This is a qualitative research study conducted in an attempt to gather information concerning the motivational factors of students as it is linked to the choice of reading materials in the Developmental Reading classroom. Information concerning the motivation levels of students in one Summer term course was collected. The students were given the…

This article contributes to the empirical literature on remediation in community colleges by using policy variation across North Carolina's community colleges to examine how remediation affects various outcomes for traditional-age college students. We find that being required to take a remedial course (as we define it in this article) either in…

For colleges to develop effective dropout prevention strategies, it is necessary to have a clear picture of who these early dropouts are. This report identifies distinguishing characteristics of this group by analyzing six years of transcript data on 14,429 first-time college students who in 2005 and 2006 enrolled at one of five community colleges…

The learning community as a classroom structure and as a teaching technique started in the early 1900s, experienced a slow but consistent growth, and in 2010 was in use in over 500 colleges (Smith, 1991). However, as in all of higher education, the methods being used must demonstrate effectiveness. An important question is how to demonstrate…

Student retention rates in higher education have been a focus of study for decades, yet the problem of low student retention still exists, particularly among community college students. While student retention has not been empirically investigated among community college students in language courses, the specific problem of low course-level…

The Houston Community College (HCC) 2017-2018 Fact Book provides statistical information about the college district. Data presented in this publication may differ slightly from statistics found in other reports. Such variances may result from differences in methodology including the source of information used, the reporting period covered…

The Houston Community College (HCC) 2018-2019 Fact Book provides statistical information about the college district. Data presented in this publication may differ slightly from statistics found in other reports. Such variances may result from differences methodology including the source of information used, the reporting period covered (semester,…

Pathways to Postsecondary Opportunities are the range of options created across education institutions, training providers, and community-­based organizations so that each and every young person can access the necessary and personally relevant credentials, skills, and training beyond the completion of a secondary credential that will propel…

This policy brief presents results from a random assignment evaluation of the City University of New York's Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP). An ambitious and promising endeavor, ASAP provides a comprehensive array of services and supports to help community college students graduate and to help them graduate sooner. The evaluation…

Higher education institutions have been challenged with retaining students until graduation over the past forty years. The greatest attrition occurs during the freshman-to-sophomore year. College administrators must evaluate data trends to determine the academic needs of enrolled students so effective programming can be developed and executed to…

More than half of students in community colleges need remedial education. Colleges spend over a $1 billion each year to provide instruction to students who are academically behind or struggling to demonstrate necessary academic skills, yet only a quarter of students are completing these developmental courses. The reasons why so many students do…

There is a growing view that students who enroll in developmental courses are less successful in completing their programs than non-developmental students. Nevertheless, even though developmental students as a group ultimately might not be as academically successful as non-developmental students, many of them might still derive benefit from taking…

This article describes the implementation of a program undergirded by the theme of faculty and staff supports that physically brings advising to the point of instruction. Research shows that establishing a strong institutional connection with students improves retention, persistence, and success. What better way to do this than take advising into…

Traditionally, modeling student retention has been done by deriving student success predictors and measuring the likelihood of success based on several background factors such as age, race, gender, and other pre-college variables, also known as the input-output model. Increasingly, however, researchers have used mediating factors of the student…

This report describes the differences in early and long-term college outcomes for Oklahoma ACT-tested students between those who were monitored early with ACT Explore® and ACT Plan® and those who did not take these two assessments prior to taking the ACT® Test. Findings support that early monitoring of college and career readiness with ACT Explore…