This report from the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Network Lead team provides final results from an evaluability assessment of CTE programs that feasibly could be evaluated using a rigorous experimental design. Evaluability assessments (also called feasibility studies) are used in education and other fields, such as international…

Advocates focus group research, in which a homogeneous group led by a trained moderator discusses a carefully selected research question, as a qualitative tool well suited for community colleges. Offers case studies and the following guidelines: establish collegewide administrative procedures, carefully select/train on-campus moderators, and…

A study which compared two groups of college students--transfers and natives--and attributed the lower academic achievement of the transfer students to their community college experience is critiqued. The study results are not valid because the groups compared are not equivalent. An alternative approach for studying transfer students is suggested.…

Describes the uses of focus groups (i.e., a form of qualitative research involving a small group of respondents and moderator in an unstructured group discussion) in community college research. Discusses what can be learned from focus groups, focus group projects conducted in several community colleges, and problems researchers may encounter.…

Provides an annotated bibliography of 14 recent ERIC documents on focus group applications in higher education. Includes documents describing colleges that have used focus groups to assess employer and public attitudes toward the college, assess institutional effectiveness, develop programs and curricula, and learn about student experiences. Lists…

Since the inaugural meeting of the Southeastern Association of Community College Research in 1975, the research conducted at community colleges, as well as the issues facing researchers, have remained fairly constant. Research has been consistently understaffed and the themes of research have tended to focus on relating student progress to…

Makes a distinction between developmental and remedial programs and suggests reasons for the difficulty in evaluating these programs. Identifies basic limitations in educational research, factors found in successful programs, questions to be considered in selecting and formulating the evaluation design, and five useful educational research…

Community colleges generally conduct little research. Further, there is no generally accepted national research agenda for community colleges, no consistently funded national agency charged with studying the institutions as unique entities, and few educational researchers directing their attention toward them. The research that is undertaken on…

Practical information is provided, in a question and answer format, for community college officials who are planning to conduct a community needs assessment. A brief discussion of the usefulness of needs assessment surveys to the college planning process is followed by descriptions of eight steps to be followed in planning and conducting a survey:…

This document is intended as a resource guide for institutional researchers, based on the experience of the Johnson County Community College (Kansas) Institutional Research Office. It includes pragmatic suggestions concerning research design and research problems which are incorporated into discussions of research questions, reporting data,…

Over the past 25 years, five large-scale research studies of community college students have been conducted in North Carolina, involving cooperation between Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the North Carolina Department of Community Colleges. The different research strategies employed in these studies can be seen as taking one…

A study was conducted to determine the relative effectiveness of the traditional and infused (computer-assisted instruction or CAI) approach to basic skills instruction for students in a vocational education program. The sample for the study consisted of 41 male students in the air conditioning/refrigeration program at the Houston Community…

Based on a review of 60 studies, this three-part report analyzes the research to date on economics education in the two-year college. After introductory material noting the growing interest in research in economics education, Part I describes the three broad categories into which the studies fall: (1) fact-finding studies, designed to determine…

This monograph describes a practical, low cost needs assessment process used by Broward Community College (Florida) in cooperation with the public school system. The assessment was initiated by college administrators who needed information to plan appropriate programs and services for the residents living in a newly created service area. The…

A student follow-up system was designed and implemented at Gadsden State Junior College (GSJC) in Alabama which revealed several administrative problems in integrating student follow-up into the institutional planning process. Development of the system involved tailoring existing pre-packaged follow-up methodologies to meet GSJC's individual needs…