This collection of 34 essays provides an overview of the debates and reforms under discussion in regard to undergraduate curriculum. Part 1 focuses on the purposes and objectives of undergraduate education, reviewing pivotal historical developments, changes in the curriculum due to social and historical forces, and traditional and innovative…

The most widely accepted classification system of institutions of higher education, the Carnegie system, does not provide any sub-groupings for the category of two-year institutions. This lack of precision has inhibited the understanding of the diversity among and between community colleges, their missions, functions, curricula, students, and…

This report documents benefits and costs of restructuring two undergraduate courses at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to better utilize instructional technology. Professors of the two courses, one in philosophy and one in microbiology, participated in workshops designed to help faculty explore the potential of electronic…

A discussion of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction for non-native speakers in higher education distinguishes the needs of immigrants who are residents from those of foreign students with temporary student visas, and looks at how those needs affect the design of classes and programs to serve them. Data are drawn from experience with one…

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York has one of the highest student retention rates of any community college in the country, graduating more than 62% of those enrolled. Nationwide, community college retention rates average 35%, and at some colleges, attrition is as high as 70%. While community colleges provide access to education…

Since 1975, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC), in Los Angeles, California, has conducted seven studies of liberal arts programs in community colleges. In 1991, CSCC launched the National Liberal Arts Curriculum Project (NLACP), linking findings with an ongoing transfer study at CSCC. Among the areas examined in the NLACP were:…

This paper reports on a study which used a new model, the Cluster Analytic Model (CAM), to determine the relationship between college coursework and general learning, as determined by the nine item types of the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and a faculty survey of perceptions of general learned abilities in relation to…

This report is a guide for colleges of further education and training agencies in Great Britain on implementing computer literacy components of further education and training programs. The report gives findings and recommendations for the role and implementation of computer literacy based on a 2-year curriculum research project funded by the…

Alumnae of Alverno College were studied to determine how they were learning to learn at work, how they describe lifelong learning, and what factors promote transfer of learning to professional performance and careering after college. Interviews were conducted with 32 alumnae, and questionnaires were administered to 56 alumnae and 63 seniors.…

A mail survey of two-year colleges was conducted to identify (1) two-year colleges using computer technology to teach reading, (2) the types of hardware and software used, (3) the courses in which computer technology is used, and (4) the ways in which computer technology is used in two-year college reading programs. Responses from 181 two-year…

This paper discusses ways that institutions can change the higher education system and environment to accommodate more minority students. The first section, "Institutional Climate and Minority Achievement," presents an overview of the problems facing colleges and universities with respect to recruiting and retaining minority students. In the…

These papers were presented as a symposium on the revision of the general education program at the University of Montevallo (UM) in Alabama. The first paper, "Introduction to Evaluation of General Education at the University of Montevallo," by Patricia S. Ernest and Elizabeth H. Rodgers, describes the core curriculum study and the 13…

This analysis of the credit and non-credit course offerings of the California community colleges provides statewide data by standardized course classification category. The report includes an analysis of courses and workload in student contact hours for the principle disciplines within the categories of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Transfer),…

A recent Carnegie Foundation Report, "College: The Undergraduate Experience in America" reviewed baccalaureate programs through an analysis of eight tension points. This paper reviews these eight points and discusses their implications for teacher education which is intricately tied to undergraduate education. Those issues that affect colleges in…

Presented in four parts, part 1 of these conference papers discusses the controversy over Michael Katz's analysis of votes in Beverly, Massachusetts; Cora Wilson Stewart's crusade for literacy in Kentucky; and the debate over deaf education between Edward Miner Gallaudet and Alexander Graham Bell. The titles are: "What the Katz/Vinovskis…