Within the last few years, American schools have moved toward routinely measuring the outcomes of their educational programs. Two national associations dealing with community colleges have also developed quantitative indicators to assess outcomes for two-year colleges. There are still colleges that make only minimal efforts at assessment, citing…

Reviews ERIC materials dealing with the mathematics curriculum in the two-year college, remedial programs, college-level programs, student mathematics competencies, professional dimensions, and the future of mathematics instruction. (DMM)

Examines recent trends in general education, discussing its importance, definitions of general education, and its inconsistent status. Provides three examples of successful general education programs, as well as an ideal model for a community college program. (AYC)

This bibliographic guide to the literature that has contributed to the two-year college field over the past 20 years provides annotations to over 650 books, articles, and research reports. The guide is organized into the following chapters: (1) the development of community college literature; (2) general resources on two-year colleges; (3)…

General education is the process of developing a framework on which to place knowledge stemming from a variety of sources. Its goals are to help students think critically, develop values, understand traditions, respect diverse cultures and opinions, and, most importantly, put that knowledge to use. Even though its goals parallel socially supported…

Community colleges generally conduct little research. Further, there is no generally accepted national research agenda for community colleges, no consistently funded national agency charged with studying the institutions as unique entities, and few educational researchers directing their attention toward them. The research that is undertaken on…

The proportion of community college students transferring to a four-year institution dropped considerably during the 1970's and early 1980's, a situation leading to accusations that the colleges do not prepare their students sufficiently well for transfer. However, several other factors have an influence on transfer rates. The fact that most…

This report presents background on community college development and discusses four areas of concern. The first area is maintaining access for all students. Trends are toward tightening criteria for attendance. Colleges in some states will be forced to make clearer distinctions among the student groups they serve and for whom they expect to…

The September 1998 topical bibliographies and analyses in this collection cover the latest ERIC literature on community colleges in eleven key areas: (1) access, diversity, and inclusion; (2) civil society; (3) teaching and learning; (4) faculty; (5) technology; (6) governance; (7) leadership; (8) finance; (9) market forces; (10) change; and (11)…

This paper traces the development of community colleges, analyzes their curricular functions, and discusses their contributions to the American educational system. First, several hypotheses accounting for the rise of the community college in America are summarized, including those pointing to a conspiracy of the elite, a populist alliance, and a…

Projecting the future for U.S. community colleges into the early 21st century involves projecting the future for the United States in general. Based on trend data, it can be expected that the number of community colleges will not change, except to the extent that public universities organize additional two-year branch campuses or community…

The term general education has been employed to characterize an array of community college non-vocational programs, from Great Books courses to guidance services. General education at present differs from previous decades in terms of its emphasis on tighter curricular structure, global, gender, and ethnic studies, and the integration of knowledge.…

When compared with university freshmen, students beginning their collegiate studies at community colleges are less likely to attain a baccalaureate degree. After equating for differences in students' entering abilities, socioeconomic background, employment status, on-campus residence, and pattern of attendance, however, this discrepancy narrows.…

Specific facets of the collegiate function of the community college are analyzed in this book. Chapter 1 defines the collegiate function as an amalgam of the liberal arts curriculum and efforts to promote student transfer. Chapter 2 focuses on the liberal arts curriculum, pointing to patterns in enrollments and courses offered in the disciplines…

This monograph provides a comprehensive overview of community college education in the United States. Chapter I reviews the social forces that contributed to the development and expansion of community colleges and the continuing changes in institutional purposes. The changing patterns of community college student characteristics are the focus of…