Issues facing California's community colleges are reviewed in this response to the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) report, "Missions and Functions of the California Community Colleges." The paper first asserts that the most critical question facing the community colleges in the 1980's is whether they should and can…

The validity of a number of criticisms of community colleges' success in extending educational opportunity to students of low socioeconomic status was studied in 15 Florida community colleges. The results of data analysis of former community college students are discussed. (MLW)

This paper discusses the issue of accountability, educational relevance, and institutional effectiveness, and outlines the development of an educational plan, at Florida's Tampa College, designed to be more responsive to community expectations. First examined are the external and internal pressures, or demands, on the decision-making process in…

Statistics and studies are reviewed to provide an overview of adult basic education (ABE) programs in community colleges. The review begins by presenting statistics on the magnitude of the adult literacy problem in the United States, citing information such as: over 57 million adults in America not enrolled in high school have less than a high…

Although junior colleges were originally established to provide the first two years of collegiate instruction, the mission of today's community college includes providing not only transfer education, but also certificate or associate degree vocational programs, adult continuing education, and community services. Therefore, the community college…

Like community colleges in other urban centers, Cuyahoga Community College (CCC) serves as a bridge for the individual between public school, work, and higher education; an educational broker; and a builder of networks of educational institutions, businesses, and human development agencies. CCC has responded to Cleveland's socioeconomic decline…

The proceedings of the Regional Institute of Higher Education and Development's seminar and the meaning and implications of social commitment in higher education are reported. The welcoming address (S. Nasution) and the opening address (Y. B. Dato' Murad bin Mohd. Noor) welcome the participants and set the tone for the discussions to follow. The…

Among the factors reshaping the American workforce are diversity, demands of work and family, global competition, the growing importance of strategic human resource planning, the need to reeducate employees for new technologies and more demanding jobs, and renewed interest in ethics and social responsibility. This collection of articles examines…

The university's many social and ethical responsibilities are examined in this book by the president of Harvard University. After a discussion of the traditional values of academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and political neutrality, ways that the university's desire for autonomy can be reconciled with the legitimate demands of state and…

Partnerships is an Emporia State University program designed to strengthen university relationships with public schools in Kansas. It contains four strategies for offering services needed by public school practitioners: (1) providing leadership, research, and staff development assistance to formal school district consortia in the university's…

In response to legislative mandate, this report assesses the status of remediation in postsecondary education in Illinois and presents recommendations concerning remedial education to the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). After five resolutions dealing with remediation are presented as they were adopted by the IBHE and State Board of…

Prominent social scientific research on college populations carried out in recent years are reviewed in this report. Focus is on: the characteristics of the entering student; changes in student characteristics occurring during the college years; changes in mental ability, skills and knowledge changes in attitudes and values; changes in…

A national study on Adult Functional Competency, conducted by the University of Texas, determined that less than one-half of the adult population (46%) was proficient in handling the demands of modern living. Educators have never done even an adequate job of educating the country's people. If the primary goal of the teaching profession is to…

Three conference papers on American higher education are presented. The first article, "The College in American Education," by Henry Steele Commager, examines the history of American higher education, identifies its major characteristics and how things are changing, and suggests some agenda items for the future. The second article,…

Originally general education was a reaction against over-specialization and academic compartmentalization arising from the specialized degree structure--a reaction which stressed the need for a common experience for all students and emphasized the heritage of Western civilization. Early authors on the topic sought to define general education and…