This Fact Book for Western Iowa Tech Community College (WIT) offers statistics regarding governance; curriculum; demographics for students, staff, and faculty; financial information; and student outcomes. WIT is a publicly supported comprehensive community college serving an area population of 170,000. The Fall 2002 unduplicated credit enrollment…

This research report from Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD), California, summarizes relevant findings from assessments of the performance of students receiving transfer education, and CCCCD's progress in meeting its Partnership for Excellence (PFE) goals in this area. Findings reported include the following: (1) Student Goal…

Studies investigating academic persistence compose one of the most widely reported areas of research in higher education. Tinto is most often cited in and associated with student persistence research. This paper details the origins of Tinto's theories, as well as subsequent criticisms and reformulations of those fundamental theories. The origins…

Various student development theorists have postulated that the collegiate experience is a strong contributor toward cognitive development in college students. This essay examines Kitchener and King's (1981, 1985) reflective judgment model of cognitive development as both a metacognitive exercise and as a particular skill. The development of…

The Iowa Community College System transmits fall enrollment data to the Department of Education after the 14th day of the fall term start date. Highlights from this fall 2002 report include: (1) the unduplicated credit headcount enrollment of 73,947 demonstrates an increase of 5,157 (7.5%) over the previous year's unduplicated credit headcount of…

This paper discusses service learning, arguing that the pedagogy of service learning offers a framework in which students can remember and apply more of what they learn than in traditional content based and faculty centered curriculum. Service learning strategies recognize that we retain 60% of what we do, 80% of what we do with guided reflection,…

The author, who is the President of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), Florida, argues that the fundamental purpose of MDCC is to preserve democracy. MDCCs open-door policy makes it possible for those who might otherwise be excluded from higher education to gain a college education, which then makes it possible for them to become active,…

This paper presents the results of a follow-up study of students who completed a Johnson County Community College (JCCC) (Kansas) career program. Of 699 students on a list of completers, 465 returned surveys for an adjusted response rate of 67%. Of 176 potential respondents who were employers of students, 124 returned surveys for an adjusted…

This report is published every other year in an effort to evaluate Tidewater Community College's (TCC) (Virginia) effectiveness in preparing students for transfer. It provides an analysis of TCC students who transferred to a four-year institution in Virginia beginning in fall 1999 or fall 2000. Students must have completed 12 or more credits at…

This paper asserts that a sizeable number of students at the community college have attained a baccalaureate degree or higher and have returned to the community college to take credit courses. These post-baccalaureate reverse transfer students (PRTS) enroll in the community college for a variety of reasons, but one of the more common factors is…

This document presents the a 2-volume study and executive summary of the overall economic impacts generated by the Oregon Community College (OCC) system on 17 community colleges in Oregon. Volume 1, or the main report, indicates the OCC system employed 5,945 full- and 8,118 part-time faculty and staff in 2001, amounting to an annual payroll of…

About half of first-time beginning students report working toward either an associate's degree or a certificate. According to United States Department of Education statistics; 43% of 1989-90 beginning postsecondary students seeking an associate's degree had attained some degree of certificate five years after initial enrollment: 8% earned a…

A study was undertaken at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) to understand why some at-risk students are able to beat the odds and achieve educational success while others are not. The theoretical underpinnings for this research draw from psychological, societal, and institution-specific models of student persistence. All 1996 CCP…

In fall 1996, California's Los Rios Community College District (LRCCD) undertook several initiatives to increase enrollment, including the construction of state-of-the-art computer laboratories to meet demands for high tech training and the expansion of course offerings to non-traditional times. To evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts,…

This report evaluates the college transfer policies of each of the 15 member states of the Southern Regional Education Board--Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. States are urged to develop common standards for core…