Projecting the future for U.S. community colleges into the early 21st century involves projecting the future for the United States in general. Based on trend data, it can be expected that the number of community colleges will not change, except to the extent that public universities organize additional two-year branch campuses or community…

Within the last few years, American schools have moved toward routinely measuring the outcomes of their educational programs. Two national associations dealing with community colleges have also developed quantitative indicators to assess outcomes for two-year colleges. There are still colleges that make only minimal efforts at assessment, citing…

Discusses the importance of measuring college transfer rates, highlighting the importance of transfer to the community college mission. Presents findings from a survey of colleges with high and low transfer rates. Discusses differences in college policies, history, and student, staff and administrator attitudes at both types of colleges. (AJL)

The community college mission includes such diverse goals as preparing students for job entry, teaching literacy, and satisfying students' personal interests. Measuring the colleges' transfer rates by no means tacitly elevates the transfer function above these other functions; it merely helps institutions estimate the effects of interventions on…

In 1989, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges received a grant from the Ford Foundation to assist community colleges in defining their transfer rates and collecting data to support those definitions. The Center invited 240 community colleges with at least a 20% minority enrollment to participate in a Transfer Assembly. Interested…