Student success is at the heart of both institutional effectiveness and the community college mission, yet measuring such success at community colleges is problematic. This article highlights three efforts to grapple with this problem--a multistate work group of system- and state-level policymakers to create an improved set of student success…

Drawing from the experiences of Delgado Community College (DCC) in Louisiana, this manual offers guidance on choosing and implementing an institutional planning system. Section 1 offers introductory comments on planning, educators' reluctance to embrace the management systems of the private sector, and the growing recognition of the importance of…

Which factors promote student transfer from California Community Colleges (CCC) to baccalaureate-granting institutions? How do community college practices support this transition? Which student behaviors and characteristics particularly facilitate their movement to four-year colleges and universities? The Research and Planning Group for California…

An overview is provided of the Quality First Process Model developed by Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC), Wisconsin, to provide guidelines for quality instruction and service consistent with the highest educational standards. The 16-step model involves activities that should be adaptable to any organization. The steps of the quality model are…

This document describes 54 successful and effective community college programs that focus on innovative strategies for meeting current and future workforce developments and requirements. This handbook was prepared in response to an initiative to work in partnership with national and international companies and agencies committed to workforce…

Focusing on efforts at community colleges to demonstrate institutional effectiveness, this monograph presents findings from a survey of 147 colleges regarding accountability practices and showcases seven colleges with effective accountability programs. The first chapter, "Focusing on the Problem: Accountability and Effectiveness in the Community…

Providing an overview of the educational and fiscal accountability system for community colleges in the state of California, this paper discusses the development of the system and describes the role of the Chancellor's Office (CO) of the California Community Colleges in accountability. Following a review of state and federal programs that include…

Designed to help community colleges increase efficiency and make the best use of depleted funds, this monograph describes innovative and successful strategies currently in place at colleges to improve effectiveness. The innovative practices are organized into five broad categories approximating a "typical" community college's distribution of…

In 1988, the American College Testing Program, together with the National Council of Instructional Administrators and the National Council for Student Development, initiated Project Cooperation (PC) to examine outcomes assessment strategies and measures of institutional effectiveness among two-year colleges. The first initiative of PC was a survey…

Drawing from research conducted by the Academy for Educational Development and the College Board, this booklet presents nine recommendations to enhance the transfer function of community colleges, especially for minority students; provides a rationale for the recommendations; and describes two major programs to promote the transfer function.…

Designed to facilitate implementation of outcomes assessments at other colleges, this manual describes the activities and techniques developed by North Hennepin Community College in its Student Outcomes Pilot Project (SOPP) of 1988-89. Following introductory material, the manual describes the college's Research and Planning Office, and its survey…

The evolution of the Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon) effort to analyze institutional policies affecting high-risk students is chronicled from the early 1980s to the present, from the initial findings of program ineffectiveness to program improvement. Chronicle includes successes and limitations of several early-change strategies, and factors…

In light of the projected growth in the percentages of women and minorities in the work force, as well as the need for increased skills among workers, a project was developed to improve recruitment and retention of women and minorities in associate degree science and engineering technology programs. The project involved on-campus…

This report presents results from a self-study of program administration and State Department of Education evaluation visit conducted at New Mexico State University's two-year branch campus at Carlsbad in April 1995. College activities and outcomes are described for the following 10 areas: (1) marketing, describing the college's marketing plan…

In 1992, Alamogordo Branch Community College (ABCC), a branch campus of New Mexico State University, developed and implemented the Institutional Assessment and Strategic Planning (IASP) process, an integrated process designed to assess both student academic achievement and institutional effectiveness. Each year, the IASP process begins when…