For the past decade, MDRC has evaluated a number of interventions designed to improve the outcomes of community college students, including enhanced counseling, learning communities, and financial incentives. Encouragingly, many of these strategies have produced positive effects, affirming that changes in institutional practices and policies can…

Enrollment is rising across the nation's community colleges, but completion rates remain untenably low. Reformers are focusing on the importance of using comprehensive, high-quality data on student progress and completion to bring about change. A core tenet of Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count has been to embed a culture of…

For the past decade, MDRC has evaluated a number of interventions designed to improve the outcomes of community college students, including enhanced counseling, learning communities, and financial incentives. Encouragingly, many of these strategies have produced positive effects, affirming that changes in institutional practices and policies can…

Discussions of the barriers to completion in community colleges have largely focused on student success in introductory college-level math and English courses, and rightfully so, since these courses are typically required for degrees. However, there is a much broader range of courses that also serve as "gatekeepers" in the sense that they are…

For 10 years or more, teachers at the City Colleges of Chicago have used mastery learning, a teaching technique that focuses on the use of a corrective/feedback process to improve student learning. Early studies of mastery learning at the colleges comparing student grades in mastery learning classes to control classes in which these techniques…

Prepared for college officials considering the development of marketing programs, this paper examines the distinctive marketing practices for four geographically separated, public community college districts: Coastline Community College (CCC), California; Metropolitan Community College District (MCCD), Missouri; Triton College (TC), Illinois; and…

A study investigated how long it takes Frostburg State University (Maryland) (FSU) commuter students to drive to courses and how long they were willing to commute to pursue their educational goals. Students and graduates of two local two-year colleges, potential matriculants at FSU, were also asked how long they were willing to drive. Little…

Describes a study of faculty opinions concerning academic standards in the community college classroom, comparing faculty responses based on personal characteristics, academic senate experience, and employment factors. Although faculty generally agreed on the importance of academic standards, there were differences based on senate membership,…

Comparisons are drawn between the German "Volkshochschule" (VHS) and the American community college. After highlighting the mission of the VHS in promoting the socialization of its constituents, the paper contrasts the VHS and community college in terms of enrollment, admission, costs, programs, facilities, governance, organization, and…

Describes a study of the relationship between the presence of collective bargaining and job satisfaction of two-year college faculty. One-fourth of the full-time faculty at 20 unionized and nonunionized colleges were surveyed using the Job Satisfaction Inventory. Satisfaction levels were higher among nonunionized faculty on seven of eight…

Describes a study of gender-based differences in community college students' writing and mathematical skills and performance in college-level writing and math classes following remedial coursework. Reports disparities favoring males in elementary algebra skills and favoring females in writing skills. Finds no gender-based differences in…

A comparison is presented of the faculty development activities currently being conducted in colleges with staff development activities in business. Following introductory information, section I reviews the similarities and differences between the organizational characteristics of community colleges and of corporations, and their similar needs for…

A national survey was conducted to determine land use practices among a random sample of 192 two-year colleges and to compare findings with results from a 1978 study. The survey solicited a description of the institution; a description of all campus land together with estimates of acreage directly dedicated for educational programs, acreage…

A study was conducted to ascertain the present status of physical education (PE) within the public and technical two-year colleges located in the four western provinces of Canada, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories. Questionnaires were sent to 56 two-year institutions, requesting information on institutional characteristics, PE departmental…

This study compared the satisfaction levels of 40 adult nontraditional students (N=40) attending one of three types of postsecondary institutions: (1) a proprietary school, (2) a community college, and (3) a university. A survey was administered to such students enrolled in the Travel and Tourism programs at Bryant and Stratton Business Institute…