Many more community college students could succeed at four-year colleges and universities than are given the chance. Significant numbers of academically gifted community college students start their postsecondary education at two-year institutions for a variety of reasons having nothing to do with their ability. Once at community college, however,…

A strong case can and should be made--and subject to campus discussion--that community colleges should care deeply about increasing college completion; why doing so requires a fundamental redesign of students' educational experiences; and the reasons why the conceptual notion of academic and career pathways is gaining support from researchers and…

Nobody wants to be here. In remedial English, earning no credit, stuck. Now--after months of commas, clauses, and four-paragraph essays--students have one last chance to write their way out. Twenty students sit at computers, poised to start the final in-class essay for English 002 at Montgomery College. Anybody can enroll here, and all kinds do.…

Research has documented lower retention rates in online versus face-to-face courses. However, little research has focused on the impact of course-level characteristics (e.g. elective versus distributional versus major requirements; difficulty level; STEM status) on online course outcomes. Yet, focusing interventions at the course level versus the…

Authentic undergraduate research laboratory experiences are essential to aid in the implementation of science education reform mandates and to effectively train a new generation of biology students. Here we present assessment data on a unique four-step laboratory pedagogical framework that allows students to develop scientific thinking and…

Whatever their major, students are often required to take at least one course in statistics. After graduation, statistics is a key skill in numerous workplace settings. However, for many, it is a particularly difficult course. One factor that may play a role is the lingering misconception that women are not as good as men in mathematics subjects…

This study addresses gaps in the theoretical and policy literature by examining the relationship between associate degree program credit requirements and four student outcomes: associate degree attainment, time to degree, final associate degree grade point average, and persistence. Using student unit record data, a longitudinal quantitative study…

Poor completion rates in the radiation therapy associate's degree program offered through a community college did not meet the standards set by the college and damaged the program's reputation. The relationship between admission criteria and program completion was not known. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any…

The California Community Colleges serve more than 2.1 million students and is the largest system of higher education in the nation. The state's 114 colleges offer certificates and degrees to job seekers in the 21st century, provide basic skills education, and prepare students for transfer to four-year universities. This 2016-17 report highlights…

This report provides information on retention, graduation, and transfer rates for students entering Maryland community colleges as first-time, full-time students between 1994 and 2014. This edition includes data about student outcomes two, three, and four years after matriculation. The first section of this report contains analysis of student…

One of the strongest promises of online education is the potential that this modality could be used to increase access to postsecondary education opportunities and promote a democratic society of educated citizens (Dillon & Cintrón, 1997). Community colleges' use of online education is particularly important in light of the high proportion of…

Although default rates have decreased in recent years, community colleges still struggle to keep their rates in check: 18.5 percent of borrowers from public two-year colleges default within three years compared to the national average rate of 11.3 percent. In 2015, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) published "A Closer Look…

This document includes two technical appendices that accompany the full report, "English as a Second Language in California's Community Colleges." The two appendixes include: (1) Key terms, data and methods; and (2) Figures and tables. [These appendices were written with research support from Sergio Sanchez and Stephanie Pulles. For the…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "School Holding Power." Contents include: (1) Texas Higher Education Law Aims to…

"Reclaiming the American Dream" is the cornerstone of American Association of Community Colleges's (AACC) 21st-Century Initiative, launched in 2011 with the goal of outfitting an additional 5 million students with degrees, certificates, or other credentials by 2020. In Phase 1 of the initiative, featured was a nationwide "listening…