This Brief reports on a new study that begins to fill this research gap. Using longitudinal unit record transcript data on a cohort of first-time community college students in Florida, the study sought to determine whether remedial pathways, such as enrolling in a developmental math course, and enrollment milestones, such as completing a certain…

This paper presents findings from a study of the experiences and outcomes of older and younger community college students. We developed a discrete-time hazard model using longitudinal transcript data on a cohort of first-time community college students in Florida to compare the impact of enrollment pathways (such as remediation) and enrollment…

This report presents the experiences and outcomes of accounting standards-setters who have, in many cases, been successful in establishing a national, uniform system of certification for public accountants. An executive summary appears first. The report begins with two sections that examine the evolution of accounting into a 20th-century…

This paper seeks to answer some of the many questions that exist about credit-based transition programs. The paper reviews 45 published and unpublished reports, articles, and books on the most common credit-based transition programs: dual enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Tech Prep, and middle college high…

A study examined the impact of the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program on efforts in academic and vocational integration. A case study of 10 community colleges housing ATE-funded projects collected data through interviews with administrators, faculty, ATE program practitioners, and faculty and administrators at collaborating high…

Compared foreign-born and native minority community college entrants in terms of credits earned, the likelihood of transfer to a 4-year program and the probability of degree completion. Results for 26,575 students in the 1990 cohort and descriptive statistics for 25,173 students from 1997 show that nativity, race, and ethnicity were all related to…

A study examined the effects of high-performance innovations on workers and job quality by conducting six case studies of firms that had implemented reforms in both the production and the service end of their operations. All the firms were in the traditionally low-wage retail industry. These case studies were drawn on to examine, first, the nature…

This report was developed in response to the conflicts that have arisen over the mission of the community college. Critics of community colleges claim that the colleges have become unfocused and lost their way in an attempt to be all things to all people, while advocates state that the colleges play a broad, but essential, educational, social, and…

Technological changes in the workplace have placed considerable pressure on the U.S. educational system to prepare students for increasingly skillbased occupations. Employers reward new hires for having the skills or credentials needed for their job, underscoring the importance of having either the requisite "tools in your toolbox," or some basic…

Employers' motivations for getting involved in school-to-work internships and their perceptions of the quality of work-based learning placements were examined through a telephone survey of 334 employers participating in 5 school-to-work programs (2 in New York, 2 in Pennsylvania, and 1 in Michigan) and a matching sample of 323 establishments not…

The internship program at La Guardia Community College (New York) confirms the possibility of achieving the level of employer participation required for the success of an educational reform movement centered on work-based learning. The La Guardia program, which has existed for 25 years and has provided 1,800-2,000 internships annually, shares its…

A study examined employer involvement in the school-to-work (STW) internship strategy by comparing characteristics of participating employers to a sample of nonparticipants. The five STW programs chosen for study were ones in which students spent a significant amount of time in work-based learning outside the classroom. A telephone survey gathered…

This book was written in order to address the lack of understanding of the importance of President Truman's 1947 Commission recommendations for the establishment of public postsecondary schools, as well as the lack of understanding of the role that the Teachers College of Columbia University has played in the community college movement. The Truman…

Community colleges are complex institutions with a broad range of education, social, and economic functions. Community college advocates suggest that the comprehensive nature of these institutions and their ever-expanding missions reflect a commitment to the changing needs of the community. Critics suggest that the colleges have abandoned…

Community colleges are complex institutions serving a multitude of constituencies with dozens of programs and activities. However, this was not always the case; community colleges (once called junior colleges) were initiated a century ago with the focused purpose of providing the first two years of a four-year college education. The concept of…