Across the United States, community colleges offer millions of students an open-access, low-cost postsecondary education. However, of the students who enroll in community college hoping to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution, only about half achieve their goal within six years. For students who enter college needing…

One of the original purposes of student financial aid was to ensure fairer access to post-secondary education to those least able to afford it and to those traditionally underrepresented. Various federal and state programs were put in place to achieve this goal, including the federal Pell Grant and state aid programs. Yet policymakers and…

Community colleges across the United States face a difficult challenge. On the one hand, they are "open access" institutions, with a mission to serve students from all backgrounds and at varying levels of college readiness. On the other hand, they must uphold high academic standards in order to maintain accreditation and prepare students…

Community colleges across the United States face a difficult challenge. On the one hand, they are "open access" institutions, with a mission to serve students from all backgrounds and at varying levels of college readiness. On the other hand, they must uphold high academic standards in order to maintain accreditation and prepare students…

The expense of attending college is one factor that may explain why low-income students often drop out of school. In California, despite generous state aid and relatively low fees at community colleges, many low-income students still have substantial college-related costs that they cannot cover. To compound matters, federal support for students…

Across the United States, community colleges offer millions of students an open-access, low-cost postsecondary education. However, of the students who enroll in community college hoping to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution, only about half achieve their goal within six years. For students who enter college needing…

Community college stakeholders are searching with increasing urgency for approaches with the potential to improve the success rates for community college students, particularly those in need of developmental education. "Learning communities," which place cohorts of students together in two or more courses for one semester, are a popular…

The Learning Communities Demonstration is a national research project that is testing the effectiveness of learning communities in six community colleges across the United States: Merced College in California; The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) in Baltimore, Maryland; Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida; Houston…

The Learning Communities Demonstration is a national research project that is testing the effectiveness of learning communities in six community colleges across the United States: Merced College in California; The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) in Baltimore, Maryland; Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida; Houston…

Guidelines resulting from a demonstration project to test approaches and methods in providing direct educational opportunities to the aging are provided. The sections of this book of guidelines are: Introduction--Why This Book of Guidelines (A Philosophy for Developing Educational Programs for the Aging, Basic Facts About the Aging, and The Aging…

The purpose of the project reported here involving six high schools and one community college in California was to implement and evaluate consumer education curriculum models comprised of instructional modules developed by teachers in each of the participating schools. After presenting a brief overview of the project, this report describes the…

There is a growing population of young adults who are underserved by community colleges in the United States, students who are poorly prepared for college work and are at risk of poverty, social problems and failure to realize their full potential. Educational programs offered by community colleges represent this group's best hope of overcoming…

In their 2004 State of the State speeches, the nation's governors cited many issues competing for their attention and their states' resources, including health care, education, crime, and security (Nodine 2004). Among the most compelling challenges were those related to economic development and the ability of a state's workforce to meet the needs…

This directory contains descriptions of exemplary California community college vocational education programs and materials for special population students, including disadvantaged persons, limited-English-proficient individuals, handicapped students, and displaced homemakers. Provided in the directory are descriptions of model assessment systems;…

A study was conducted to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the Community College Occupational Programs Evaluation System (COPES) in assessing program areas in California community colleges. The demonstration concentrated on two program areas, administration of justice and business occupations, and a statewide sample of eight colleges…