Although community colleges have made significant strides in assessing student learning outcomes, there are a number of significant challenges that need to be addressed in order to realize fully the anticipated benefits of these efforts. This chapter identifies these major challenges and provides specific suggestions that can be used by community…

Reviews research on community college students' enrollment in and completion of liberal arts courses. Examines reasons for enrolling or not enrolling in various courses; the characteristics of students who avoid liberal arts courses; the curriculum's potential for inhibiting liberal arts enrollment; and steps to promote enrollment and success.…

Compares full- and part-time community college faculty members with respect to the following indicators of teaching effectiveness: teaching experience, continuity of employment, degree attainment, selection of course materials, reading requirements for students, use of instructional media and support services, grading practices, availability to…

Reviews ERIC documents considering the economic benefits of community colleges on their communities; the effects of college programs on the various individuals and communities served; and the effects of community college attendance on the careers, earnings, and educational attainment of students. Provides a bibliography of impact and follow-up…

Discusses the growth of the assessment movement, reviews the different measures of student performance being requested by state agencies, and describes institutional responses to state mandates. Offers guidelines for implementing an effective assessment program. (DMM)

Reviews documents available in the ERIC system which describe innovative and easily accessible lifelong learning programs in relation to policies affecting lifelong learning, educational information centers, cooperative arrangements with business, flexible scheduling, informing the public, and experiential learning. (JM)

Examines major findings of a nationwide survey of community college instructors conducted to assess teaching practices in the sciences. Survey findings cover enrollment and completion rates; use of instructional media, assignments, reading requirements, knowledge tested, grading practices, support services; use of out-of-class activities; and…