This digest expands the definition of computer literacy to include information literacy, delineates issues surrounding student access to new technologies, describes courses that include instruction in computer-related skills, summarizes efforts at including computer literacy among general education requirements, and addresses the faculty role in…

A study examined the impact of high school vocational education and training (VET) courses on small, rural communities in Tasmania (Australia). Data were gathered from site visits and interviews with school principals, VET coordinators, and VET students from three rural Tasmanian high schools. Findings show that the programs met the immediate…

According to this paper, distance education exists as a means to provide access to students who might otherwise not participate in higher education due to any number of constraints, whether internal or external. Sinclair Community College is an urban, commuter college located in Dayton, Ohio. It has a fall headcount of roughly 20,000 students,…

This 2001-2002 Fact Book for San Antonio College, Texas, is divided into the following six sections: (1) College Profile; (2) Student Profile; (3) Enrollment Trends; (4) Statewide Trends; (5) Personnel Profile; and (6) Financial Profile. San Antonio College has an average semester enrollment of 21,000 credit students, and an average annual…

In addition to higher education programs, tribal colleges offer welfare-to-work programs, adult education, vocational and agricultural training, and childcare, which makes their costs higher than those of conventional colleges. Most tribal colleges are small, resulting in higher than average per student costs. Tribal colleges charge an average of…

This study provides a thorough examination of the experiences of a group of students who transferred from a public community college in the Midwest to a nearby public residential university between spring 1994 and spring 2001. The study population consisted of 552 students who transferred from the community college to the university with 12 or…

This paper presents a case study focusing on community among students in a distance learning program, the Syracuse University (New York) Master of Library Science-Independent Study Degree Program (MLS-ISDP). During July 1998, the researcher conducted interviews with Syracuse University faculty and staff involved in developing and administering the…

This report provides an overview of the tuition and fees at Virginia colleges and universities. Tuition and fees at Virginia's four-year public institutions have been among the highest regionally and nationally for many years. Between 1990 and 1999, tuition and mandatory fees increased by 65% on average. As a result, the governor and the General…

The schools that Head Start participants enter may have very different methods and attitudes than were present in Head Start, and a different approach to working with children and families. While Head Start programs are seldom in a position to bring about changes in the public schools, Head Start parents can be a powerful force for school change.…

A study examined the perceived training and retraining needs of Iowa business/organizations and employer views regarding how the continuing education divisions of Iowa's community colleges can best meet those needs. Of the 1,069 Iowa employers contacted, 608 (56.9%) responded. According to the respondents, Iowa's system of community college…

In the spring of 2001, the mayor of Anchorage (Alaska) created a task force to develop recommendations to help heal racism in Anchorage. A series of focus groups were held throughout the community to obtain an assessment of attitudes and opinions about the quality of life in Anchorage from the perspective of different racial groups and to solicit…

This paper outlines the strategic action areas and initiatives of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) for 2002. The six action areas outlined are: (1) national and international recognition and advocacy for community colleges; (2) learning and accountability; (3) leadership development; (4) economic and workforce development; (5)…

This paper analyzes the role the community college plays as a bridge to opportunity for the working poor and economically disadvantaged. Because educating the disadvantaged is expensive and often under-funded--particularly in the area of basic or remedial education--many community colleges opt to focus on educating more advantaged students in…

The aim of this newsletter, published twice a year by the office of Institutional Planning and Research at Seattle Central Community College (Washington), is to help Seattle Central faculty and staff gain access to the institutional data they need, and to help them link and integrate their various planning and assessment activities without…

This document describes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, which California instituted in response to the 1996 federal welfare-to-work legislation. The CalWORKs program also has the mandate to develop employment opportunities for welfare students. Community colleges are required to spend their CalWORKs…