This chapter examines undergraduate research (UR) from student, faculty, and institutional perspectives. We explore UR implementation models in community colleges, discuss selected examples of practice, present a summary of lessons learned, and make recommendations to advance UR and its early execution into the college curriculum from a holistic…

This report responds to the key questions raised by educators regarding English as a second language (ESL) practices, programs, and support services across the three California postsecondary systems: the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC). Though there is unanimous…

This short report provides a systematic accounting of the provision of humanities and liberal arts education at public colleges in the United States, including community colleges. Key findings: (1) Humanities and liberal arts education in America's colleges is not in decline. Across the nation's community colleges, the number and share of…

The Performance Measures for Student Success Report is the North Carolina Community College System's major accountability document. This annual performance report is based on data compiled during the previous year and serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of their 58 community colleges. In 1993, the State Board of Community…

This essay examines not only the role the humanities play in the community college curriculum but also how our approach to and understanding of the humanities must change. The defense of a 21st-century humanities has to begin in the experience of our students and not in the traditional canons of our disciplines.

Community colleges comprise the largest single sector of the US higher education network. Forty percent of undergraduates attend one of our two-year schools. Some estimates suggest that, since the turnover is quicker than on four-year campuses, two-thirds of the students who attend a college at all attend a community college. For many of those…

The Performance Measures for Student Success Report is the North Carolina Community College System's major accountability document. This annual performance report is based on data compiled from the previous year and serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of our 58 community colleges. In 1993, the State Board of Community…

Across the United States, community colleges offer millions of students an open-access, low-cost postsecondary education. However, of the students who enroll in community college hoping to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution, only about half achieve their goal within six years. For students who enter college needing…

This article evaluates the full-scale integration of the ePortfolio into a healthcare professional program in an open admissions community college in the United States. The Physical Therapist Assistant program in question struggles to balance the dynamic tension between preparing students for a summative multiple-choice licensing examination and…

Because of their commitment to the voluntary measurement and improvement of student learning outcomes, colleges and universities that are members of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) have been at the forefront of the national shift from teacher-centered to student-centered learning. The institutions participating in the CIC Degree…

For many students at community colleges, finding a path to degree completion is the equivalent of navigating a shapeless river on a dark night. While academic preparation and financial supports are critical components of student success, subtle institutional features may also play an important role. This paper thus reviews the evidence for what is…

Based on a longer review, this Brief summarizes research evidence and theoretical discussion regarding whether community college students are more likely to persist and succeed in programs that are tightly and consciously structured, with relatively little room for individuals to deviate from paths toward completion, and with limited bureaucratic…

In this study, the different types of research designs used to assess the impact of prerequisite courses are presented. Supported by an in-depth literature review, the challenges that are faced in the assessment of the impact of prerequisites, from statistical to political, are identified and their pitfalls are pointed out. In particular, the…

The purpose of this chapter is to continue and potentially expand the conversation about how a diversity-affirming ethical orientation and an understanding of critical epistemology might guide institutional decision making in community colleges in the direction of social justice. The chapter begins with a conceptual overview of the terms…

This chapter explores how community colleges internationalize curricula by examining both on- and off-campus strategies.