"Three Big Lessons in Six Years" is both a reflection on the past and a look ahead to the future at Charlestown (C-Town) High School (Boston, Massachusetts) and other early college programs across the country. The purpose of this series is to document essential design elements, operational structures, and critical support for students to…

Argues that community colleges can maintain their commitment to students by raising academic standards, demanding more of students and educators on campus, and remaining open to the particular needs of all constituencies. Explains the experiences of Passaic County Community College, when in 1976 the college instituted higher academic standards.…

Argues that older, nontraditional students, rather than ill-prepared recent high school graduates, are currently the primary beneficiaries of community college open admissions. Feels this shift refutes many of the criticisms currently launched against open admissions. Finds open enrollment policies necessary to the concept of lifelong learning.…

A comparison of the reading skills assessment programs at three community colleges in Virginia and New Jersey is presented as part of an examination of the kinds of placement decisions that are made from assessment test data. Introductory comments focus on the controversy surrounding the growing emphasis on skills assessment in open-door community…

Discusses the persistent questioning of the community college's open-door tradition in the 1980's. Considers the community college missions as originally defined, the effects of declining funding and credibility, and evidence of and strategies to prevent the closing of the open door. Explains Miami-Dade Community College's educational reforms in…

The public junior college was conceived with an "open door" to give the disadvantaged high school graduate another chance to break the poverty cycle and the minority student an opportunity to extend his/her skills and career options. Since its inception in the early 1900's, the mission of the junior college has changed. The initial focus on…

Stressing the importance of proper management and careful integration of instructional and support programs, this monograph argues that access and selectivity in the community college can complement and temper each other. Chapter I offers a brief historical overview of the relationship between access and selectivity in American higher education,…

The essays in this collection provide contrasting points of view on a number of community college issues that have become more pressing during periods of economic constraint. The volume contains: (1) "Part-Time Faculty: The Value of the Resource," by William R. C. Munsey; (2) "Part-Time Faculty, Full-Time Problems," by David Hartleb and William…

This three-part concept paper was the result of a colloquium, during which 35 community college educators met in Traverse City, Michigan, to discuss issues related to access, assessment, and developmental education and to develop concept papers and recommendations for each topic. First, introductory material describes the colloquium and its…

Reviews ERIC literature focusing on: (1) community college part-time faculty; (2) open door admissions policies; (3) retrenchment and its effect on program quality; and (4) differential salaries for faculty. Includes an extensive bibliography. (AYC)

The Commission to Study the Future of Community Colleges in Kentucky was established in 1988 to review the accomplishments of the Kentucky Community College System (KCCS), to assess its current status, and to provide direction for the KCCS towards the year 2000. Developed as part of a collection of reports on the KCCS for use by the Commission in…

Current social, economic, and policy trends threaten to erase the gains in educational access and attainment minorities have made since 1960. The educational reform movements of the past two decades reinforced the concepts of equity and opportunity, but in the face of financial exigency and retrenchment, driven by state legislatures and public…

Points to high failure rates among educationally underprepared students at the City University of New York (CUNY). Argues that CUNY's Hispanic and African-American students often enter with inadequate school socialization, learning, and standard English skills and that CUNY's efforts regarding diversity and pluralism neglect the student and often…

The concept of barrier-free transfer from two-year to four-year colleges is an important element in planning for student access to the baccalaureate. While it seems clear that transfer works reasonably well for most students most of the time, evidence suggests that transfer may be a qualitatively and quantitatively different experience at the…

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…