The "VCCA Journal" presents feature articles, abstracts, teaching strategies, book reviews and announcements. The first issue of Volume 3 includes the following articles: (1) "The Alliance for Excellence: A Model for Articulation between the Community College and the Black Church," by Ervin Griffin; (2) "Traditional and…

In 1990, a survey of full-time faculty and staff was conducted at Catonsville Community College (CCC) in Maryland to assess perceptions of the college's climate, academic practices, curriculum, faculty, academic and student support services, and facilities. The "Seven Principles for Good Practices in Undergraduate Teaching" instrument was…

Five major issues are currently confronting community colleges. The first issue relates to the need for a new measure of institutional functioning based on curriculum content (which is poorly represented by traditional program labels such as transfer or occupational programs) and student intent (which is rarely reflected by either program labels…

Innovative programs at Utah community and technical colleges are described and other topics of interest to faculty, staff, and administrators are addressed in this collection of articles. The journal contains the following articles by Utah two-year college faculty members: (1) "Open Access and Academic Excellence at Dixie College," by…

A total of 72 papers on nontraditional and interdisciplinary programs are presented in 11 tracks: (1) Assessing Learning Outcomes and Providing Quality in Non-Traditional Degree Programs (8 papers, including "Assessing the Quality of a Non-Traditional Degree Program: A Case Study," by Solomon Deressa and Mary Sue Simmons); (2)…

Macomb Community College in Michigan emphasized a commitment to economic development in an effort to combat a failing economy and falling resources for college funding. The college started by forming an internal task force to determine what alternatives were available to meet existing needs, then hosted two meetings focusing on economic…

Using the Rhetoric and Communication Department of the University of California at Davis as an example, this paper addresses the problems of small communications departments that face increasing student enrollments by both majors and students seeking to enhance their communications skills, with no additional faculty to handle such a load. After an…

Recommendations for designing a study abroad curriculum are offered to program directors, teachers, and study abroad leaders. The 13 essays and their authors are: "Study Abroad and the Liberal Arts: The Canon in Disarray" (Michael Kline); "Preparing for Study Abroad: Innovative and Traditional Library Resources" (Carolyn…

Historical and societal conditions that have influenced the college curriculum are considered, along with issues of the 1980s. Up to the 19th century, the bachelor of arts degree was a preprofessional degree; the Ph.D. degree was introduced after the Civil War. Since the doctoral degree emphasized research skills, universities began to employ…

The effects and implications of the changing relationship between external societal influences and academic institutions are explored in 16 essays by experts in the field. Titles and authors are as follows: "The University and the State: A Historical Overview" (E. D. Duryea); "Autonomy and Accountability: Some Fundamental…

The view of education as a liberating, enlightening, individuating process and educational approaches to support this goal are examined. According to Ivan Illich (1970), the social relations within the educational encounter have corresponded closely to the social relations of dominance, subordination, and motivation in the economic sphere. He…

In the first of the two addresses presented in this publication, George Vaughan examines trends likely to influence the development of community colleges in the United States. He predicts: (1) the increased representation of women, minorities, part-time, and older students will continue; (2) increased competition with higher education institutions…

Designed for use with the multidisciplinary film project, "Faces of Change, Five Rural Societies in Transition" for the college social studies curriculum, this manual contains an overview of the material and its underlying philosophy and suggests teaching strategies. The first section discusses the overall approach, the use of films in…

The objectives of the Educational Materials Project were to produce print materials to accompany "The Faces of Change," a series of 26 films and some 60 essays and instructional documents produced for college classes between 1972 and 1975. The scope of the project covered two film production grants, a grant for archiving uncut footage at…

Fall 1979 activities for Project Outreach, a faculty development program at Jersey City State College, are described. Problems involved in carrying out these activities, a statement of expenditures and balances, and a set of recommendations are covered. Four areas of activity planned at the college were: a second series of study skills seminars, a…