How important is academic advising to students--and what aspects of advising are students most and least satisfied with? This report builds on the considerable evidence to date that students view advising as an important and needed service. It also documents specific strengths and challenges related to the advising process for public, private,…

A computerized curriculum monitoring system (CMS) was developed at Shelby State Community College (SSCC) in Tennessee to restrict student registration to courses for which they have completed the prerequisites and corequisites. The CMS is a subroutine of the on-line registration program, which matches students' course selections against their…

Two approaches to developmental advising programs are described in this report, along with strategies for successfully implementing developmental advising systems through credit classroom and noncredit seminar experiences. Section I describes developmental advising at Brenau College, providing information on Act I, a 1-hour class serving as the…

A transcription is presented of a conference sponsored by Rio Salado Community College (RSCC) to provide information on the use of audio teleconferencing to offer live, interactive classes for the homebound. After an introductory statement on RSCC's Homebound Project, Jan Baltzer provides an overview of the SUNDIAL network, RSCC's audio…

A study was conducted at Shelby State Community College (SSCC) in Tennessee to determine the extent, causes, and solutions to the problem of student retention. The study involved: (1) a comparative analysis of headcounts to assess the extent of the dropout problem, which indicated that enrollments declined sharply from 5,289 in 1983 to 3,399 in…

Traces the development of the part-time academic advisement program at John Wood Community College (a college with no full-time faculty of its own). Enumerates the problems which necessitated the use of part-time advisers, profiles the staff involved, and presents the results of the first year's evaluation. (AYC)

This paper describes Miami-Dade Community College's (MDCC's) Academic Alert and Advisement System (AAAS), which uses a powerful and sophisticated computer system called Response System with Variable Prescriptions (RSVP) to provide students with information about their progress in a course midway through the term. The paper begins by outlining the…

The Labor Educational Advising Project (LEAP) was inaugurated in 1979 at Des Moines Area Community College to facilitate the provision of educational advising services within organized labor in Central Iowa. LEAP worked with local unions and union members to train a network of peer volunteers to provide educational counseling to workers interested…

Describes Montgomery College's (Maryland) project to provide students with a list of courses that transfer to local colleges and admissions information for each transfer program; to dispell rumors that Montgomery courses do not transfer; and to update information regularly. Describes the development, maintenance, benefits, and costs of the…

Designed to provide a systematic, in-depth assessment of Miami-Dade Community College's (MDCC's) educational programs, this institutional self-study report assesses the impact and effectiveness of major reforms in the college's educational programs, student support services, and selected campus-level activities. The first of eight volumes begins…

This paper describes the Advisement Intervention System at East Central Community College (ECCC) in Decatur, Mississippi, recognized by the Small/Rural Community College Commission as an "exemplary program." The paper also provides suggestions for revising or developing an advising program. Many advising programs are not adequate because…

Presents a comprehensive model of development guidance and counseling for community colleges. Reviews historic trends and recent changes in community college counseling, highlighting issues related to role confusion and changing focus. Describes counselor roles and program components (i.e., individual planning, guidance curriculum, responsive…

Each semester in the 136 state-supported community colleges in California, counselors are involved in developing, maintaining, and/or revising hundreds of programs that may or may not result in helping students move efficiently through the system. Developed as a resource for administrators and counselors charged with improving community college…

This report reflects ACT's three-decade commitment to assist colleges and universities to better understand the impact of campus practices on college student retention and degree completion. This report focuses only on the data provided by two-year public colleges. (Contains 14 tables.) [For the main report, "What Works in Student Retention? All…