Describes "Self Reliance," a humanities course offered at Monroe Community College (NY), which combines humanistic values and methods of inquiry with practical, appropriate technological skills to help students develop a self-reliant life style. Looks at hands-on, group, and individual term projects; student characteristics; and…

This digest focuses on the importance of learning assistance centers (LACs) to academic success and student retention. LACs differ from learning resource centers, which mainly provide and disseminate educational information. They also differ from development education offices, which give emphasis to teaching basic skills and preparing students for…

This booklet describes a study that helped clarify the current status of community college efforts in defining and documenting student acquisition of 21st Century Skills (general education skills). This study is traced through four stages: (1) an exploratory focus group involving presidents from ten U.S. community colleges recognized as leaders in…

Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) has developed a peer helper training program based on a modular training design. A peer helper at VWCC is a student attending the college who has been trained and evaluated as being effective in specifically defined interpersonal helping relationships. Peer helpers provide services as an adjunct to those…

The Centering-Venturing workshop program at Davidson College in North Carolina, designed to help students identify personal strengths and skills, is reviewed. The program includes an orientation meeting at which connections and integrations between different facets of self and between self and environment are presented, and four workshop sessions…

As part of an effort to reinforce the general education competencies of students in its Associate in Applied Science degree programs, Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) conducted two needs assessment surveys to develop a list of critical life skills for integration into existing curricula. Each of the identified skills can be developed in 2…

The Student Tracking System (STS) at San Antonio College is designed to increase retention of high risk students, and primarily students enrolled in developmental education courses. In addition to identifying students experiencing difficulty in the classroom, STS alerts educational support services personnel to these students, provides a system of…