Group items tagged

By Laurel Rosenhall in The Sacramento Bee, November 18 2010. A nonprofit association, the Community College League of California, calls for community colleges to educate 1 million more students by 2020, ensure that more students leave community college with a degree, and "do a better job educating Latino and African American students." Recommended changes include "evidence-based solutions," thinking differently and joining "Complete College America."

Overview of the study being conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University. This study will look at seven specific research strategies within four different community college systems (in four different states). This page includes links to past and future presentations being given on this project.

In the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Texas at Austin, the Community College Leadership Program (CCLP) was established in 1944. The program focuses on training community college leaders.

Published by Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2010. This report looks at the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE), launched fall 2006. From the report, "To date, more than 91,000 students from 197 colleges in 37 states have participated in SENSE, thereby helping to create a wealth of new and actionable data about the entering community college student experience."

The Community College Research Center (CCRC) is part of the Insitute on Education and the Economy, Teacher's College, Columbia University. From their site: "CCRC"s mission is to conduct research on major issues affecting community colleges in the United States and to contribute to the development of practice and policy that expands access to higher education and promotes success for all students."

By Scott Jaschik, in Inside Higher Ed, Dec 3, 2009. Announces the release of a study by Community College Research Center of Columbia University Teachers College (CCRC) looking at student success in community college "gatekeeper" courses.

On PBS NewsHour, April 20, 2010. Jeffrey Brown interview with Mary Spilde and Hilary Pennington about the increased focus on boosting graduation rates in community colleges. Remedial education, innovative technology models and standards for accountabililty are topics covered.

by David Glenn in The Faculty Section, The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 5, 2010. See page 12. Jamie P. Merisotis, president of Lumina Foundation for Education gives the plenary at the annual conference of the Association of American Colleges and Universities in January 2010.

From PA: "According to the Chronicle, he (Jamie Merisotis) addressed this very issue of 'quality'"

From C-SPAN, March 30, 2010. Speech was given at the Alexandria, VA., campus of Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). The President is introduced by Dr. Jill Biden, wife of the Vice-President, and an instructor at NVCC. The President announced that Dr. Biden will host a national summit on community colleges at the White House this fall (see approx 18:10 on the video).

A GSCC connection - NH (GSCC instructor) also teaches at NVCC and was present for the visit. From her comments: "Jill Biden introduced him and some of her developmental English students were sitting behind me. When the President explained the changes in Pell Grants, they stood and shouted "Thank You." I was really moved because I am sure these grants will make a big difference for them in the future."

By Tara Siler on All Things Considered, NPR, March 31, 2010. Siler reports that students miss out on financial aid, particularly in community colleges, because they don't understand the system. Pell Grants can be particularly useful to low income students, if they understand how, when, and why to apply.

By Alan Greenblatt on NPR, March 29 2010. Greenblatt reports that there was initially great promise for community colleges in the health care reconciliation bill that was passed at the end of March. However, "Congress ultimately took a pass on restructuring the mission of the nation's community colleges." The $12 billion American Graduation Initiative recognized the important role that community colleges could play in producing more college graduates, but the initiative was not included in the final law.

See last paragraph for quote from Gail Mellow.

By Stephanie Banchero, The Wall Street Journal, April, 21, 2010. At the annual meeting of the American Association of Community Colleges, officials pledge to boost student completion rates 50% over the next decade.

The Faculty Inquiry Network (FIN) "is comprised of community college faculty from across California, working in teams to investigate a complex problem in basic skills education..." (from Info page). Together, they have produced this beautiful blog which describes faculty inquiry ("a form of professional development") and includes resources and a toolkit. There is also an email subscription available, to better keep current with this project.

By Andrea Fuller in the Government section of The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 20, 2010. At North Virginia Community College, President Obama signs legislation that ends the bank-based lending system for student loans. The savings from ending this program will be used to provide spending on education. The president also announces that Jill Biden will lead a community-college summit at the White House in the fall.

By Amy Gerstein, John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities. For The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Problem Solution Exploration Papers. This paper explores faculty professional development to address limitations of developmental education.

By Elizabeth M. Zachry, December 2008. Achieving the Dream model of instructional reform implemented for developmental education courses at three community colleges: Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro, North Carolina; Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, Virginia; and Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, Virginia.

By Melissa Ludwig in San Antonio (Texas) Express-News Jan 21 2011. A pilot program in San Antonio points "students who test at the lowest skill levels toward shorter vocational programs or adult basic education" rather than the remedial classes at community college where they might previously have been assigned. The student profiled participated in a 10-14 week PACE program (combining basic education with college readiness skills) rather than the 4 semesters of remedial classes she would otherwise have been assigned.

By Jennifer Gonzalez in the Students section of the Chronicle of Higher Education, February 9 2011. Article announces the findings of a just-published early report, "Turning the Tide: Five Years of Achieving the Dream in Community Colleges," looking at five years of progress of the Achieving the Dream program in the 26 schools that joined in 2004. While the article cites that the changes are slow and small, there are bright spots, including the spread of a "culture of evidence" with more sophisticated data collection and analysis.

Transcript from video Discounted Dreams

Carrie Glaser; Shae Issaacs; Jon Merrow; Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.); Learning Matters, etc. New York, NY; Learning Matters, Inc; Alexandria, VA: Distributed by PBS Home Video (2007). Documentary explores the paradoxes of the nation's 1200 community colleges.