The Accelerating Opportunity initiative helps our nation's lowest-skilled adults earn college credentials and enter higher-wage jobs faster by combining the Adult Basic Education and career and technical training they need into one integrated curriculum. Based on four years of designing and managing Accelerating Opportunity, Jobs for the Future…

Community colleges have multiple missions and one of them is to provide open access services to those seeking to further their education. Community colleges provide remedial courses in math, reading, and writing because many of their students do not meet entrance requirements in these core subjects. However, the usual developmental education track…

This research analyzed linked high-quality state data from K-12, adult education, and postsecondary state datasets in order to better understand the association between student demographics and successful completion of a postsecondary program. Due to the relatively small sample size compared to the large number of features, we analyzed the data…

The Developmental Student Outcomes (DEVSO) Survey is one of four annual surveys that make up the British Columbia (BC) Student Outcomes project. This report presents the system-level findings from the 2014 Developmental Student Outcomes Survey. The results included in the report were analysed by demographic characteristics and other factors. The…

The Developmental Student Outcomes (DEVSO) Survey is one of four annual surveys that make up the British Columbia (BC) Student Outcomes project. This report presents a summary of the findings from the 2013 Developmental Student Outcomes Survey. The results included in the report were analysed by demographic characteristics and other factors. The…

Four types of developmental education programs have been designed to help students overcome or compensate for: (1) deficiencies in grades or subjects required for admission to a senior institution or to colleges and transfer programs (Pre-Transfer); (2) deficiencies in reading, writing, speech, arithmetic, study habits, motivation, and other…

The Developmental Student Outcomes (DEVSO) Survey is one of four annual surveys that make up the British Columbia (BC) Student Outcomes project. This report presents a summary of the findings from the 2012 Developmental Student Outcomes Survey. The results included in the report were analysed by demographic characteristics and other factors. The…

"As educators, we have to make the commitment to a very simple proposition: if we admit students to college, we should do everything possible to make sure they succeed. These remarks are not an indictment but a rallying call. We can do much better." With these words, Dr. Raymund Paredes, Texas commissioner of higher education, opened the…

Adult students, whether new or returning to higher education, experience a unique set of transition challenges. This chapter highlights the barriers facing adult students and offers ways to overcome them. For many adult students, returning to college and fulfilling their goals is much like building a house of cards. In order to be successful, each…

Educational interventions that are currently in vogue in higher education settings are based upon constructivist approaches, whereby students learn content within the context of authentic activities and problem-based scenarios. Certainly these approaches have value, but proponents of these approaches have been somewhat successful in convincing…

This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest CCRC research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "Addressing the Needs of Underprepared Students," by Thomas Bailey, summarizes the discussion found in the paper "Challenge and Opportunity: Rethinking…

The Breaking Through (BT) initiative promotes an expanded and enhanced role for community colleges in providing access to college for low-skilled adults. BT is uniquely important in its systematic integration of adult education, developmental/remedial education, professional-technical education (PTE), and career planning and preparation in…

This is a qualitative study of four women receiving assistance through the Trade Readjustment Act (TRA) and who were enrolled in a developmental writing course. The TRA provides money to displaced workers for the purposes of retraining them to reenter the workforce. The four women in the study were nontraditional students and displaced garment…

Eighty percent of New Mexico's 17 community college and vocational school CEOs responded to a survey revealing that they have different views on what constitutes remedial and developmental programs; and although these programs are considered compatible with the CEOs' educational philosophy, programs are not viewed on equal basis with other college…

In September 2006, the State Board approved a new System Direction to guide the two-year-college system for the next ten years. One of three primary goals for the system is to increase educational attainment for the economic development of the state and the economic well-being of Washingtonians. Since 2000, State Board staff has provided periodic…