This chapter examines the use of technology and other structural changes to encourage comprehensive advising reforms.

Policymakers have become increasingly concerned with measuring--and holding colleges accountable for--students' labor market outcomes. In this paper we introduce a piecewise growth curve approach to analyzing community college students' labor market outcomes, and we discuss how this approach differs from Mincerian and fixed-effects approaches. Our…

Policymakers have become increasingly concerned with measuring--and holding colleges accountable for--students' labor market outcomes. In this article we introduce a piecewise growth curve approach to analyzing community college students' labor market outcomes, and we discuss how this approach differs from two popular econometric approaches:…

To support the long-term success of underprepared students, many community colleges are experimenting with accelerated developmental education models, which allow students to complete remediation and enroll in college-level math and English within a shorter time frame. This study examines three developmental acceleration programs, including two in…

Over the past several years, the Community College Research Center (CCRC) has conducted several research studies on developmental education and has produced reviews synthesizing the results of the authors' own work together with that of colleagues from other research organizations. In a recent issue of the "Journal of Developmental…

Online courses present a number of challenges particular to their format. Besides basic technological proficiency, online courses require students to possess an array of well-developed non-academic skills; students must be able to manage time, stay organized, and recognize when and how to ask for help. Online courses also require instructors to be…

Many recent high school graduates who enter community college are required to take remedial or developmental education courses before enrolling in college-level courses. Developmental courses essentially reteach high school- and junior high school-level content in reading, writing, and math. In some cases, students are referred to two or even…

Almost two-thirds of students who enter community colleges every year are judged to be academically not ready to engage in college-level coursework. In order to enroll, these students typically must take one or more "remedial" or "developmental" math or English courses that will not count toward their college degree. The…

Using detailed administrative data from Virginia, this paper examines how and why the community college pathway to a baccalaureate influences students' degree attainment and short-term labor market performance. We find that the community college pathway sharply reduces the likelihood of earning a bachelor's degree but does not have a significant…

In this study, community college students discussed their experiences with online and face-to-face learning as well as their reasons for selecting online (rather than face-to-face) sections of specific courses. Students reported lower levels of instructor presence in online courses and that they needed to "teach themselves." Accordingly,…

Research conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) and others was criticized in an article by Alexandros M. Goudas and Hunter R. Boylan (2012) published in the "Journal of Developmental Education," Volume 36, Issue 1. They raise specific contentions related to the methodology applied in the CCRC studies, the review of…

Nationwide, community colleges struggle with how to improve the poor outcomes of students referred to developmental education. Based on a case study of an urban community college system, this paper sets forth an "opposing forces framework" to help diagnose the underlying issues that may thwart colleges' efforts to improve developmental outcomes.…

Since 2010, online college course enrollment has increased by 29 percent. Currently, 6.7 million students--or roughly one third of all college students--are enrolled in online courses. Community colleges in particular have embraced online education as a way to better serve their large numbers of nontraditional students, many of whom juggle…

This practitioner packet is designed to help community college administrators implement reforms to developmental education at their colleges. It reviews common impediments to developmental reform and presents data that supports directions colleges can take to create a system of developmental education that might serve students more effectively.…

Student outcomes in online courses trail considerably behind those in face-to-face courses. In order to gain insight into why this might be, the Community College Research Center (CCRC) undertook a series of studies that examined 23 high-demand, entry-level online courses at two community colleges in one state. CCRC researchers observed the online…