Information gathered in focus groups of current, former, and potential students at six community colleges was used to explore institutional and personal access and retention issues faced by students seeking a workable balance of their college, work, and family responsibilities. The six community colleges were as follows: Cabrillo College (Aptos,…

Each of nine issues of this newsletter focuses on one topic. The topics covered are: (1) Librarian Salaries at Colorado Community Colleges; (2) Criteria for Allocating the Library Materials Budget; (3) School Library Media Centers in Colorado 1994; (4) Circulation Statistics: What's Included & What's Excluded?; (5) U.S. Population Unserved…

In 1994, Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC), in Virginia, revised its general education and major assessment routines to include indirect measures, such as graduate and employer surveys, with direct Academic Profile testing. This report describes LFCC's first full cycle of assessment under the new routines carried out from 1993 to 1995.…

In fall 1994, College of the Canyons (COC), in California, conducted a survey of all 380 faculty, staff, and administrators to determine their attitudes toward and experiences at the college. The survey rate was 31.8%, with 121 responses and results were compared to findings from a spring 1994 survey completed by 545 students for a 30.8% response…

This study, part of the National Study of Student Learning, sought to determine the extent to which college students' development of internal locus of attribution for academic success during the first year of college was influenced by institutional characteristics, students' academic experiences, and their social/non-academic experiences. The…

In North Carolina as part of Central Piedmont Community College's (CPCC's) efforts to identify the training needs of the local service area and determine future directions for planning, a survey was conducted of 6,601 students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school system regarding their plans and perceptions of the college. Study findings,…

Like many businesses across the country, institutions of higher education have been increasing the use of part-time and/or temporary staff. Nationally, adjuncts teach between 30%-50% of all credit courses and between 95%-100% of noncredit courses. At community colleges, adjuncts composed 60% of all faculty as of 1991, up from 56% in 1984 and 42%…

At Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC), Hampton (Virginia), a study of transfer success was conducted in conjunction with Christopher Newport University (CNU), the primary transfer destination of the community college's students. Detailed records were examined for over 1,800 students in an attempt to identify several statistically significant…

This 1995 report from the State of New Mexico Commission on Higher Education presents factual information about New Mexico's colleges and universities and the students attending these institutions as of November 1994. Highlights of the report include: (1) 99,000 students are currently enrolled in public two-year colleges and universities; (2) six…

This journal presents a cross-section of current ideas about leadership and diversity and articles on programs and practices in the State University of New York's community college system. The 1993 issue includes the following: (1) "Pluralism and Diversity: The Journey toward Commitment," by Cora W. Wilder; (2) "The Organizational…

A study was conducted of state-level administrators of community colleges to examine the practice of baccalaureate degree-granting colleges and universities offering courses and programs of upper-division collegiate credit at community colleges. A two-part, open-ended question was developed to determine the level of practice and the extent of…

Drawing from an analysis of more than 50 documents related to the need for technical education and training in Texas, and from interviews with 29 individuals knowledgeable about the state's technical education and training, this report assesses the current statewide capacity to to adequately train the workforce that is the expected requirement for…

In 1991, followup studies of the employment and educational status of 1990-1991 occupational program graduates were conducted by the seven community colleges in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota: Anoka-Ramsey, Cambridge Center, Inver Hills, Lakewood, Minneapolis, North Hennepin, and Normandale. While the colleges used different questionnaire…

The Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing Technology Transfer and Training Initiative (ECMT3I) is a cooperative effort among education and research institutions in New Mexico to analyze problems in transferring environmental technologies from Department of Energy laboratories to small and medium enterprises (SME's). The goal of the ECMT3I is to…

Few studies have focused on the effects of systemic change and decentralized decision making on organizational structure and on an institution's notion of quality education. This study examined such interconnections at a community college given the pseudonym America Community College (ACC). ACC is a multi-campus metropolitan area college in a area…