ERIC Number: ED358894
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1992-Dec
Pages: 3
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Describing the Non-Liberal Arts Community College Curriculum. ERIC Digest.
Ignash, Jan
While national trends in liberal arts course offerings in community colleges have been charted for many years, trends in non-liberal courses have not been similarly mapped. In an effort to gain a better understanding of the entire community college curriculum, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC), in Los Angeles, California, augmented its 1991 study of the liberal arts with a study of non-liberal arts, using data from the same 164 community colleges. Non-liberal arts courses were counted and categorized using spring 1991 class schedules for the 164 participating colleges. Excluding laboratory courses, which were not included in the CSCC tally, 43.3% of the spring 1991 community college curriculum was devoted to the non-liberal arts. These classes were grouped into the following 10 course categories: business and office (24.6% of all courses); personal skills (19.1%); trade and industry (18.6%); technical education (18.1%); health occupations (10.2%); marketing and distribution (3.4%); education (2.5%); engineering technology (2%); agriculture (1.2%); and home economics (0.2%). The low percentage for home economics courses was due to the grouping of classes such as pattern design and culinary arts in the "trade and industry" category. A number of two-year college courses combine both liberal arts and non-liberal arts subject matters, such as those providing literacy skills in occupational courses, or truly interdisciplinary courses integrating two separate subject areas. (PAA)
Descriptors: Allied Health Occupations Education, Business Education, College Credits, College Curriculum, Community Colleges, Course Content, Curriculum Research, Definitions, Interdisciplinary Approach, Liberal Arts, Research Methodology, Technical Education, Two Year Colleges, Vocational Education
Publication Type: ERIC Publications; Reports - Descriptive; ERIC Digests in Full Text
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior Colleges, Los Angeles, CA.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A