This study employs survey data from the Center for Community College Student Engagement to examine the similarities and differences that exist across student-level domains in terms of student engagement in community colleges. In total, the sample used in the analysis pools data from 663 community colleges and includes more than 320,000 students.…

This is a review of evidence for contextualization, defined here as an instructional approach connecting foundational skills and college-level content. Two forms of contextualization are identified, "contextualized" and "integrated" instruction. Despite methodological limitations, the available studies suggest that contextualization has the…

Inspired by a white paper produced by the Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity, and Accountability, this study uses different measures of calculating the cost of a college degree at an upstate community college in New York. Departmental cost per credit hour, direct instructional costs, and full costs are all explained. A…

For many students entering community colleges, the first stop on campus is to an assessment center. More than half of these students will be placed into developmental education as a result of their scores on reading, writing, and mathematics entry assessments, yet there is little evidence that this improves student outcomes. We examine alternative…

Using critical policy analysis, this study considers state policies that impede technical credit transfer from public 2-year colleges to 4-year institutions of higher education. The states of Ohio, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin are considered, and seven policy benchmarks for facilitating the transfer of technical credits are proposed. (Contains…

This article examines the relationship between community colleges and universities in Canada and the United States based on increased involvement of community colleges in offering baccalaureate programs. The article employs a theoretical framework borrowed from the study of jurisdictional conflict between professions. After considering the types…

The federal government and private foundations for education have established postsecondary credential completion as a national imperative. Washington State's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) model was developed to increase the rate at which basic skills students advance to and succeed in college-level occupational programs,…

This article--the first in the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) Review Essays Series--reviews the literature concerning education-abroad opportunities for community college students. The article examines the benefits accrued to students through overseas study, briefly notes the history of education-abroad programs, and summarizes…

The challenge faced by all community colleges is how to increase student success, whether success is defined in terms of graduating with a degree or certificate, transferring, or retaining a job. With approximately 40% of the nation's undergraduates pursuing higher education through the community college (52% when one considers public institutions…

Drawing on a survey of chief academic officers at 347 community colleges nationwide, this study examined the impact of institutional type (rural, suburban, urban) on reliance on and demand for adjunct faculty members. Findings indicated that rural institutions rely less on adjuncts, whereas both rural and urban institutions report high levels of…

In this article, we employ a cultural historical theoretical framework to extend understandings of how widespread 2-year college placement policies concerning English remediation potentially locate and retain U.S.-educated Latino adolescents at the margins of higher education through well-intentioned yet deficit-driven postsecondary cultural…

This study explored the educational aspirations of immigrant and native students in an urban community college. Using Burton Clark's cooling-out theory as a framework, the study looked at choices students make when applying to college and the extent to which students later change their aspirations. Immigrant students who were educated in United…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to discover how six community college presidents who were undergraduate English majors construct the stories of their academic and professional journeys. Findings were synthesized using three themes--boundaries, connections, and transformations--as an interpretative framework. The selected presidents…

This study examined the nature and degree of organizational change that occurs when community colleges offer their own baccalaureate degree programs. Utilizing qualitative research methodology, we investigated how executive administrators at two Florida colleges managed this momentous change process and how this transformation has affected their…

This study examined the relationship between enrollment in learning communities and students' self-reported learning outcomes at 13 community colleges. Students included in the analysis were enrolled in either (a) learning communities that included at least one developmental class or (b) stand-alone developmental courses. Comparisons were made…