With the growing demand for accountability by legislators, outcomes assessment has become a much higher institutional priority for community colleges. According to a recent survey, two-thirds of the states have implemented formal assessment initiatives, compared to a very few states only 1 year earlier. Institutions, however, must be careful that…

Institutional vitality in higher education and measures of vitality are considered. Vitality may be viewed as the capacity of a college or university to incorporate organizational strategies that support the continuing investment of energy by faculty and staff both in their own careers and in the realization of the institution's mission.…

Educators should assess the economics curricula in order to determine whether the latest and most accurate views of economic life in the United States and the world are taught to high school students. Economic literacy involves knowing and applying fundamental economic theories in order to make rational decisions about the use of limited…

This paper focuses on the activities of colleges and universities providing options for the assessment of prior learning for adult students. The paper emphasizes programs with associate and baccalaureate degree-granting institutions in the United States and Canada. It is aimed at faculty members, practitioners, administrators, and policy-makers,…

This report addresses trends and issues in assessment in relation to the role of college faculty, including advances in assessment that make it more congenial to faculty, different institutional approaches to assessment, and how assessment can be viewed as a faculty role. The report identifies major shifts in the assessment framework, changes in…

A large number of students enrolling in community colleges do not aspire to or complete the associate degree. Instead, they attend community colleges for a multitude of reasons, including job training or retraining, licensure, preparation for transfer, and avocational pursuits. Given the preponderant pattern of part-time attendance and diversity…

This paper presents a discussion on counseling and excellence between Garry R. Walz (director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Personnel Services and former president of the American Association for Counseling and Development--AACD), Edwin L. Herr (former president of AACD), and Jean A. Thompson (president of AACD). Topics covered in…

In this day of increased competition for students, educators need to know what makes their institution exceptional or how it is perceived as providing something of value that other institutions in the local area do not. Without this information, community colleges will find it difficult to thrive and adapt in the future. Efforts to determine the…

The research agenda for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching and learning summarizes issues identified for further study by ESL professionals over the period of 1996-1998. The document is designed to provide funding agencies with clear priorities for research suggested by leaders in the field, provide researchers with support for proposing…

The monograph, written for persons and organizations at state and local levels who share concern about learning activities for adults in rural America, explores characteristics of three traditional providers of nonformal education (the Cooperative Extension Service, public libraries, and community service divisions of community colleges), assesses…

Student objectives do not always coincide with curricular labels that reflect statutory language or the public's agenda for community colleges. Studies show that nearly half of the students enrolled in so-called transfer curricula may have no intention of transferring, and that sizeable percentages of students enrolled in occupational courses go…

After a brief overview of theory related to motor skill development in children, an update on approaches to motor development assessment and programming is provided. Descriptive/product, process-oriented/diagnostic, process/descriptive, and reflex testing approaches taken in motor ability assessment are reviewed, and some of the strengths and…

This digest examines issues concerning performance assessment of students receiving special education services. Issues addressed are: (1) need to infuse performance assessment into national programs including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS); (2) current lack of inclusion of…

Changing ideas about the role of early education increasingly point toward universal preschool education for all children. Early education has come to serve many purposes but, as it expands, there is danger that the particular needs of young children will be overlooked by both professionals and parents. This essay underlines the vulnerability of…

Described in this document are three stages in the emergence and acceptance in West Germany of the situation-oriented approach to education for "kindergarten" children (ages 3 to 6 years). In brief, this approach stresses learning in real-life situations within the community and values the contributions of children, families, and…