Examines the factors related to a holistic model for quality in distance education programs: learning involvement issues, course program administration, delivery considerations, instructional quality, and culture of teaching and learning. By surveying community college distance education program administrators, factors related to course and…

Explores the successes and trials of Oakland Community College's (OCC) effort in designing and implementing a comprehensive Institutional Effectiveness (IE) assessment model. Introduces a brief overview of IE literature followed by a comparison of previous OCC effectiveness attempts to the current process. A model of IE highlights the cyclical…

States that when Oklahoma State University discovered a zero-correlation between at-risk student placement and subsequent classroom success, it developed a three-dimensional approach to placement, which incorporated a new, more sensitive placement exam, coupled with relatively high cutoff scores and new scheduling options for at-risk students.…

Implementing classroom strategies that demonstrate and encourage appropriate academic behaviors for at-risk students can improve their academic performance. Evaluates the implementation of four classroom strategies in developmental English, reading, and math classes at Schoolcraft College. Finds that student participation in the strategies was…

Describes the cooperative learning activities and writing process techniques used in writing classes that include students from 14 different countries. Most students report greater confidence and comfort learning writing through group work. Teaching the process of writing helps the majority of students to recognize and appreciate the value of…

Investigates student learning experiences in courses with multicultural and diversity content and finds that community college students desire this kind of course content. Students want to learn more about diversity than what frequently is associated with "culture." Information concerning gender, sexual orientation, ageism, classism, and…

Investigates the recruitment of qualified individuals to serve as faculty members for community college business administration departments. Both male and female applicants rated jobs most favorably when the job did not require relocation and the recruiter conveying the job message had a professional background similar to that of the applicant.…

Investigates how Tinto's model of retention can be applied to two-year institutions. Explores academic and social integration and their effects on student withdrawal rates as well as the effect of background skills on withdrawal rates. Finds no correlation between academic and social integration and withdrawal rates, but poorer Computer Placement…

Asserts that counseling intervention is essential to enable immigrant students to cope with the stresses of immigration and the effects of those stress on their college performance. Developing English language fluency is accompanied by other adjustment issues. States that college counselors can facilitate both students' adjustment and the…

Investigates differences in peer and student-faculty relationships of male and female community college students. Men reported more frequent participation in college activities, whereas women reported more frequent involvement in less formal activities such as studying with other students. For both men and women, little student-faculty interaction…

Presents an interview with Drs. Carolyn J. Palmer and Robert A. Rhoads regarding campus violence and campus activism. Describes a rise in relationship violence (involving dating partners, roommates, classmates, etc.) since the 1960s, as well as a rise in binge drinking and the use of weapons on campus. Differentiates between campus violence and…

Asserts that community college leaders must think strategically and understand the difference between what is important and immediate, and what is strategic and essential to the long-term survival of a college. States that thinking strategically aligns decision-making and actions with the core purpose of the college; produces core competencies in…

Assesses the net effects of community college attendance on moral reasoning and critical thinking skills, examining the conditional effects of age and off-campus employment on the two dependent measures. Finds that sophomores scored significantly higher than freshmen on both measures, and that students with longer work schedule hours had…

Reports that the population of women in community college programs has grown and diversified with an increasing number of single parents; older, single women; low-income women; and women of color. Presents results of a study, which confirmed that the presence of a strong counseling and support network for the reentry female is vital to her…

States that educators find themselves facing reduced resources and a body of students whose diversity is unprecedented. Suggests that an effective approach to education lies in regarding the "content" of courses not as a body of information to be imparted by the knowledgeable to those seeking it, but as an active, experiential "learning process."…