Research was undertaken to develop and evaluate an associate degree-level technical education program in Plant Operations oriented towards training students in applied science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills and knowledge relevant to a spectrum of processing industries. This work focuses on four aspects of the curriculum…

In response to strikingly low completion rates in public 2-year colleges, including for students who are well-prepared academically, most community colleges across the country offer student success courses as one approach to improving outcomes for students. Some colleges have begun to revise these courses in response to research indicating that…

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…

Drawing from a literature review and experiences at Moraine Valley Community College, this paper examines the role of the community college honors program in meeting the special needs of superior students; analyzes the characteristics of effective and innovative programs and curricula; and discusses how an honors program can become…

This digest describes community college honors programs with regard to their origins and goals, consistency with institutional missions, and effectiveness. Potential goals for honors programs at community colleges include: (1) providing advanced students an opportunity to learn more than they would in a non-honors curriculum; (2) retaining a…

This study reports the results of teaching junior college students in a block or mini-college plan, in which five teachers shared the same students in a core program of courses. Objectives of this approach included increasing student identity with the college, developing new concepts about team teaching, utilizing the advantages of modern…

In fiscal year 1989, the Illinois community colleges conducted the first review of the general education component of their baccalaureate/transfer degree programs. This review, to be performed every 5 years, involved an extensive and diverse range of activities, and many colleges had difficulty completing the first review in a year's time. As a…

A study was conducted to determine the scope and characteristics of developmental/remedial activities in Maryland's 17 community colleges in terms of objectives and goals, courses and activities, student information, costs and revenues, and administration and organization. The study revealed: (1) 15 colleges offered developmental education for…

Nassau Community College (NCC) is currently working with a program evaluation model in which faculty from one department serve as peer evaluation consultants to direct the self-evaluations of other departments. The four functional objectives initially motivating the development of NCC's plan directed that: real decisions about academic programs…

PLATO IV (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) is the fourth generation of a computer assisted instructional system developed at the University of Illinois. The use of PLATO IV at five community colleges, and an evaluation of its educational impact on participating students, instructors, and colleges are described. The PLATO system…

A model for program evaluation at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College is presented in this report as a guide for faculty and administrators in developing a campuswide evaluation program. First, introductory material provides an overview of the history of the college, the effects of recent cutbacks, and the goals and mission of the college. Next, a…

This study, a synthesis of 51 published prescriptive essays and program reports from 1978 to 1997, follows the development of honors programs in comprehensive community colleges. Despite arguments that programs of this sort betray the institution's democratic imperative by implying academic elitism, diverting needed funds from…

This curriculum guide is intended to help California community college educators understand and develop a vocational program in health care, community care, and school food service. It establishes the general need for such a program, and provides guidelines to help educators determine if there is a need for such a program in their geographic…

This document describes the curriculum philosophy of Lethbridge Community College (Canada) (LCC), which integrates several concepts: learning college principles, constructivist learning paradigm , BP'9700 directions, distributed learning characteristics, and curriculum components of learner, setting, and subject. This framework provides all…

This fifth edition of the Maryland Community Colleges Instructional Program Manual was designed to be used in the development, submission, review, and approval of all new instructional programs in the Maryland community colleges. The first section provides a timetable for program proposals and program evaluations. The next sections contain…