Community colleges are designed to be open-door institutions, and they enroll a much wider variety of students than baccalaureate granting colleges. Community colleges have always played a crucial role in providing access to college. During the last decade, however, educators and policy makers have shifted their attention to the success of…

Studies the effects of explicitly teaching a problem-solving strategy on problem-solving ability, course average, course success, and student retention, focusing on two microeconomics courses. Indicates that teaching problem solving helps students with low problem-solving skills remain in class and succeed. (DMM)

This paper explores the links between socio-economic disadvantage, non-completion in higher education and preparation initiatives. It does this through investigating the effectiveness of the Top-Up Programme, a preparation course for 17 and 18 year olds from schools that have low participation rates in higher education. The University of Glasgow,…

The present study examines the impact of the Direct Instruction (DI) program on the high school careers of the economically disadvantaged students who participated in the DI model of Project Follow Through. The study involves six sites: East St. Louis; New York City; Flint, Michigan; Williamsburg County, South Carolina; and Uvalde, Texas. A…

Reviews the literature on the efforts of school-college collaboration to increase the number of minority group students who enter and graduate from college. Concludes that these relationships have been largely self-serving, benefiting school and college personnel much more than the targeted disadvantaged students. (FMW)

Beginning in 1978, Fullerton College implemented a mandatory assessment/placement program designed to assess student skills, ameliorate skill deficiencies through basic instruction, and place students in classes appropriate to their level of competency. A study was conducted to determine the impact of the skills prerequisite system on the progress…

A study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of remedial mathematics and language arts classes in a rural northern California community college district. Data related to remedial class completion, following semester return rates, units completed, grade point average (GPA), and declared major were collected for all remedial students taking…

Student departure is a long-standing problem to colleges and universities. Approximately 45 percent of students enrolled in two-year colleges depart during their first year, and approximately one out of four students departs from a four-year college or university. The authors advance a serious revision of Tinto's popular interactionalist theory to…

A survey was conducted to evaluate nationally the retention of undergraduates at institutions of higher education. In particular the survey sought to: determine the rates at which full-time students persisted in and completed higher education; identify factors that institutional representatives felt influence students to leave school; and describe…