The Leading Forward Initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) outlined a set of essential competencies for effective leadership in community colleges. Research has confirmed that community college leaders agree the competencies are important to effective leadership. Few studies, however, have examined how these leadership…

A number of policymakers have shifted their attention from the participation rates of Hispanics in postsecondary education to the percentage of this population that completes a baccalaureate degree. Several reports stress that while participation rates have increased, there are continued disparities in outcomes between Hispanic and White college…

In the mid-1990s, distance education seemed to hold the future for rural community colleges. As distance education has moved to Internet-based technologies, concern has been raised about the digital divide and its impact on distance education. This article describes the status of technology-based distance education offered by rural community…

External culture acts as a powerful force on rural community colleges and the presidents that lead them. This article examines whether rural community colleges comprise an administrative labor market, based on the careers of 69 chief academic officers employed in rural community colleges. Findings indicate the characteristics of both an…

Recent economic events and constantly-shifting priorities continue to challenge the traditional hallmarks of community colleges: responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility. Institutional leaders are increasingly questioning whether the comprehensive community college model and, more importantly, open access, are still sustainable in today's…

The community college has been identified as the primary educational pipeline for Hispanic students' entry into higher education. The vast majority of research has focused on this pipeline in terms of transfer to baccalaureate institutions. Yet, the educational goal for many students is a sub-baccalaureate credential or the associate's degree. The…

Using responses from a national survey of chief academic officers in public community colleges, identifies previous position holders and the positions to which they moved. Presents findings, which indicated that the greatest percentage of former chief academic officers became president (30 percent), whereas the next largest percentage retired (27…

Presents a qualitative analysis of interviews with 103 students who transferred from a public community college to a public state university. Finds that many students enrolled at the community college with a specific intent other than earning the associate degree. Adds that faculty and students at both institutions also influenced the number of…

Investigates whether community college credits were used to fulfill core or major requirements among baccalaureate graduates of a private liberal arts college. Finds that more than one-third of graduates used the community college to fulfill bachelor's degree requirements. Primary use of the community college was to fulfill requirements for the…

A survey of 369 chief academic officers (CAOs) at public community colleges belonging to the American Association of Community Colleges was conducted in 1998-99. Reports on the personal and professional characteristics of respondents. Indicates that female CAOs differ from male CAOs in four ways. Notes the continued low representation of ethnic…

Extends the work of two previous studies on organizational and membership boundaries to the two-year college administrator labor market. Examines these boundaries related to the chief academic officer position. Finds that membership in the labor market becomes increasingly closed to those employed by two-year institutions as an individual moves…

Descibes a study that identifies student academic behavior prior to transfer and the relationship of this behavior to academic persistence. Results indicated that the completion of the associate degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher increased persistence rate to an equal level with students native to a university. (Contains 33 references.) (KC)

Describes a study which investigated the grade point average declines (transfer shock) experienced by students who transferred from a community college to two four-year private liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Indicates that the declines observed in this study are low compared to declines observed at public universities. Contains 2 data…

Reviews literature on transfer shock, or decreases in grade point average experienced by students who transfer from two- to four-year colleges. Describes a study of the academic performance of 100 transfer students by academic division, finding decreases for math and business majors but not for students in other fields. (19 citations) (AJL)

Describes a study conducted to investigate the impact of faculty collaboration upon the transfer shock commonly experienced by students transferring from two- to four-year colleges. Suggests that faculty collaboration reduced transfer shock to a nonsignificant level, with grade point average increases experienced by half of the subjects. (19…