ERIC Number: ED356015
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1993
Pages: 298
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-87117-259-3
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The At-Risk Student in the Open-Door College.
Roueche, John E.; Roueche, Suanne D.
Showcasing 12 community college programs recognized as successful in serving the needs of at-risk students, this book reviews the impact of limited resources and a growing high-risk student population on community colleges, examines successful programs and strategies, discusses faculty selection, and reviews program evaluation criteria and methods. Chapter 1, "Focusing on the Problems: America between a Rock and a Hard Place," describes the economic, technological, and demographic imperatives providing the impetus for American community colleges to remain viable, open-access institutions. Chapter 2, "Back to the Future: Getting Here from There," provides a brief history of two-year colleges, describing the events leading to the growing population of at-risk students, the proliferation of programs and strategies for dealing with these students, and the criticisms surrounding such efforts. This chapter also describes a 1992 survey of program directors from 12 award-winning two-year college programs for dealing with at-risk students. Chapter 3, "Designing Programs To Work: Shifting Paradigms for Changing Times," reviews the goals, objectives, and achievements of successful at-risk student programs. Chapter 4, "Selecting and Developing Faculty: Getting to the Heart of the Matter," reviews findings from studies of excellence in teaching, and describes strategies for identifying and selecting faculty. After discussing problems facing at-risk students, chapter 5, "The Door Opens with Identification, Orientation, and Involvement: Who Am I? and What Am I Doing Here?" describes the importance of student orientation and involvement and considers issues of assessment and placement. Chapter 6, "Instructional Strategies: Identifying Some Realities of 'How' To Get There," reviews theories of student learning and examines specific institutional strategies that support instruction. Chapter 7, "Program Evaluation: The Proof of the Pudding," describes current legislative initiatives and other strategies for program evaluation. Finally, chapter 8, "Through the Looking Glass: Toward a Vision of Student Success," provides a series of recommendations for responding to the needs of at-risk students. Contains 355 references. (PAA)
Descriptors: Access to Education, Community Colleges, Educational Change, Educational Opportunities, Educational Trends, Enrollment Trends, High Risk Students, Learning Theories, Nontraditional Students, Open Enrollment, Program Descriptions, Program Evaluation, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Selection, Teaching Methods, Two Year College Students, Two Year Colleges
American Association of Community Colleges, One DuPont Circle, N.W., Suite 410, Washington, DC 20036 ($27.50; $23 for members).
Publication Type: Books; Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Association of Community Colleges, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A