This digest identifies three major enrollment trends presently affecting community colleges. The three types of students--dual credit, reverse transfer, and job retraining--are likely to continue to increase in number in the near future. Dual-credit, in which secondary school students enroll in courses that receive both high school and college…

This survey takes a best-practices approach to several major issues involving graduate certificate programs; these include: (1) leadership (whether the graduate school should administer certificate programs, state regulation, procedures for approving new programs, impact on student diversity, and terminology); (2) management (whether certificate…

Total headcount enrollment at Connecticut's colleges and universities reached 172,735 students in fall 2004, representing the third straight year of an all-time record. This year's growth of 2,111 students, or 1.2 percent, was larger than last year's more tepid gain of 0.5 percent, or 876 students. This report analyzes fall 2004 headcount…

Since 1917 the Office of Education has published at approximately 4-year intervals a compilation of the lists of institutions accredited by Nation-wide, regional, and State accrediting agencies. This edition is the ninth in the series, the last previous edition having been issued for the year 1948. The bulletin is a source of reference for…

A method for classifying students according to the breadth of their premedical preparation is presented, and medical school performances and career plans of students thus classified are compared. Grouping is according to undergraduate major, nonscience-to-science course hour ratio, and extracurricular involvement. The method is found useful for…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count for this issue of "Data Notes," we examine the relationships between course attempts, completions, and attainment - and found results that countered our expectations. The analysis examines the number of credits attempted and completed for the 2002 Achieving the Dream cohort's first…

In spite of the fact that noncredit generates approximately 10% of enrollment in the California Community College System, many people outside and even within the system are not aware of or do not fully understand the importance of noncredit and how it serves California's educational needs. Noncredit courses are basically what its title…

The transition to a knowledge-based economy is fueling the demand for well-educated, technically proficient workers--in all sectors, across a wide range of occupations and even for entry-level positions. New civic demands also call for a highly educated populace. Although more students today begin college than 20 years ago, greater proportions are…

In France and the United Kingdom (UK), procedures have been devised to allow the skills and knowledge acquired through life and work experience to be identified and accredited. In France, achievements from social and working life are identified in two ways: the personal and occupational competencies of workers are evaluated through a "bilan…

This report presents results of a survey of 354 Economic and Medical Field Services (EMFS) division social workers in Washington State. The survey investigated their needs for graduate level academic credit from professional training provided by Western Washington University (WWU), as well as matters of credit utility and institutional and…

Too many four-year colleges and universities have failed to develop policies for recognizing knowledge gained outside four-year college programs. Several universities are, however, beginning to respond to the needs of adult learners with years of experiential learning (EL), especially that acquired through work experience or on-the-job training.…

In a society characterized by change, people are faced with many opportunities to acquire practical knowledge outside the traditional environment of academic institutions using the same basic evaluation criteria and guarantee the validity and reliability of assessment. A prior learning assessment (PLA) program has the following economic benefits:…

This handbook gives the adult student information to complete portfolios that are designed to help adult students earn college credits for outside experience. Portfolio assessment is a flexible and efficient way to earn college credit. Nearly any area of learning can be converted into credits as long as it is taught at a regionally accredited…

In 1992, a national survey was conducted to determine the percentage of the community college curriculum devoted to the non-liberal arts, to develop a taxonomy of non-liberal arts subject areas, and to ascertain the percentage of these courses which were transferable to research universities and comprehensive colleges and universities in five…

In 1992, a study was conducted to ascertain the characteristics, performance, and persistence of high school students who enrolled at the two-year regional campuses of Kent State University. Specific data collected for the study included the number of semesters and credit hours completed, and the cumulative grade point averages (GPA's) of the…