Electronic portfolios represent an assessment measure with strong potential for providing feedback about student performance to improve curricula and pedagogy, determining individual students' mastery of learning and providing feedback for improvement, and actively involving students in the assessment process. This study examined the relationship…

The Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges has undertaken an examination of the potential implications for articulation, curricula, and local college planning of moving to a common course numbering system (CCNS) in the colleges. Three possible methods for a CCNS include the following: (1) using the same number and prefix on courses…

Created in 1990 by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, the Running Start (RS) program allows eleventh and twelfth grade high school students to take college-level courses tuition-free. In 1992-93, the first full year of statewide implementation, approximately 3,508 students participated in the program, while that…

The Community College Transfer Opportunity Program (CCTOP) was established in 1990 to help students at 11 participating community colleges transfer to and complete their baccalaureate degrees at New York University's (NYU's) School of Education. Since 1990, the program has enabled over 450 students to transfer to NYU, while the retention rate for…

In the 1960s, credit-by-examination was promoted as a way to broaden access to college. In 1971, Ewald Nyquist, Commissioner of Education in the Regents system of New York, proposed that the Educational Testing Service offer a degree based entirely on performance on examinations. Although a few institutions theoretically offer such degrees, in…

In response to plenary session resolutions of the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges, the Academic Senate Executive Committee prepared a paper that explores the background and purpose of the California Articulation Number (CAN) System, a cross reference course identification system for lower division, transferable, major…

A task force on private-public sector education in Virginia concluded that transfer and award of credit between public and private sector education providers should be facilitated. Based on the task force recommendations, the Virginia Council on Vocational Education made three recommendations to the State Board for Community Colleges and…

A study sought to determine the extent and scope of courses in principles of technology being taught on the university level in the United States, especially in preservice teacher education programs. Data were gathered through mailed questionnaires, with 144 universities (59 percent of those queried) replying. Some of the findings of the survey…

This report responds to Colorado Senate Bill 92-155 by describing the policy changes, new policies and practices, and incentives established to accomplish the legislative purpose, namely, to reduce the average length of time that undergraduate students take to complete their degrees. The report summarizes governing board reports and the actions…

During the 1992-93 academic year, a study was conducted by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities to determine the proportion of students who transfer from two- to four-year colleges after earning an associate's degree, following the traditional "two-plus-two" sequence. A random sample of 50 four-year colleges and universities…

Technical Preparation (Tech Prep) programs include basic skills and competencies to improve students' school-to-work transition. The following elements characterize Tech Prep: designed for grades 9-14, leading to an technical associate degree; parallels college preparatory program; offers technical program of study in business enterprise,…

Interest in school choice has reached an unprecedented level in the United States. This paper discusses the origins, political context, and controversy surrounding the 1985 Minnesota Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act (PEO), the first state-level school choice initiative and a major catalyst for other states and districts. The first section…

Recommendations for the appropriations to each public college and university in Alabama are presented by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) in its 1991-92 unified budget report. The budget recommendations are provided in six sections: (1) executive summary of the 1991-92 unified budget recommendations; (2) higher education unified…

Issues concerning the influence of college curricula are considered as part of a background briefing paper for a special panel of the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The objective was to examine features of contemporary college studies to determine what should be protected or changed to improve the quality of postsecondary…

The monograph provides a systematic explication of the underlying standards and principles that have been developed to help adult learners articulate what they know and can do, to clarify their claims to creditable achievement, to help assessors improve the reliability of assessment, and to save assessor time. Ten academic and administrative…