This report provides a selection of conference papers which discuss issues concerning minority participation in higher education, beginning with recognition of the many discrepancies between what are expressed as personal and organizational values and what parameters remain hidden. The papers consider the causes for limited minority participation…

In 1992, a study was conducted to ascertain the characteristics, performance, and persistence of high school students who enrolled at the two-year regional campuses of Kent State University. Specific data collected for the study included the number of semesters and credit hours completed, and the cumulative grade point averages (GPA's) of the…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) sponsored the 1988-89 Teacher Followup Survey (TFS), conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, to update data on teacher career patterns and plans. This survey is a follow-up of the 1987-88 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) teacher sample. The TFS is the fifth component of the SASS. The sample…

A study was conducted of African American students at Contra Costa College (CCC), in California, enrolled through the Extended Opportunity Program and Services component, to examine differences between academic persisters and non-persisters. A questionnaire was used to gather information about students' pre-matriculation characteristics and…

Periodic revisions of the physics and astronomy curricula have been made to make scientific course-work more appealing to a greater number of college students and ultimately create a more positive image of these disciplines. This report, in an attempt to determine how effective these revisions have been, provides 13 tables and 3 figures of trend…

This testimony discusses the role that individual student grants play in reducing the dropout rate of minority college students, and presents the results of research on the effects of grants and loans on college attendance. Conclusions are based on the High School and Beyond longitudinal study, which followed representative 1980 high school…

The effects of persistence on students' ability to interact and learn in cooperative learning groups was studied, and the effect of collaboration on students' attitudes toward their partners was assessed. Participants were 138 sixth graders in a midwestern public school. A computer-based lesson and posttest dealt with the advertising concepts of…

Describing an effort to improve conditions for adjunct faculty in the communications division at Johnson County Community College (JCCC), in Kansas, this paper outlines steps taken and provides materials generated by the effort. Following a brief abstract of the project, two sample essays written by full-time faculty with experience as adjuncts…

To obtain a quantitative meta-analysis of studies addressing the effects of community college Developmental Studies Programs (DSPs) on students enrolled in higher education, an analysis was undertaken of a sample of studies culled from journal articles, dissertations, unpublished works found in ERIC, and published and unpublished proceedings of…

A task force reviewed recommendations made in previous studies and assessed strategies for issues facing adult students at Pennsylvania State University. It addressed administrative and financial systems, special needs, services needed, and enhanced student life of adult students. At Penn State in the fall semester 1989, students 24 years of age…

Longitudinal data were used to track 2,695 special educators who were hired by the Michigan public schools between 1972 and 1981 and stopped teaching between 1973 and 1983, to determine their rate of reentry into Michigan public schools by 1985. An estimated 34 percent of the former educators reentered Michigan classrooms within 5 years of…

Tinto's retention model provided the theoretical framework for the design of a comprehensive student-retention study at an urban, public 4-year college. The study employed quantitative and qualitative methods to obtain a broad understanding of the many salient factors that contribute to student persistence over a 4-year period. Institutional data…

In 1990, a study was conducted at Fullerton College (FC), a large suburban community college in Southern California, to determine if the use of classroom research by part-time faculty would stimulate greater involvement in learning and increase the course completion rate of adult learners in evening classes. A group of 16 part-time faculty…

A project invesitgated the current whereabouts of students whose names appeared on adult basic education class registers during October 1986 in Hackney, England. The city was identified by 1981 census data as the most deprived local authority area in England and Wales. Returns were received from 375 students (out of 506 to whom questionnaires were…

In the California Community Colleges (CCC), students who participate in athletics must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit units during the season of participation and must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0. In 1989, a study was conducted to determine whether there were differences in the educational goal achievement of…