This paper explores the myths surrounding the higher education of commuter students and investigates their needs and concerns. Today's college students include increasing numbers of adult, female, minority, and part-time students. Commuter students, i.e., those living off-campus, make up the largest and most diverse group. Many of these students…

Prepared to assist the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges in the development of its "1990-91 Basic Agenda," this paper discusses several major statewide trends with important implications for California's community colleges. The paper offers data on population and enrollment growth, labor market changes requiring…

A bibliography of 505 references concerning commuter students is presented along with a list of 44 associations and organizations. Topics and the number of references on each topic (in parentheses) are as follows: adult learners/nontraditional students (63 references), community colleges (37) community/environmental impact (16), comparative…

Quantitative data on the nature and magnitude of the economic impact of Trenton State College (New Jersey) on the surrounding community are provided in an attempt to reduce conjecture. Data were collected for fiscal year 1977-78. In many cases the data were then applied to a model developed by John Caffrey and Herbert H. Isaacs; in other cases,…

Students who reside off-campus at North Carolina State University were surveyed in 1973 to determine their attitudes toward university policies, programs, and services. Of the 372 randomly selected students, 153 responded. Information is presented about the following areas: participation in university services, participation in university student…

Yakima Valley Community College (Washignton) developed "A Living-Learning Community" in the Student Residence Center to create an intellectually stimulating and socially exciting environment for both resident and commuting students. The project strived to enhance the students' collegiate experience by providing them with a learning…

Relatively little attention has been given to the importance of student earnings in the total financing of postsecondary education. The present study deals with this important question. It attempts to answer these questions: (1) How much are students earning in the aggregate? How much of these earnings are increasing resources to finance…

This article presents a summary of a study that was undertaken to increase the level of understanding of some of the issues associated with distance learning in higher education. The authors sought to do this by gathering and comparing direct feedback from both on-campus and off-campus students regarding discussion, attendance, and student…

Guidelines to enhancing the freshman year experience are presented in the following chapters: (1) "A Comprehensive Approach to Enhancing Freshman Success" (M. Lee Upcraft, John N. Gardner); (2) "Who Are Today's Freshmen?" (Arthur Levine); (3) "A Historical Look at the Freshman Year Experience" (John Orr Dwyer); (4) "Understanding Student…

A North Carolina State University study compared college freshmen who lived in campus residence halls, off-campus with their parents, and off-campus but not with their parents. Changes during the freshman year were compared on the following areas: educational goals, career plans and goals, political views, opinions on college-related issues,…

A survey was administered to a representative sample of 8,500 students attending the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District during fall 1977. The purposes of the survey were to determine the nature of students' educational goals, levels of college preparedness, extra-curricular interests, transportation patterns, student work…

This bibliography on academic advising presents 351 annotated citations grouped in 10 areas. Though some older, classic articles and books are mentioned, most of the citations are from the 1980s and 1990s. Topical areas were chosen so that users could examine the literature based on their interest and need. Citations from areas related to advising…

Studies by task forces of the University of Pittsburgh's Retention Committee, which identified problem areas and offered suggestions to increase student retention, are described. The Task Force on Student/Faculty Relationships studied existing files of complaints from students and surveyed students on their experiences with faculty members.…

Many research studies which deal with the teaching of economics at the college level conclude that different teaching methods do not lead to very different results in terms of student achievement. This paper suggests that one reason student achievement may fail to demonstrate the superiority of one teaching method over another is that achievement…

Information about and excerpts from the 1981 "Commuter Institution Index," an annual publication on research on commuter institutions of higher education are presented. The Index provides an overview of the demographic characteristics of responding institutions and the functions most frequently performed by these institutions for commuters. It…