Assesses the effectiveness of Santa Fe Community College's "College Success Program" by looking at the academic performance of remedial students who participated in the program as freshmen. Findings indicate that the program decreased the course failure rate for African-American and female students, and increased grade-point average for…

Describes the results of an ongoing course attrition study, designed to determine which classes were most often dropped and the factors impacting students' decisions to drop them. Students cited conditions both within and beyond the control of college administration as influential. (JDI)

Describes a study of 478 graduates from a community college to determine their self-assessment of improvement in general education competencies, their perceptions of the college's success at incorporating general education into its technical curricula, and the benefits and side effects of self-assessment as a strategy to determine general…

Discussion of community college campus activities that celebrate cultural diversity looks at institutional development theory as it relates to the college environment and some basic assumptions about community college students and culture, then suggests program types and outlines considerations in developing specific events that bring students to…

Examines period between start of high school and first years of undergraduate coursework as it pertains to Hispanic and first-generation student enrollment and retention in college. Reports that among the indicators of college success are mathematics education in high school, parents' education levels, and family income. (Contains seven figures…

Argues that students need to be information literate in order to navigate the wealth of information available online. Offers results of a computer literacy assessment that showed students' skill in locating, evaluating, and using information via electronic resources needed a great deal of improvement. Recommends creating institutional standards…

Assesses Supplemental Instruction (SI), a voluntary academic assistance program aimed at improving at-risk student performance through small-group work. Analyzes data collected from a political science class supported by SI. Reports that SI has a positive short- and long-term impact on conditional students, and no impact on traditional students.…

Describes a study designed to apply a model of nontraditional student attrition to dislocated workers being retrained at Washington community colleges to determine the predictive powers of selected variables. Indicates that workers with relatively low skills and fewer years of previous education were most likely to persist. (24 citations) (MAB)

Describes a study to test causal relationships among variables related to Hispanic students' intent to persist using multiple regression and path analysis models. Reports that a path analysis model, examining students' satisfaction with their academic experience and instruction, commitment, family support, and perceptions of future job prestige,…

Presents results from a qualitative study of the effects of a community college honors program on students, faculty, and administrators. Indicates that although honors students and faculty enjoyed and benefited from the program, it was criticized by some as representing elitist attitudes antithetical to the community college mission. (30…

Describes issues affecting the open door policies of community colleges in light of funding cutbacks. Suggests that the central challenges for community colleges will include linking noncredit workforce development programs to the regular college curriculum and ensuring ease of transfer among secondary schools and community colleges. (16…

Describes a study involving a set of 3 interviews conducted with 11 community college developmental reading students at the beginning, end, and 2 months after instruction in reading strategies to determine how the students defined their views of reading and of themselves as readers. Reports improvements in reading skills, self-efficacy, and…

Describes the efforts of Midlands Technical College in South Carolina, to initiate an institutional effectiveness program centered on client satisfaction. Suggests that by shifting the focus of evaluations to student success the college ensures the optimum effectiveness of the delivery of its services. (MAB)

Argues that student evaluations of teacher performance are too often based on subjective viewpoints of little value in helping faculty improve instruction. Describes Illinois Valley Community College's development, at the departmental level, of an evaluation instrument that focuses on observable teacher behaviors and is tailored to specific…

Discusses rapid changes in technology, curriculum needs, and multiculturalism and the issues they present for community colleges in the immediate future. Examines these issues in the context of works by Joel Orr, a technology consultant; Arthur Levine, president Columbia University's Teachers College; and Ronald Takaki, a University of California,…