Tinto developed a model to predict the attrition process. The model respects a longitudinal perspective and regards persistence as a function of the quality of a student's interactions with the academic and social systems of the college. Tinto asserts that the two primary factors related to student withdrawal are the personal characteristics of…

Purpose: Academic writing is often considered to be a weakness in contemporary students, while good reporting and writing skills are highly valued by graduate employers. A number of universities have introduced writing centres aimed at addressing this problem; however, the evaluation of such centres is usually qualitative. The paper seeks to…

Many comparisons are being made among students in reading achievement. The United States ranked ninth among 35 nations in an international study among students in reading, as reported by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Reading Today, 2003). Standards keep going up for students to achieve in reading, as indicated by test…

This study compares second-year Japanese university students' strategies to write kanji by hand with their strategies to produce the kanji characters on a computer, taking into account factors such as accuracy in writing, the amount of kanji used, the complexity of the kanji used, as well as how the characters used compare with the sequence…

The goal of college preparation programs is to help students, particularly underrepresented students of color, to enroll and succeed in college. While many programs focus on strengthening students' math and reading skills, familiarizing them with college entrance exams, and demystifying the college admissions process, there are few guidelines for…

According to the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), commonly referred to as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, Title I schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years are required to develop or revise school improvement plans aimed at boosting student achievement.…

Throughout the 1990's, many people saw information technology as a silver bullet that could solve many of higher education's problems, among them the need to improve learning outcomes and control the ever-upward trajectory of higher education costs. The term "silver bullet" connotes a direct and effortless solution to a problem. Unsurprisingly,…

The "First Condition Report" provided policymakers and the general public a snapshot of where Ohio stands in providing the higher education services needed to be competitive in today's world. The "Second Report" focused on facilities and technology. The "Third Report" underscores the need to deliver high quality education to more Ohioans within…

This research aims to build upon current research in the area of teaching and learning at tertiary level and explore the nature of learning communities in tertiary science and engineering. This study uses a sociocultural approach to address the following question: "What are teachers' and learners' perceptions of the nature of the learning…

This paper addresses the issue of developmental education in the community college. Across the country, states are increasingly discouraging four-year institutions from offering remedial education. The City University of New York and the California State University system are phasing out remedial instruction. In the 1999-2000 academic year, public…

This digest explores the status of Hispanic community college students and the factors that affect their enrollment and persistence in college. America's 1,076 community colleges educate over half of all minority students in higher education. Hispanics are underrepresented in four-year institutions, and over 55% of all Hispanic students enrolled…

This explanatory case study researched the writing experiences of 11 community college students who differed subculturally and who were all part of the African diasporic community. The theoretical perspectives used for this study were Arthur Chickering's (1969) classical concept of academic competence and community dialect theory (Baxter &…

This study explored the perceptions of ten community college visual arts faculty in five different community college settings with regard to the theory and practice disjunctures they were experiencing in their roles as instructors teaching foundational level courses within visual arts programs. The study illuminated the responses of community…

This report summarizes the highlights of a national survey of college and university faculty that was conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) in fall and winter of 2001-2001. This is the fifth in a series of surveys conducted on a triennial basis. Results are based on the responses of 32,840 full-time college and university…

In this paper I will look at the controversy surrounding the current status of English in the world. I will consider the question of whether the dominant role of English as a lingua franca (ELF) is a menace to other languages, to multilingual communication and to the profession of translation and interpreting, or whether a positive evaluation of…