There is a plethora of studies on Latino academic underachievement, but very little information about Latino students who are successful at community colleges, yet the majority of Latino undergraduates in the U.S. attend these two-year schools. Furthermore, studies disaggregating Latino sub-groups have been limited or non-existent; therefore, this…

The downturn in the economy has coincided with enrollment increases at many community colleges. However, although enrollment at two-year institutions is up, several states have trimmed--or even chopped--appropriations for higher education. Florida, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Tennessee have each cut financing for 2009 by at least 5 percent,…

Introducing students to the newest research in a field is a challenging task for an instructor. Commercially available course material is at least two to three years old, is not citable, and is not a realistic training aid for students planning to enter a scientific field. In addition, engaging students in discussions about current research topics…

Strategic plans migrated to higher education from the corporate world. Although some universities have been drafting them for at least 40 years, their use has exploded over the last decade, particularly in the last two years. Now virtually every institution, from research universities to community colleges, has a plan. Competition for students,…

A group of five graduate students and a faculty mentor used the cultural popularity of forensics to develop a first-year undergraduate seminar. This course fulfilled two main objectives: First, the graduate student instructors developed professionally through a two-year process of creating, instructing, and revising a course. Second, a variety of…

Genetics is considered one of the most challenging courses in the biology curricula at both the secondary and post secondary levels. Case based teaching has been shown to improve student perception and performance outcomes in both non-science and science courses. Thus in an effort to improve outcomes, case studies were integrated into an…

Approximately 30% of students who persist to the end of their courses at two-year colleges do not do so with a passing grade, yet research on the educational experiences of these unsuccessful community college persisters remains limited. The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was threefold. First, this study attempted to identify…

The second-language classroom, where ESL students study, interact, and communicate, is not simply a place for their learning, but an important sociocultural context for their identity negotiation, which hypothetically plays a crucial role in their achievement. Besides the students' social classroom interactions, which shape and reshape their…

This article proposes five information-based Golden Rules in intercultural education that represent a holistic approach to creating learning corridors across geographically dispersed academic communities. The Golden Rules are generated through qualitative analysis, grounded theory application, reflective practice, and critical research to…

Research indicates that up to 65% of children diagnosed with ADHD may continue to display general behavior problems, as well as specific symptoms of ADHD, later in life. In most of the studies, ADHD college students' self-esteem is strongly aligned with their social skills. The purpose of this study was to find directions that will assist…

U.S. innovation and a hardworking American workforce have paved the way for improvements in the lives of Americans that are simply incalculable. Over the past several years, this progress has led to unprecedented growth and prosperity. More recently, scholars have been warning of a "quiet crisis"-- the steady erosion of America's scientific and…

Colleges and universities in the United States are being challenged to assess student outcomes and the quality of programs and services. One of the more widely used sources of evidence is student engagement as measured by a cluster of student engagement surveys administered by the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University. They…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

Reports on the first phase of a two-year pilot study of a university-level mathematics requirement that accommodates the needs of developmental students. Finds that the 84% pass rate for this new class format is substantially higher than the 43% pass rate for traditional developmental mathematics courses offered during the same semester. (Contains…

Two-year colleges are facing major change. The majority will undergo a turnover in college presidencies in the next ten years, at a time when they are being asked to be engines for economic growth, enable more students--and a greater diversity of students--to gain 21st century qualifications, and provide a pathway to higher degrees, all with…