This three-part report describes the data collected during Fall 1979 in a longitudinal study of 5,892 students at 15 California community colleges. Chapter I describes the background of the study in terms of the research procedures used (i.e., sampling, interviewing, data collection instruments, data transmittal and analysis); goals and…

A study was conducted at North Harris County College to determine the extent to which its Developmental Studies Program (DSP) was meeting stated goals and to assess the predictive reliability of the screening tests used to place incoming students in DSP courses. The study involved: (1) an assessment of the need for the DSP program as evidenced by…

To provide an introduction to a career in vocational teaching, a model developed in the Teacher Assistant Training Project at Clackamas Community College in Oregon is presented for recruiting, training, and placing technically competent community college students as teaching assistants to secondary school vocational education teachers. Project…

The results of a statewide occupational student follow-up study initiated by the Illinois Community College Board are summarized. All 38 public community college districts tracked occupational/career students for a three-year period. A total of 27,663 first-time students enrolled in occupational/career programs in 1974 constituted the study group.…

Originally general education was a reaction against over-specialization and academic compartmentalization arising from the specialized degree structure--a reaction which stressed the need for a common experience for all students and emphasized the heritage of Western civilization. Early authors on the topic sought to define general education and…

The educational background of parents of postsecondary students at two time periods (1968-69 and 1974-75) is reported in relation to the educational attainment of the Canadian population. After an introduction that provides the rationale for the study, enrollment patterns, participation rates and student support programs in postsecondary education…

A survey of currently enrolled students was administered in spring 1978 to assess student opinion regarding the recently implemented on-line admission and registration procedures at Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC). Students were asked to rate each service area--initial contact, admission, counseling, advising, financial aid, registration,…

Improving the reponsiveness of community colleges to the needs of non-traditional students is the topic of 14 essays, grouped into sections focusing on older adults, the handicapped, and women. David Demko describes a program designed to integrate older adults into a community college's service population. Jared Sharon provides guidelines for…

Some findings about attrition from two- and four-year colleges and universities based on the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) are presented. Attrition is defined as withdrawal from college without completing a degree. After 2 years, the four-year institutions had lost 23.5 percent of their entrants. More two-year…

An eight-year study of the academic performance and dropout rate of Chicano students majoring in law enforcement was conducted at San Jose City College. The study revealed that during the first semester Chicano students had a higher dropout rate and lower grades than the class as a whole. However, by the second year, the dropout rate was not…

As part of a continuing survey of student population characteristics at the Metropolitan Community Colleges, this report presents questionnaire responses of 14,630 regular credit enrollment students for fall 1976. Twenty-eight tables organize information by campus in terms of: male and female students by part- or full-time status; enrollment…

This work, designed as a sequel to "A Constant Variable" (Cohen and Associates, 1971), is intended for the same audience--administrators, trustees, counselors, and instructors in community colleges, university professors of higher education, and graduate students preparing for work in community colleges. The book describes the external and…

Organizational change within two public predominantly black populated, two-year community colleges in New Jersey is examined in this comparative case study, in light of their individual institutional allocation of public resources to meet the educational and social needs of educationally and economically disadvantaged black urban students. The…

The academic records of over 2,000 students who were required as a result of their national percentile scores on the Cooperative English Examination to take a remediation course in reading and writing skills during their first semester at Queensborough Community College (New York) were compared to the academic records achieved by an equal number…

A five-year, four-wave, longitudinal study of 2,788 youth from seven public and parochial, urban and suburban school systems in the southern tier of New York provided data, through survey questionnaires, for a comparative analysis of students entering two-year and four-year colleges, and students who terminated their formal education with a high…