Objective: To examine the discursive strategies deployed by community colleges to sustain legitimacy in an evolving and contradictory institutional environment. Method: Using corpus linguistics software, I compared 1,009 mission statements from 2012-2013 with a reference corpus of 427 mission statements from 2004. Results: Keywords analysis,…

There is an increased demand for online course offerings in community colleges while there is also an increased demand for college accountability. Many analyses examine persistence and completion rates as indicators of student success. This analysis focuses on grade outcomes. Although this traditional view of success is somewhat narrow, it will…

Three statistics motivate most of the empirical research on the educational outcomes of community college transfer students. First, the percentage of first-time college students seeking a bachelor's degree has steadily increased from 50 to 63% over the last 30 years. Second, during the same period, the number of students starting at a community…

The STRONG-CT alliance between four U.S. institutions, the University of Connecticut, Manchester Community College, Quinebaug Valley Community College, and Three Rivers Community College, seeks to help diversify and enlarge the STEM communities in Connecticut by increasing enrollment, retention, and graduation of racial/ethnic minority and first…

The researchers explored whether implementation of a systematic outcomes-based assessment process is necessary for demonstrating quality in service learning programs at a two-year and a four-year institution. The findings revealed that Western Community College and the University of the Coast maintained quality service-learning programs, which met…

The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) consists of 21 comprehensive community colleges, four technical colleges, and Athens State University, the state's only upper level, two- year college. The majority of those 21 colleges incorporate the five objectives of providing transfer, vocational/technical and remedial education, as well as…

Quinsigamond Community College (QCC), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, experienced a decline in enrollment and persistence between 2003 and 2007. The institution responded to this issue through several initiatives, including the creation of an orientation course for developmental students enrolled in its General Studies program, an Event…

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…

Variation in general instructional objectives among instructors in two community colleges (X and Y) located in a western state was investigated through a survey research. A three-part survey instrument was developed to facilitate this study. Although instructors realized the importance of each cognitive item, they focused significantly more on…

This paper presents findings from a study of the experiences and outcomes of older and younger community college students. We developed a discrete-time hazard model using longitudinal transcript data on a cohort of first-time community college students in Florida to compare the impact of enrollment pathways (such as remediation) and enrollment…

To increase the rate at which adult basic skills students advance to and succeed in college-level occupational programs, the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) developed the Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training, or I-BEST. In the I-BEST model, a basic skills instructor and an occupational instructor team…

In order to evaluate proposed institutional goals and objectives at Florissant Valley Community College (Missouri), Osgood's Semantic Differential was used to compare the attitudes of two staff categories, classified employees (secretaries, clerks, etc.) and administrators, toward 12 of the 23 proposed objectives. Out of 100 surveys distributed,…

Comparisons are drawn between the German "Volkshochschule" (VHS) and the American community college. After highlighting the mission of the VHS in promoting the socialization of its constituents, the paper contrasts the VHS and community college in terms of enrollment, admission, costs, programs, facilities, governance, organization, and…

This study attempts to discern the rate at which first-time-in-college (FTIC) Austin Community College (ACC) (Texas) students transfer to senior institutions, and which senior institutions they choose to attend. Highlights of the report include: (1) From 1990-1993, Austin Community College students transferred to four-year institutions at a higher…

Examines the extent to which both internal and external factors--such as background characteristics, high school experiences, and selected affective measures--influence, or explain, the educational aspirations of students at public and private two-year colleges. Describes a study of more than 13,000 freshmen students' educational aspirations and…