Technological advances in communication and transportation have increased educational opportunities for post-secondary education students around the globe. Individuals and information now travel quicker and cheaper between countries and continents. Post-secondary institutions no longer have a local, jurisdictional or even domestic focus; their…

The Breaking Through (BT) initiative promotes an expanded and enhanced role for community colleges in providing access to college for low-skilled adults. BT is uniquely important in its systematic integration of adult education, developmental/remedial education, professional-technical education (PTE), and career planning and preparation in…

Survey data from 8,594 students in 55 randomly chosen colleges and universities finds that those having passed an AP science exam earn somewhat higher college science grades, but not enough to assume prior mastery. Moreover, half of this performance difference appears to be related to demographics and high school coursework and not to students' AP…

The paper discusses the major issues connected with the accreditation procedures in higher education system in the U.S. The questions raised are as follows: what are the reliable and credible indicators of quality instruction that could be measured in the process of accreditation of higher education institutions? How does greater transparency in…

A dual credit course is a college/university level course that is taught at a high school, by a high school teacher, in partnership with a community college (CCWD) or Oregon University System (OUS) institution. Successful completion of a dual credit course counts as credit for both high school and college. In 2005-06, about 12,000 students took…

A survey of attendance motivators administered to 220 undergraduates enrolled in an introductory-level survey course at a large Midwestern university in fall 2002 and spring 2003 revealed, intuitively yet contrary to many earlier studies, that the most common situation in which students are motivated to attend class is if they consider the…

The Bright Futures Scholarship testing program in Florida currently requires all scholarship recipients to make at least five acceleration attempts. The program can produce savings, but only if students pass the tests and use the credits earned to graduate more quickly from college. However, students graduating from Florida public universities in…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue looks at the differences between students enrolled part-time, compared with those enrolled full-time, during their first term. The analysis addresses differences in developmental needs, as well as various outcome measures -- persistence, credits completed, and accumulated…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue examines the differing developmental needs and enrollment and persistence patterns of Achieving the Dream students by gender, with a focus on male students of color. The data show females in Achieving the Dream colleges, regardless of race, were less likely than males to…

This article examines the approach to teaching social skills in two kinds of colleges: community colleges, and private for-profit and nonprofit "occupational" colleges, with a focus on college credit programs that lead to applied associate's degrees in a variety of business, health, computer, and technical occupational programs. Nearly all…

Although experiential learning has value, "diploma mills" that offer college credit for life or work experience are not a legitimate means of accommodating nontraditional adult students. (SK)

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses continue to receive national recognition for their rigorous curricula, and many colleges and universities award credit to students who score well on end-of-course exams in AP classes. Research suggests that students are better prepared for college if they take these courses and…

"Credit" has an increasingly important role to play in recording student achievement and also for providing support for students and their progression both into and within the education system. It is a key tool for promoting lifelong learning. Credit can serve a number of purposes but is fundamentally a tool for assessing the equivalence…

The Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI) launched in 2002 with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The ECHSI provides funds for the development of Early College Schools (ECSs) that serve students who traditionally are underrepresented in postsecondary education and offers them the opportunity to simultaneously pursue a high…

The general purpose of this study was to determine if marching band members, while carrying instruments, obtained 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on a daily basis. Heart rates were collected on 16 members of a university marching band. Results indicate a significant difference in highest heart rate means for those carrying light…