial and developmental courses. Part I presents anecdotal accounts of exemplary student achievements…

When the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges compiled best practices for serving basic skills students in 2002-2003, assessment practices were notably absent. In this paper, problems with current assessment and placement practices with regards to basic skills are explored. The paper begins with a review of the matriculation process…

Nearly one-quarter of students in community colleges leave school during the first year of enrollment for reasons other than transfer or credential completion. Generally, nontraditional community college students drop out within their first year at higher rates than do traditional students. Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges…

Despite their vital role in open-access, two-year colleges, remedial education efforts have increasingly come under attack by legislators and the public, who view such programs as duplicating the appropriate function of high schools, and who believe that limited state resources should be devoted to more prestigious programs. For a college to…

This paper explores two interrelated dimensions of access--opportunities for progression and educational orientation, and offers various insights into what has been termed the "democratic imperative" in American higher education. It also addressed the responsiveness of institutions and faculty in access and other programs to the needs and…

This journal presents a cross-section of current ideas on how to teach and advise community college students and promote positive social interactions with the local community. The issue contains: (1) "Characteristics of an Excellent Teacher," by Cherie Corr, Joan Shack, and Anthony Walsh; (2) "Information Literacy: Progress and Prospects in the…

The Developmental Studies Department (DSD) at Rockland Community College (RCC), in Suffern, New York, provides courses and services to assist students lacking college-level skills in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, study skills, and English. An additional pilot project, the RCC/Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) has…

With the availability of technologically advanced instructional delivery systems, and the educational reform efforts of state and federal governments, the role and importance of community college learning resource centers (LRC's) have expanded tremendously since their experimental beginnings in 1939. This volume contains the following articles…

This report provides information on the second year (1985-86) of the third cycle of Rockland Community College's (RCC's) Special Services Project, a program providing supplemental instructional, counseling, and tutorial services for educationally and economically disadvantaged students through college skills courses, remedial/developmental…

Recommendations of the California Postsecondary Education Commission on proposed state-funded outreach and support service programs for ethnic minority and low-income postsecondary students are provided, along with descriptive data. With a focus on 1983-1984 budget issues, attention is directed to four types of programs at state institutions:…

Recommendations of the California Postsecondary Education Commission on proposed state-funded outreach and support service programs for ethnic minority and low-income postsecondary students are provided, along with descriptive data. With a focus on 1984-1985 budget issues, attention is directed to four types of programs at state institutions:…

Due to the large number of students requiring developmental college math courses, a study was conducted to determine if a beginning algebra course focusing on function and integrating technology as a tool to explore mathematics would aid students with previously debilitating experiences in math. The study evaluated 92 students enrolled in…

The Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP), implemented in 1989, requires student assessment in reading, writing, and math prior to regular college course work. Students undergo continuous remediation until they are able to pass the assessment test. Though TASP advocates argue that the program helps maintain academic standards and provides students…