Roughly 80% of the math and science schools under the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (NCSSSMST) umbrella are non-residential programs, with about 18% residential and 2% both residential and nonresidential. Now numbering 16 (with the Tennessee Governor's Academy closing May 2011), the…

Lourdes College is a small, private, coeducational commuter college located in northwest Ohio. In early 2009, the Lourdes College Board of Trustees ratified a new strategic plan promoting institutional strength and sustainability over the next six years. The desired outcome was to make Lourdes College a stronger, more vibrant, even more socially…

One of the greatest difficulties facing learning community programs at urban non-residential colleges and universities is the challenge of promoting communication and collaboration among faculty from different disciplines. In this article, the authors, a learning communities coordinator and a learning communities faculty team member, describe and…

The University of Texas at El Paso offers over seventy learning communities to first-year students from extremely diverse socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. Ninety percent are Hispanic, 54 percent are first-generation college students, and 59 percent must participate in developmental classes before moving forward with college-level…

Describes evolution of alcohol awareness project at urban commuter college which used university exhibit cases to display information on alcohol's physical, social, historical, and legal impact; a problem drinking assessment instrument; decision-making scenarios; and attitudinal questionnaire. Makes suggestions for content, timing, and location of…

The work of helping students succeed on urban commuter campuses may be some of the most complicated in higher education. Even in understanding their tasks, educators at city-based institutions must typically draw on research and practice from an amalgam of other types of institutions, including community colleges, metropolitan universities, urban…

Reports on experiences of eight private Long Island (New York) colleges that compete for similar students. Discussion centers on Dowling College and Adelphi University; and Hofstra, a possible exception with a $100 million endowment, which aspires to become a comprehensive regional university. However, most institutions have scaled down grandiose…

Describes teaching literature to non-English majors (primarily working adults) at Golden Gate University. Discusses how the authors create a classroom environment in which students are given permission to engage in literary works in the context of their own lives as well as to consider texts historically and stylistically. (RS)

In order to increase alumni giving and participation at DePaul University, efforts were focused on the law school alumni. With the success of the lawyers gift club, a club for accountants was organized. The success of the gift clubs is described and the effect on the annual fund is discussed. (MLW)

"Lumina Foundation Lessons" is an occasional publication in which the foundation shares the results of its grantees' work on strategies to improve the persistence rates among Indiana's underserved college freshman and sophomore populations. This issue, the first in the series, contains the following articles: (1) Summer Transition…

Founded by Ursuline nuns in 1971, Chatfield College (Brown County, Ohio) is an independent 3-year college that teaches life skills via a liberal arts education to local rural residents. The college currently provides personal and academic support leading to an associate degree to 131 students, primarily disadvantaged and nontraditional students.…

Few challenges involved in forensics coaching are as challenging as finding and maintaining qualified students in the program. Urban commuter colleges possess unique opportunities for developing broad-based, diverse forensics programs. The University of Missouri-St. Louis (UM-St. Louis) provides an example of how directors might take advantage of…

Describes the establishment of British educational settlements, how they differed from better known social settlements, and how emphasis on education and non-residence set them apart from older institutions. Discusses the relationship of educational settlements among existing adult education facilities and Quaker colleges. (KDR)

Describes the programs and activities offered by Tulsa Junior College's Metro Campus to meet the social needs and aspirations of nontraditional, commuting students. Points to the use of community resources, college-sponsored recreational activities, and the encouragement of widespread involvement in student government as ways of meeting the…

Describes how three faculty members created a learning community at a nonresidential campus by creating and teaching a linked block of three core-curriculum courses (Composition 1, Speech Communication, and Cultural Anthropology) for incoming freshman students. Relates first-day class activities, describes the linking of assignments and communal…