This paper describes two programs that work together to meet the educational needs of at-risk secondary students in small rural schools in Queensland, Australia. The goal of the Students At Risk program (STAR) is to increase retention rates of identified at-risk students. The Priority Country Areas Program (PCAP) assists schools and community…

This proceedings consists of five research papers presented during the 1997 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The papers were presented during the sessions of the AERA Vocational Education Special Interest Group. "Predictors of Occupational Choice among Rural Youth: Implications for Career Education and…

This paper describes an alternative certification program that was developed to address the shortage of certified special education teachers in West Virginia. The goal of the program is to provide students from a noneducational background with opportunities at the master's degree level to become special education teachers in one of three…

This document presents findings of a General Accounting Office (GAO) study that identified approaches and Aid to Dependent Children (AFDC) program activities that help teenage mothers complete their secondary education. Data were obtained from visits to 13 local programs in New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin and…

A study was conducted at San Diego City College (SDCC) in California to evaluate the college's Critical Thinking and Writing Center, one of the components of SDCC's comprehensive plan to improve student outcomes. Five indicators of student success were examined for two semesters using a student tracking system: retention, semester-to-semester…

These proceedings report on a 1994 conference on the planning, implementing, and refining of programs designed to enhance the first-year experience of college students in urban settings. Early sections detail conference aims, background and policies. One section describes workshops on various topics, provides a profile on the keynote speaker, and…

The tables presented in this report measure the effectiveness of Shelby State Community College's Academic and Developmental Services (ADS) Division, providing data on assessment and placement results, enrollment, retention, grade distribution, and progress of currently enrolled students who entered the college in fall 1987 or 1988. Highlighted…

A catalog of 205 descriptions of college programs to recruit and retain adult learners is presented, based on a national survey, "Attracting and Retaining Adult Learners" (ARAL), conducted in 1980 by the American College Testing Program. In addition to a brief program description, each program form provides information on the type of program, the…

In order to provide educational opportunities for all students while preventing the "open door" from becoming a "revolving door", Southeastern Community College (North Carolina) established the Resources for Student Learning (RSL) program. During 1976, a comprehensive evaluation of the success and/or reasons for failure of current and former RSL…

Placement, unit cost, retention and attraction data for all programs at Moraine Valley Community College for which information was available were used to determine which programs needed in-depth evaluation. Four of the 24 associate degree programs (secretarial science, radiologic technology, power machine technology, and industrial supervision)…

A study at a university with strong mathematics/science curricula found that at matriculation, women and men had similar high school rank, women had lower mathematics test scores; most majored in science or engineering; women had higher undergraduate degree completion rates at four years; and grade point averages differed little. (MSE)

A unilateral decision was made by the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Office of Academic Outreach and Support, and the Office of Academic Support and Retention (AS&R) to implement a pilot initiative for reporting, monitoring, and tracking excessive absenteeism during the Spring semester 2003. A…

This working paper considers ways to tackle the critical issue of early drop-out and under-achievement of children at school. It draws on evidence of the benefits of early childhood programmes to children's learning and success in school. It particularly examines how well-designed early childhood programmes can effectively address poverty and…

Project Success (PS) at California's Grossmont College provides students with concurrent enrollment in linked courses, such as College Reading and English Fundamentals, to provide an environment of complementary learning. To determine the effectiveness of the program, a study was undertaken to compare the demographics, performance, and persistence…

In an effort to assess the effectiveness of their remedial reading courses, Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) in Palos Hills, Illinois, undertook a study of the retention, course completion, and graduation rates of students who completed one of three remedial reading courses: RDG-040, basic skills for students reading below the 7th grade…