Community colleges enroll almost half of U.S. undergraduates and were predicted to produce 12% of the workforce for STEM professions in 2018. Half of these students are the first in their families to attend college and therefore are more likely unfamiliar with the steps required to transfer to four-year universities or internship programs.…

The most important components of an academic institution are the educational programs it offers. California Education Code and accreditation standards emphasize the essential nature of a college's educational programs to that college's existence, and often a college's programs reflect the individual personality of the college and the uniqueness of…

Most of the students who set out to earn degrees in community colleges never do. Interventions that simplify the complex organizational structures of these schools are promising solutions to this problem. This article is the first to provide rigorous evidence of the effects of structured transfer programs, one such intervention. Leveraging the…

Our new report, "Keeping the Promise: Going the Distance on Transfer Reform," has found significant improvements in the creation of a seamless transfer pathway between California Community Colleges and the California State Universities (CSU) since the passage of historic transfer reform legislation, SB1440, six years ago. This report…

Recent concern about academic quality and costs has resulted in growing criticism of the transfer function of the community college. This criticism has arisen, in part, from the evaluations of university-based researchers who have argued that a very small percentage of community college students succeed in transferring to four-year institutions…

Cerritos College needs to develop a more effective transfer process in order to assist more students in achieving their educational goals. Only 15% of students actually transfer, while 60% initially had intentions to do so. The main reasons for the low rate of transfer are: (1) the lack of unity among the various transfer services; (2) the under…

Describes a study of student attraction to and the effectiveness of "plus two" programs at a major midwestern research university, which ensure transfer of associate degrees without credit loss. Reports that "plus two" students had to complete fewer credits than traditional students to obtain baccalaureates. (DMM)

During fiscal year 1988, the public community colleges of Illinois completed the final year of their first five-year cycle of program review. The statewide program review process was implemented in 1983 for the evaluation of both instructional programs and student and academic support services. Reports submitted by the colleges in 1988 indicate…

As part of a study of two-year instructional opportunities, this paper discusses the structure of associate degrees in Indiana according to the amount of general education required, degree designations used by public institutions in concert with program major designations, and what these requirements and designations imply for transferability. The…

In an effort to improve communication between Bakersfield College (BC) and California State University at Bakersfield (CSUB) and prepare proposals for course and placement articulation agreements, a four-phase series of meetings, grading sessions, and workshops were held involving English, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Communications…

Guidelines are presented for consideration in the development, review, submission, and approval of all new instructional programs in the Maryland Community Colleges (MCC). The first section of the manual explains: (1) operational definitions for transfer and occupational programs; (2) the five-year state plan listing; (3) letters of intent and…

This document displays information that tracks the success at San Joaquin Delta College (California) in assisting the California Community Colleges to meet established Partnership for Excellence goals. Each of the goals is displayed along with a chart that compares the performance of Delta College with the average of a comparison group of colleges…

The Program Review Extension Procedures (PREP) set forth in this manual are a flexible set of procedures and questionnaires designed for use by Michigan community colleges in evaluating non-occupational instructional areas. First, introductory material explains that PREP is not a component of, but rather a companion model to the Michigan Community…

This institutional effectiveness (IE) report for Trident Technical College (TTC), South Carolina, describes majors and concentrations, academic advisement, and transfer. The 2001-2002 academic year marked the tenth year of Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) for the college. GAS is a systematic means of developing an individual yardstick for assessing…

Describes a study of the effectiveness of the Colorado Core Transfer Program (CORE), or general education course requirements at all state community colleges. Indicates that students who completed CORE transferred more credits and completed courses at a higher rate than noncompleters, but that no significant differences in grades were found. (AJL)