Background: Most community college students from low-income families have ambitious educational degree goals, but only a small fraction attains them. For many decades, sociologists have primarily attributed this problem to a cooling out process in which college practitioners diminish students' educational ambitions using academic reorientation…

Career and technical education (CTE) students pursuing occupational associate's degrees or certificates differ from students seeking academic majors at 2-year institutions in several ways. This article examines several theoretical models of student persistence and offers a conceptual model of student success focused on CTE students in community…

Examines recent trends in general education, discussing its importance, definitions of general education, and its inconsistent status. Provides three examples of successful general education programs, as well as an ideal model for a community college program. (AYC)

Presents a model for assessing institutional effectiveness within the context of an accreditation self-study, drawing from the recent experiences of the Collin County Community College District (CCCCD). Reviews the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' criteria for institutional effectiveness and the institutional research, organizational,…