A study was conducted at Oxnard College to assess the effectiveness of a multimodal orientation program designed by the college's Assessment Center to reduce test anxiety traumas by explaining theories of stress and techniques for stress reduction, self-help breathing, muscle relaxation, and creative visualization. The Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI)…

The Walberg Educational Productivity Model theorizes that learning in its affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects is causally influenced by factors in the areas of individual aptitude (i.e., prior achievement, age or stage of maturation, and motivation), instructional treatment (i.e., quantity of time spent in learning situations and…

This resource book provides a variety of materials that were presented at a national workshop on the development, organization, and activities of two-year college alumni associations. The first section, which looks at the organization of alumni programs, presents information related to Clinton Community College's (Ohio) Alumni Association,…

As part of a comprehensive environmental scan prepared by Prince George's Community College (PGCC) in Maryland, this report focuses on trends in PGCC's market share, student recruitment and retention, and enrollments. The first section offers a market share analysis, examining the full-time, part-time, and new full-time undergraduate market shares…

Although more than half of all college students in this country are enrolled in two-year colleges and nearly half of all college faculty members teach in these institutions, two-year colleges are rarely mentioned in American fiction. An informal survey of over 100 people who read widely turned up only four novels and two short stories in which a…

In the last 10 years community college enrollments have leveled off, bringing a new urgency to institutional efforts to retain current students. Obstacles to academic persistence include external factors such as insufficient funds, work demands, social demands, family obligations, housing or transportation problems; and internal problems such as…

By looking at the history and current status of two-year college alumni programs, one can better anticipate and plan for their future. The development of alumni programs at public community and junior colleges has been a recent phenomenon about which there is no repository of information. Within the State University of New York system, 20 of the…

An overview is provided of the governance, enrollments, programs, finances, facilities, and significant activities and concerns of Illinois' public community colleges. The report begins by describing the organization of the state system into 39 public community college districts and 52 colleges. The next section deals with student enrollment,…

During fall 1983, a study was conducted of the 3,250 first-time freshmen registered at Queensborough Community College (QCC). An academic profile of these students was developed, focusing on demographic background, high school academic profile, results on the QCC placement tests and City University of New York Freshman Skills Assessment Tests,…

A study was conducted to ascertain whether additional focus on test-taking strategies might significantly improve the passing rate of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) students on the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). All students who took the summer and fall 1984 administrations of the CLAST were included in the study. Original…

A study was conducted of the retention patterns of students enrolled in the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) in fall 1984 using college reports on withdrawals and grade distributions. The study focused on successful retention (i.e., all students who received a passing grade) and on total retention (i.e., all students who received any…

A study was conducted at Sacramento City College to determine the effect of "College Success" (CS), an extended orientation class, on students' academic performance and persistence. The study included three groups of students: 116 students enrolled in CS, 104 students who attended a 4-hour New Student Orientation (NSO), and 84 students who…

A study was conducted at Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) to determine the relationship between student educational objectives and retention/attrition rates. The study followed 4,502 students who came to the college for the first time in winter 1985 for five quarters, through winter 1986. The students were asked to indicate their…

A review of 48 follow-up surveys of two-year college vocational education graduates conducted at the institutional and state levels reveals some common findings regarding the graduates' employment experiences. Most survey respondents (70% to 80%) reported that they were employed full-time; 66% to 96% indicated that their jobs were in some way…

A study was conducted in the San Bernardino Community College District to discover why some students who were enrolled in the spring 1984 semester did not reenroll in the fall 1984 semester; and to determine to what extent the new enrollment fee affected students' ability to enroll. A sample of 1,011 students was randomly selected from the target…