When it comes to structure, governance, mission, or size, community colleges differ from state to state. One common element in many states, however, is state funding. Whether a state prepares its budget annually or biennially, the human behavior governing the budget process remains the same. Funds are finite. Everyone wants more than can be…

Introductory biology laboratory experiences frequently rely on preserved chordates for anatomical study. Unfortunately, these preserved organisms rarely reflect the appearance of a living creature. Since community colleges are generally prohibited the use of live chordates, this paper describes the autopsy of a "road kill" squirrel to facilitate…

The Bush Administration's announcement last year of $250 million in job training grants to community colleges is the latest indication of the institution's growing prominence. The community college is increasingly recognized for its flexibility and cost-effectiveness--providing affordable access to higher education and tailoring occupational…

The experience of seven community college instructors was documented as they applied, for the first time, principles and characteristics of constructivist pedagogy to the design of learning activities. The instructors became a community of learners as they collaborated and shared their experiences among themselves. They reported improvements in…

My purpose was to understand the essence of a specific change effort that occurred in a select group of public community colleges in Florida. This phenomenological study was undertaken to discover how leaders from seven Florida Community Colleges perceived their experience of organizationally changing their institutions through a unique…

With increased interest in learning college initiatives, growing awareness of the need to promote higher levels of student success, and continuing emphasis on state accountability measures, many community colleges are seeing the need for a comprehensive evaluation of their retention and student success initiatives. Given continuing resource…

For the thirty-third year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. This is Volume #2 of the 33rd "Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers on the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology." This volume includes…

Students in traditional as well as online classrooms need more than grades from their instructors--they also need meaningful feedback to help bridge their academic knowledge and skills with their daily lives. With the increasing number of online learning classrooms, the question of how to consistently assess online learning has become increasingly…