Dozens of studies support the fact that communication skills are essential for success in a number of areas. After citing a sampling of these studies, a survey of the communication course offerings in Alabama's 2-year-college system reveals that most students are required to take only one communication course-either Fundamentals of Oral…

This study examined the financing patterns of 212 community colleges in 11 midwestern states during the decade of the 1990s using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Support from state appropriations declined between 1990 and 2000, and reliance on tuition and fees increased between 1990 and 1995, although both trends were…

Student persistence and retention is an ongoing challenge at the community college level. There are a variety of factors that influence and determine a student's likelihood of remaining in school. The diverse nature of the community college student body presents unique challenges. For example, students represent wildly different economic,…

According to data derived from a community-college survey in the state of Washington, the majority of part-time faculty prefer full-time work. Using a logit regression analysis, the study reported in this paper suggests that typical part-timers enter their part-time teaching situations with the intent of becoming full-time, but gradually become…

Recent literature on African Americans students at the community college level represents an eclectic body of material. Broadly speaking, this literature has focused on questions concerning African American learning styles, cultural determinants to success, retention issues, and comparative achievement with other minority groups. While the…

To determine what attracts faculty to rural community colleges, a qualitative study based on the theory of met expectations was conducted. The faculty members who expressed satisfaction were those who were comfortable living and working in a rural community, enjoyed the challenge of teaching students who varied considerably in their readiness for…

This investigation used data collected from students who assessed their instructors' teaching and learning effectiveness. Instructors were community-college career and technical-education faculty enrolled in the Community College Induction Mentoring Program (CCIM), a jointly sponsored program between Iowa State University and the instructors'…

Due to the implementation of a performance-based funding plan, community colleges in North Carolina must attain a minimum percentage of students successfully passing licensure and certification examinations. To meet this mandate, Catawba Valley Community College implemented a basic skills component, with minimum academic standards, to assist…

Dual-credit programs are an increasingly popular policy tool of state-driven postsecondary reform, particularly where legislatures and state higher-education boards seek to increase access to higher education and achieve greater collaboration between schools and colleges. This study reports on the role and impact of dual-credit programs in the…

Current research indicates that a mass exodus of community-college leadership will occur within the next few years. When combining this research with additional research indicating that the number of degrees conferred by universities in community-college administration decreased 78% between 1983 and 1997, the challenge of meeting the needs of…

This study explored descriptive data from the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty to assess the extent to which African American faculty at 2-year and 4-year institutions differ in their job satisfaction. Overall, the findings revealed that African American faculty at 2-year institutions are more likely to report being very satisfied with…

Since the 1990s, many community colleges have incorporated an awareness of globalization into their educational programs and mission statements. It is widely accepted that community college students, no less than their four-year counterparts, will need to be prepare for an increasingly interdependent world. Today, the term "globalization"…

Mississippi tech-prep coordinators were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the difficulty of their various job responsibilities as identified in the Mississippi Tech Prep Handbook Pilot Site Implementation Guide 1993-94 (1993). It was hypothesized that their perceptions would be influenced by the number of sites served by individual…

The process used by community-college leaders in making decisions is very important, given the complexity and significance of their decisions to institutional quality and effectiveness. This article explores the degree to which leaders utilize research in their decision-making, the sources and usefulness of the research, and how the base of…

The Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) movement, which swept through all levels of American education during the 1960s and 1970s, seemed a logical remedy for student writing deficiencies. However, the impact of WAC has not lived up to its promise. The WAC movement, as currently implemented in many community colleges, may be ineffective at best.…