To develop a college-wide resolution process for dealing with student concerns, Burlington County College, in New Jersey, undertook a planning effort involving the faculty, student, staff, and administrator senates in the college's governance system. Rather than appoint an administrator to lead the project, a member of the staff senate was…

In spring 1992, a study was conducted at Johnson County Community College (JCCC), in Kansas, to gather information about the lives of the college's students, focusing on how they manage the demands of school, work, and family. A survey was administered to 466 currently enrolled students, soliciting data pertaining to students' time use,…

The adult training programs of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of the Ontario community college system are designed to provide adult students with secondary education degrees, commercial training, and technical training. In order to assess affective aspects of these programs, Canadore College developed a 174-item questionnaire and…

In order to determine the extent of attrition at Essex County College, all students registered for the fall semester of 1975 who did not return for the winter semester were identified and were surveyed by mail (n=2,000) to ascertain their reasons for not returning. A total of 546 questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 27.3%. Analysis…

A study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) to obtain a profile of degree students who withdrew from courses at the college between 1979 and 1982. Study findings, based on forms completed by 10,148 of the 29,410 students who withdrew from courses during this period, included the following: (1) 11.5% of all course enrollments…

A study was conducted at a suburban multi-campus community college in southeastern Michigan to determine the differences in demographic and academic characteristics between those students receiving Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOG) and those financially independent students not receiving BEOG funds. The demographic and academic variables…

In winter 1993, Chaffey College (CC) in California experienced a 44% drop, over the previous quarter, in enrollments of students holding baccalaureate degrees. This decline coincided with the introduction statewide of a $33 per quarter unit differential fee for baccalaureate-holding students. Previously, there had been a $10 per quarter unit fee.…

Finding that community colleges and their female students are rarely and disparagingly depicted in fiction motivated this study of the image of community colleges in literature, movies, and television. The study also sought to compare this image with that emerging from the journal entries of 23 women community college students and 14 faculty…

A study was conducted by Leeward Community College (LCC) in Fall 1978 to determine the social and psychological problems which are unique to handicapped female students. The study involved interviews with the directors of LCC's Handicapped Services Center and Women's Center and a survey soliciting information from LCC's 40 handicapped women…

Questionnaires were sent to 601 zero credit-hour earned nonpersisting students at Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) who enrolled in spring but did not re-enroll for fall 1976. The survey response rate, which included 85 students contacted by telephone, was 40%. Information on educational goals, withdrawal from classes, hours employed while…

In fall 1992, a study was conducted at Sinclair Community College (SCC) in Dayton, Ohio, to determine factors contributing to former students' decisions not to return to the college. Two groups of former students were included the study: those who had last attended in fall 1990 and had thus been absent for 6 quarters, and those who had last…

Describes a study using the Student Reactions to College (SRC) questionnaire to investigate students' perceptions of General College of the University of Minnesota, comparing students by age, race, and socioeconomic status. The SRC contained 150 items in the areas of the instructional process, student goals, college administration, and…

Drawing from the literature and research on educational advising and student retention, this handbook provides practical guidelines on advising students, based on five propositions. The propositions are that: (1) educational advisement should be designed to provide accurate, consistent, accessible information for students concerning their progress…

Four years ago, the College of St. Catherine, a small private college in St. Paul, merged with St. Mary's, a 2-year college. The College of St. Catherine plans to use the 2-year college campus to start a program for single parents. A survey (with a 44 percent response) of the 126 single parents currently enrolled showed that they have enough…

This two-part learning module provides text and accompanying exercises to assist instructors in employing effective listening and communication techniques in response to students' programs and concerns. Part I describes the communication process between sender and receiver and discusses the process of active listening by which the instructor…