Access courses have been designed to facilitate entry to higher education, either universities or polytechnical institutions, for nontraditional students. Basic characteristics of access courses include clear entry criteria that target nontraditional students; no insistence on formal educational requirements; recognition of prior, experiential…

The American educational system is based upon outmoded premises and should be revised in line with present trends and future needs. Our present system of education was created to serve an industrial society: to develop an elite cadre of well educated professionals, a mass of somewhat educated technical workers, and a solid base of laborers. It…

Showcasing 12 community college programs recognized as successful in serving the needs of at-risk students, this book reviews the impact of limited resources and a growing high-risk student population on community colleges, examines successful programs and strategies, discusses faculty selection, and reviews program evaluation criteria and…

Data gathered from the Arkansas Higher Education Information System on the characteristics of college students are presented in tables and figures, with some narrative. Data are presented relating to access to higher education (admission requirements of the schools; open admissions comparison of applications, admission, and enrollment; average…

Perspectives on adult students at the College of New Rochelle are offered in response to Howard R. Bowen's address entitled, "Adult Learning, Higher Education, and the Economics of Unused Capacity." The College of New Rochelle suggests a modest modification of Bowen's thesis that there should be efforts toward full integration of…

The objectives of this study of the county colleges in New Jersey were to: (1) examine their mission, governance, and financing; (2) determine whether philosophies and operating mechanisms of a period of expansion would provide sufficient support and direction for the future; and (3) make recommendations based upon the study. In addition to…

The paper is a supplement to an earlier paper in the same series which reviews Danish higher education until 1977. Expansion in higher education in the last 20 years, approaching the scale of mass higher education, culminated in a crisis in 1977. At that time, a trend toward self-government and participatory governing boards was seen as the end of…

Though recent research indicates a stronger sense of purpose and satisfaction among faculty at community colleges relative to four-year institutions, criticism of community colleges for alleged deficiency in facilitating transfer to the four-year schools is widespread. This function however, is only one of the many comprehensive services provided…

Programs providing academic support services in colleges and universities and the evaluation of these services are reviewed. Attention is also directed to the need for opportunities in higher education for students with marginal high school academic records, and responses to the need by institutions of higher education. It is suggested that there…

In this review of college admission practices, four areas are analyzed: (1) changing patterns of admission standards and practices and factors that have influenced those changes during the past 25 years; (2) importance assigned to high school achievement, test scores, and other criteria in arriving at admission decisions; (3) influence of college…

The academic fate of students from different ethnic groups under open admissions at City University of New York is examined. Three central questions are addressed: (1) Who came and how was the ethnic composition of the university affected by open admissions? (2) To what degree did different parts of the university become ethnically integrated? (3)…

In 1992, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges adopted a Student Equity Policy to ensure that groups historically underrepresented in higher education have an equal opportunity for access, success, and transfer. The Board amended that policy in 1996 to (1) establish the adoption of a student equity plan as a minimum standard…

No definite evidence has demonstrated declining standards resulting from City University of New York's open-admissions policy. Argues that the policy has successfully reduced educational inequities. Basing conclusions on a study of the first three open-admissions classes, examines effects on university's ethnic composition, integration at various…

In 1999, the City University of New York (CUNY) abolished remedial programs in its four-year colleges and began to rely on standardized test scores as criteria both for exiting remediation and for admission to bachelor's programs. By doing that, the university has in effect eradicated its three-decade-old "open admissions" policy, argue…

A study evaluated the 83 basic skills open learning centers established in England and Wales to improve opportunities for adults and young people to improve essential basic skills. They were established in a variety of locations, ranging from further education colleges or adult education centers to libraries and shops. The most successful centers…