Open-access colleges are an important pathway to economic mobility for millions of Americans. But graduation rates at these colleges are low--for example, only 36 percent of first-time, full-time freshmen at community colleges graduate within three years. Over the last two decades, MDRC and others have conducted research to build the evidence base…

Most states in the United States operate their public preschool programs in a mixed delivery system that serves children in local education agencies (LEAs) as well as non-LEA settings, such as Head Start agencies, child care centers, private schools, and family child care homes. To inform state preschool administrators and policymakers as they…

Online program managers (OPMs) are third-party companies that work with colleges and universities to develop, launch, and deliver online learning. Despite the prevalence of these companies in higher education, cost details are often buried or asserted with legal protections as trade secrets or business models unavailable for public review.3…

As community gardens expand across the U.S., Extension professionals can support them not only in horticultural education but also in planning and organization. Knowledge of community garden management is helpful in this regard. Existing research focuses on outcomes and criteria for successful gardens, but is less clear about how community gardens…

In this paper, the authors draw on empirical data from CCRC's Scaling Innovation project to examine trends in developmental education instructional reform and outline a framework for reform adoption and adaptation. The paper's findings are based on two qualitative data sources: a scan of developmental education reforms that involved changes to…

The authors discuss a curriculum integration effort that a school of business piloted recently. This effort was aimed at integrating the core functions (finance, marketing, management, and operations) so that undergraduate students would better appreciate the full impact of functional decisions on each other and in achieving the corporation's…

This paper is the first to investigate the costs of institution-wide reforms at community colleges. Drawing on data from 12 community colleges implementing comprehensive guided pathways reforms, I use the ingredients method to analyze the resources required to implement such reforms and examine their feasibility and affordability, as well as their…

This booklet describes various aspects of the Skill Training Improvement Program (STIP) in Washington, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California. Information concerning the funding, administration, coordination, specific activities developed, and effectiveness of the STIP program in each of the five States is provided. Also taken into…

This manual was designed for use by school administrators in developing and/or improving the quality of distributive education programs being implemented in schools. Set forth in it are criteria for insuring success of programs, as well as checklists for assessing their merit. Appendixes outlining the functions and duties of coordinators,…

The work performed by New Jersey's Minimum Basic Skills Advisory Committee in studying the state's remedial programs is described. The committee's findings are summarized, as are its recommendations for enhancing program effectiveness. Descriptions of data collection activities involve interviews with representative school districts, major…

A project was conducted to investigate the current status of secondary-postsecondary articulation of cooperative work experience programs, to identify impediments to the process, and to formulate recommendations for its enhancement. Sixteen New Jersey community colleges having a cooperative education program were included in the study. The chief…

This second volume of the interim report provides detailed case study reports on each of the eight Youth Apprenticeship Projects. (Volume 1, an overview of data from the site visits, is available separately as CE 032 791.) Discussion areas covered in each site visit report are local context/operational environment, administrative information,…

This guide has been developed to assist administrators and teacher-coordinators in New Jersey in planning and implementing cooperative home economics programs. The guide is organized in five sections that focus on the administration of a cooperative home economics program. The first section describes the program, providing information on the…

The author presents the findings of a study that explored teachers' motivations toward and perspectives of the residential environmental education (EE) program at the New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC). Thirty-five program coordinators were administered a 24-item instrument that explored the variables of interest. The findings revealed that…

A 27-member advisory committee was appointed in 1966 by the Governor of New Jersey to create a written plan that would assure comprehensive vocational rehabilitation services by 1975 for all handicapped people who could benefit from them. The state was divided into seven regions and seven regional committees identified major needs and barriers…