Suggests that the quality of cultural resilience enables some Native American students to overcome difficulties and complete their education. Identifies these cultural factors as spirituality, family strength, elders, ceremonial rituals, oral traditions, tribal identity, and support networks. Describes the Family Education Model developed by…

Discusses demographic and educational trends posing challenges to the nation's colleges. Offers a 10-point action plan to increase the participation, retention, and academic progress of Hispanic community college students and other at-risk students. (DMM)

Presents a research-based model of student persistence. Concludes that high school academic achievement, needs for financial aid and employment, day/evening status, goal commitment, and expected student/college fit have primary effects on persistence, while background characteristics and academic self-confidence have secondary effects. Explains…

Addresses issues related to sexual harassment in community colleges. Discusses the legal basis and types of harassment that have been reported on college campuses, indicating that the most prevalent form involves male professors harassing female students. Describes grievance procedures and provides suggestions for handling sexual harassment. (48…

Discusses the use of the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire to gather information about learners' responses to an institution's educational environment. Suggests that this information can add an important dimension to college outcomes assessment and help determine the impact of the educational experience on students. (MAB)

Describes Seattle Central Community College's Coordinated Studies Program (CSP)--a thematic, team-taught, and interdisciplinary set of humanities and social science courses taught as a single course. Compares CSP students' outcomes with the academic performance and persistence of other students, revealing the benefits of CSP's peer and teacher…

Describes a study investigating the academic relationship between passing standards on Florida's College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) and student achievement as measured by CLAST. Discusses assumptions underpinning the phased-in implementation of twice raised CLAST passing standards. Indicates that increased academic standards failed to…

Describes a study of student attitudes in a mixed-age classroom, examining perceptions of student-professor relationships and attitudes toward different-age students. Finds students enjoyed being in a mixed-age classroom. Although many believed professors had different relationships with older students, older students were insecure about…

Describes a study designed to compare demographics of community college students with those of proprietary school students. Indicates that community college and proprietary school students differed more in the past than they do currently, and that proprietary not-for-profit institutions may contribute to the apparent convergence. (27 citations)…

Discusses the influence of women students and staff on two-year colleges and the influence of the colleges on women between the years 1900 and 1970. Indicates that the two-year college allowed more women to attend college and suggests areas for further research to determine the colleges' impact on their lives. (29 citations) (MAB)

Describes a study investigating the role that completion of community college education plays in the career development of women. Indicates that community colleges provided women of all ages with an opportunity to achieve formal education, and that academically successful women were likely to be reentry students with career-related goals. (12…

Presents a meta-analysis of transfer shock, the grade point average (GPA) drop experienced by many community college transfer students. Reviews findings from 62 studies of the magnitude of GPA change. Reports 79 percent of the transfer students experiencing transfer shock and 67 percent recovering from it. (DMM)

Advocates greater inclusion of women and ethnic minorities in all areas of the community college. Offers six steps to improving the campus's climate for change; e.g., support visible on-campus agents of change; include a gender-balanced, multicultural curriculum within the strategic plan; and prepare current faculty and administrators for the…

Identifies failings in the notions of cultural literacy espoused by Hirsch, Bloom, Bennett, and Ravitch. Discusses the dangers of reacculturation as an educational aim. Urges educators to consider the cultural adjustments they ask their students to make to succeed academically and the support students are given. (DMM)

Explains the foundations of excellence at De Anza College in California (e.g., staff, purposeful innovation/improvement, and commitment to planning). Reviews issues involved in long-range planning, including limited growth potential, quality standards, curriculum development, quality of student life, and cultural diversity. (DMM)