Communities continue to establish, promote, and monitor the educational outcomes of their citizenry through both explicit and implied norms. Community attributes influence the pursuit of education and level of education completed by individual citizens. The influencers within communities can be attributed to common constructs of communities…

Community Days, an innovative initiative to foster community service and civic engagement at the City University of New York's new Guttman Community College, encourages students to perform volunteer work around the city. What makes the program unique are opportunities for students to take self-directed excursions and enjoy free resources in the…

Now, more than ever, more adults must earn college credentials in order to earn family sustaining wages and to help fuel and sustain a robust national economy. That means that institutions of higher education must do all they can to help adult students enroll in college and complete a postsecondary credential. Achieving the Dream emphasizes a…

Every young person in the United States, whatever his or her background, wants to grow up to be economically self sufficient, to have a stable and productive career. So "college" is the aspiration for nearly 90 percent of high school seniors who say they will pursue some form of postsecondary education after high school, and nearly 66…

This article explores one basic writer's evolution as he moves from the lowest level of developmental English at a community college to graduate with a Bachelor's degree. Combining personal narrative, essay excerpts, and textual analysis, this piece aims to expand the borders of scholarship in composition studies to include basic writers as…

First-generation college students and students from low-income families face financial, social, informational, and academic barriers to college completion because of the high cost of postsecondary education, the complexity of navigating college life, misalignment between high school and college academic expectations, and a general lack of guidance…

The authors begin this chapter by revisiting Astin, Panos, and Creager (1967), who developed a conceptual scheme to guide the selection of various types of measurements organized by three dimensions: (1) type of outcome; (2) type of data; and (3) time. In assessing basic skills, general education, and attainment of the major, the focus is on…

Community colleges have historically been a major gateway to higher education for many students. Students enroll in community college programs and courses for multiple reasons: closeness to home, financial issues, job retraining, remedial work, plans to transfer to a four-year institution, and a love of learning. These divergent goals make…

Explores the possibility of distinctive patterns of student peer relations at a community college in terms of two questions: (a) frequency of peer relations and (b) variation among students. Indicates peer relations revolved around studying together, discussing coursework, or talking more generally in the student center or elsewhere on campus.…

This report evaluates the Early Alert program at Cuesta College (California). The report is divided into four main sections: services accessed, accessibility, actions taken as a result of receiving an Early Alert letter, and timing and utility of the Early Alert program. These are followed by the demography of the respondents, a brief background…

Pace (1979b) delineates a model for the study of student development and college impress. That model was the basis for his development of the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) and the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CCSEQ). His perspective is similar to Astin (1970, 1984) and Tinto (1975, 1986) in that each…

A survey of the presidents and chief student personnel administrators at 54 Texas community college campuses was conducted in 1977 to determine if the Tomorrow's Higher Education Project (THE) model for student personnel programs could be implemented at the college level and whether such implementation would improve student personnel programs at…

Describes a study that compared student development at Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl University (D-Q U) in California with that at non-tribal institutions. Results indicated higher levels of student satisfaction at D-Q U, lower levels of learning and personal development, somewhat lower rates of degree completion, and similar transfer rates. Recommends…

Studies differences between learning-disabilities (LD) programs at five Midwest colleges and universities to determine differences between programs at community colleges and four-year institutions, levels of satisfaction with LD programming, and services most important to students. Reveals that the types of LD services offered among institutions…

Predicts, using independent variables such as student effort and campus environment, how community college students perceive their gains in general education and personal and social development. Finds that quality and quantity of student effort, as well as a positive perception of the campus environment, were significant predictors regardless of…