This dissertation is an exploratory study of student success initiatives in two-year community colleges in the Louisiana. The overarching research question guiding this study was: "What student success and retention initiatives, including academic early alert initiatives are designed to assist in increasing student success and retention among…

Branch campuses are the open doors to those who would not otherwise be able to attend college. They are an open-access, four and two-year public regional campus. Because of open access, many students come to the branch campuses academically underprepared, struggle with math and writing deficiencies, and have difficulties acclimating to college.…

Data in this report reflect responses from 296 four-year and two-year colleges and universities that collectively enroll approximately 1,700,000 undergraduate students (according to data reported to IPEDS). Respondents participated in the Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) national electronic poll of Effective Practices for Student Success, Retention, and…

Under the Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) initiative, 45 two- and four-year colleges have undertaken reforms that aim to provide students with seamless, holistic advising experiences that lead to improved academic outcomes. Colleges participating in iPASS have adopted a data-oriented approach to select and integrate…

Our paper considers a critical juncture in community college leadership as many community college leaders approach retirement. These transitions are inescapable. How will institutional memory (Parker, 2011) be preserved with the passing of the leadership mantel to a new generation? These transitions also impact ways in which leaders influence…

The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, now in its sixth year, charts a course to make Virginia the best-educated state by 2030. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia developed The Virginia Plan as part of its statutory role to "advocate for and promote the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound,…

In this toolbox article, the authors describe the recommended steps for creating a community college balanced scorecard that measures and reports on key performance indicators based on targets and signal values to end-users, college constituents and external stakeholders. Based on extensive experience in the field, the authors provide a…

Recently the state legislatures in Texas and Arkansas have passed initiatives to maximize transfer effectiveness from two- to four-year institutions. These initiatives, and others being undertaken on a national level, were stimulated by the rising cost of higher education, a decline in transfer rates and low achievement among students who do…

Participation in a Title III consortium grant has brought about many changes at Cochise College in Arizona, and has helped create an institutional culture that embraces change and supports faculty and staff efforts to improve the institution. In December, 1993, a Planning Task Force (PTF) was established, composed of 23 members, about one-half of…

As part of a plan to assess institutional effectiveness in terms of academic achievement, faculty in the instructional subunits at Gateway Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, have developed and/or revised mission and purpose statements for their respective areas, have specified outcomes related to both student academic achievement and other…

As part of Kapiolani Community College's (KCC's) long-range planning process, major revisions to the academic plan are made every 6 years, following the college's accreditation self-study. The plan for 1985-90 provides a history and description of the college; explains KCC's planning process, mission, and goals; discusses the factors and…

A Southern Regional Education Board report warns that if state leaders do not insist that two-year college students meet publicly recognized performance standards, public confidence in the institutions could decline. (MSE)

In fiscal year 1989, the Illinois community colleges conducted the first review of the general education component of their baccalaureate/transfer degree programs. This review, to be performed every 5 years, involved an extensive and diverse range of activities, and many colleges had difficulty completing the first review in a year's time. As a…

In 1992, Alamogordo Branch Community College (ABCC), a branch campus of New Mexico State University, developed and implemented the Institutional Assessment and Strategic Planning (IASP) process, an integrated process designed to assess both student academic achievement and institutional effectiveness. Each year, the IASP process begins when…

THIS INVESTIGATION OF THE ACADEMIC POTENTIAL AND COLLEGE GRADES OF JUNIOR COLLEGE FRESHMEN REPORTS THE PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING (ACT) PROGRAM DATA FOR JUNIOR COLLEGES, AND COMPARED THE RESULTS FOR 85 JUNIOR COLLEGES WITH THOSE FOR 205 4-YEAR COLLEGES. JUNIOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WERE FOUND TO BE SOMEWHAT LESS ABLE…