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)…

Criticisms have been raised about large scale community college involvement in developmental education. A number of these criticisms seem valid, while others clearly are not. Some of the most commonly voiced concerns include the following: (1) "The community college is the wrong place to provide developmental education"; (2)…

This digest offers community college academic leaders a synopsis of the key components necessary for building a successful developmental education instructional framework. Specific emphasis is placed on program structure, faculty, and program improvement. Developmental education is defined as "courses or services provided for the purpose of…

Because of their open-door policy, community colleges enroll a significant proportion of the poorly prepared students entering higher education. Many educators feel that colleges operating under open-door policies have a responsibility to identify underprepared students and provide them with the necessary developmental support. Colleges are…

This digest focuses on the importance of learning assistance centers (LACs) to academic success and student retention. LACs differ from learning resource centers, which mainly provide and disseminate educational information. They also differ from development education offices, which give emphasis to teaching basic skills and preparing students for…

This digest discusses two specific computer-aided instruction systems used in two-year colleges in the United States and Canada, and addresses critical points regarding system implementation in remedial education programs. As developed in the Nova Scotia Community College System in Canada, the INVEST computer system provides literacy-based…

In order to realize their academic missions and respond to state demands for access, assessment, and accountability, the nation's community colleges, along with all other institutions of higher education, are focusing increasingly on the enhancement of academic support services. Learning centers represent an important means of providing learning…

This Digest reviews ERIC documents and journal articles on the roles currently being played by two-year college learning resources centers (LRCs) in instruction and instructional development. After acknowledging that community college students have different needs for bibliographic instruction than their counterparts at four-year institutions, the…

Examines and evaluates three approaches used by community colleges to provide academic assistance to educationally underprepared students: offering compensatory programs and services as electives; requiring certain students to participate in skills courses; and offering basic skills instruction as part of regular courses. (DMM)

This collection of essays addresses various themes related to developmental education in two-year colleges. The collection contains: (1) "Responding to Criticism of Developmental Education," by Arthur M. Cohen, which answers six criticisms commonly leveled against remedial education; (2) "The Politics of Remediation," by Dennis McGrath and Martin…

This spring 2002 issue of New Directions for Community Colleges reviews recent research on topics of importance to two-year colleges and identifies challenges and practical solutions. The 10 chapters include the following: (1) "Literature on Community Colleges: An Overview" (Trudy H. Bers and Harriott D. Calhoun); (2) "Transfer Rates: A…

This digest reviews the role of community colleges in delivering remedial education. With demand for remediation increasing, community colleges are under pressure to provide, with very limited financial resources, the bulk of developmental courses for students. In finding effective solutions to this dilemma, policy makers should consider a broad…