Background/Context: Community colleges are central to the United States' college completion goals. A popular strategy pushed by a number of influential policy organizations and foundations is a policy of tying state funding to community college completions, otherwise known simply as performance funding. This is happening despite little to no…

For southern New England, the middle-skills gap is projected to become acute by 2020, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Historically and currently, the middle-skills labor pool in Massachusetts has been significantly below national rates and has been recently experiencing a decline. Closing the middle-skills gap depends on improving…

During the winter of 1988-89, a study was undertaken of state-aidable noncredit course offerings at the State University of New York (SUNY) community colleges. This type of offering, produced by allowing certain noncredit enrollments to generate aidable full-time equivalent students, has provided a wide variety of educational opportunities and has…

According to U.S. Census statistics, for every step up in educational attainment, there is an increase in average income. The mean income for those with an associate's degree, $21,116 per year, is five percent more than a person with some college, and 40% more ($6,050), than a person with only a high school diploma or equivalent. The basic cost of…

Faculty and staff development (FSD) programs in the California community colleges currently receive funding under the California Assembly Bill (AB) 1725, which has distributed approximately $5 million each year since 1989 to districts on an enrollment-based formula. A study was conducted which surveyed FSD programs statewide to assess program…

The development and use of program outcomes data can be an important, positive institutional asset as external higher education agencies more frequently require institutions to provide evidence of outcomes in return for resources. Arguing that more and better research needs to be done on the outcomes of community college education, this document…

Reports on a study conducted by the Two-Year College Development Center to evaluate contract courses delivered by New York community colleges. Discusses findings related to the effectiveness of contract courses, implications of training opportunities, perceived value of training, and employer recommendations. (DMM)

Designed to help Michigan's community colleges assist and retain academically at-risk students, the At-Risk Student Success program provides the colleges with additional funds to implement more personalized student services. This report describes the At-Risk program and presents data on expenditures and outcomes at the state's 29 community…

In order to investigate state-wide and institutional policies governing tuition waivers for older adult students at two-year colleges, a nationwide study was conducted, involving: (1) a literature review; (2) a survey of the state administrators of community colleges; (3) a survey of 146 institutions with tuition waiver policies; and (4)…

During FY 1992-93, Utah's adult education program served 19,863 adults aged 18 years and older and 3,377 students aged 17 years and under. Adult basic education (ABE) programs served at least 7,335 adults in 27 of the state's 40 school districts and in correctional facilities, applied technology centers, the Salt Lake Skills Center, and several…