First-generation (FG) college students (students for whom neither parent has a 4-year degree) face a number of challenges as they attempt to obtain a post-secondary degree. They are more likely to come from working-class backgrounds or poverty (Reardon, 2011) and attend lower quality high schools (Warburton et al., 2001) while not benefiting from…

In June 2013, former Texas Governor Rick Perry signed into law House Bill (HB) 5, 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, which established a new high school graduation program--the Foundation High School Program--for students entering Grade 9 in 2014-15 and reduced the number of state assessments required for graduation. The legislation gave the…

Accelerating Opportunity (AO) combined integrated career pathways at two-year colleges with team teaching, acceleration strategies, supportive services, and policy changes. It aimed to help low-skilled adults earn occupational credentials, obtain well-paying jobs, and sustain rewarding careers. This final implementation report documents activities…

A study of the proportion of recommendations made in nine areas of program evaluation for two-year colleges found that most were in the area of instruction. Six areas were implemented most frequently. Direct supervisor support facilitated implementation, but insufficient staff time was a barrier. (JOW)

In 1991, the Florida State Legislature established an accountability process for the state's community college system to foster institutional self-examination and improvement. In 1995, the Legislature undertook a review of the process to determine the extent that it had been implemented, the usefulness of specific documents, and the level of…

The Teaching Resources Center (TRC) at American River College in California was developed to improve instruction and offer a variety of activities and services to faculty. Colleges interested in establishing a similar program should recognize that the development of a TRC requires planning, implementation, and evaluation. The planning phase begins…

This report describes an innovative network security program initiated by Northern Virginia Community College and funded with a grant from the Northern Virginia Regional Partnership. The program educates and trains students in the instillation, configuration, and troubleshooting of the hardware and software infrastructure of information security.…

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…

The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a profile of writing centers in 12 community colleges governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents, including information on how the centers were established, funding and staffing sources, services provided, constituency demographic information, professional staff development, and the use of electronic…

The Florida Teletraining Project tested the feasibility of using community colleges for training military personnel in the Reserve Components. Five interactive video courses were produced, delivered, and evaluated. The project demonstrated the potential of two-way video teletraining for military personnel. (AEF)

An evaluation was conducted of tech prep, a focused, sequential 6-year course of study for high school and technical college students in North Carolina, using 19 criteria that were identified as being necessary to qualify for tech prep funding. Evaluation activities carried out by the North Carolina Departments of Public Instruction and Community…

This evaluative report describes the development of an evaluation plan for counseling services in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and analyzes implementation efforts. Part I provides an overview of plan development and summarizes the plan's strengths and weaknesses. Part II discusses the role of district leadership in developing…

This document discusses the Small Business Development Center initiative which addresses the needs of California businesses to grow through the delivery of one-on-one counseling, seminars, workshops, conferences, and other technical activities. The community colleges host 21 full centers. Some of the major objectives of the initiative are the…

Implementation of program evaluation recommendations should persuade people that the rewards of an evaluation outweigh the reasons for resistance. A study was undertaken with the following purposes: identify facilitators and barriers to the implementation of program evaluation; determine the proportion of recommendations made in each of the nine…

This report summarizes recent actions and decisions by The Alabama College System. Discussed is the Board's recent revision of the mission statement of the College System to emphasize institutional effectiveness. A description is provided of recent institutional consolidations and mergers, and schools that were re-designated as community colleges.…