Reviews the development of the transfer function in California community colleges, supplying data confirming that community colleges function not only as career, community, and compensatory education centers, but as institutions in which students desiring baccalaureate degrees matriculate, albeit differently from a generation ago. (DMM)

Considers the problems associated with selective admissions into transfer curriculums and the development of broad-scale remedial programs. Urges the teaching of functional literacy in transfer programs, and examines areas where research is needed in order to achieve this goal. (AYC)

Offers several explanations for the development of community colleges, describes their clientele and mission, and discusses current shortcomings. Recommends changes to encourage program completion or transfer into four-year programs while maintaining open access. (DM)

Recent research studies have focused on various ways of addressing the question of how much students learn in community colleges, focusing on factors such as transfer rates, job placement rates, and alumni satisfaction. Few studies, however, have attempted to directly confront the question of student learning, and few measures and tests are…

This paper describes an assessment of community college student knowledge in the liberal arts at two-year colleges in Southern California. A survey instrument with multiple choice questions covering five liberal arts subject areas was distributed to 4,200 students in randomly selected classes at ten colleges. More than 2,500 questionnaires were…

Stemming from the Ford Foundation's Urban Community Colleges Transfer Opportunities Program (UCCTOP), this report presents the results of efforts of the Center for the Study of Community Colleges to gather and analyze data on the 24 two-year colleges that received UCCTOP grants to advance transfer opportunities in urban, public community colleges.…

This paper discusses several aspects of the community college role in providing access to further studies: ways of calculating transfer rates and estimates of the number of students making the transition, incentives for and inhibitors of student transfer as reflected in state policy and institutional practice, and a look to the future of community…

Considers ways of measuring educational outcomes. Summarizes results from the Center for the Study of Community Colleges' administration of the General Academic Assessment, which measures the general education/liberal arts knowledge of two-year college student cohorts. Reveals direct relationships between test scores and credits taken and…

Describes a multiyear national effort by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges to stabilize a definition of transfer rates and collect data on student transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions. Presents preliminary findings and reactions to the study/findings by college practitioners. Advises simplicity and efficiency.…

This paper examines the impact American community colleges have on the nation's economic development. The profile of the community college offered here indicates that there are 1,236 public and private non-profit community colleges in the United States, with an additional 300 to 400 for-profit institutions sometimes included in the category. The…

Queries which college serves best: one with 10,000 part-time students or one with 2,500 full-time students? Deems the services rendered dissimilar, but the costs about the same. Discusses attrition rates and transfer success and the relationship between academic persistence and goal attainment. (DMM)

Projecting the prospects and possibilities for community colleges accurately is not an easy exercise due to the vulnerability of both internal and external conditions to unanticipated forces. One aspect of the community college that is particularly affected by external forces is enrollment. Enrollments are influenced by legislation, the decline in…

This paper considers data on community college students provided by the California Statewide Longitudinal Study (SLS) and the implications of this study for curriculum and educational planning in areas other than vocational education, with special emphasis on implications for the transfer program. First, a background is provided on the origins and…

This paper describes the JumpStart project, a two-year grant program initiated by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) to help community colleges develop entrepreneurship education efforts. Following a brief introduction, findings are presented from an initial review of existing community…

The Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) in Los Angeles, California has examined transfer data for students at two-year institutions from 1984 through 1987. In the CSCC studies, transfer rates are calculated by dividing the number of students entering a community college with no prior college experience and completing at least 12…