Group items tagged

Impact evaluations are important because they provide evidence about what works and does not work. It looks at what caused the improvement, or lack there of. This article from the Center for Effective Philanthropy talks about evaluation from the policy, practice, as well as philanthropy perspective.

A national public policy initiative to improve developmental studies in postsecondary education.

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."

Dr. Vincent Tinto is a professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University. His most recent book, Leaving College (also tagged), "lays out a theory and policy perspective on student success that is considered the benchmark by which work on these issues are judged."

Tinto is quoted by RO, in terms of show students how important community and connection are to being successful in college.

By Kevin Carey in Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, Issue #15, Winter 2010. In this editorial, Carey (policy director of think tank Education Sector) argues that colleges are not fulfilling their mission to students: costs are rising and students are not learning (or even graduating). He argues for transparency and studies of the effectiveness of teaching and learning, and warns of the education-related lobbies that keep the rest of us in the dark about higher education.

By Tracy Jan, Boston Globe/boston.com, March 23 2011. University of Massachusetts Amherst is announcing a "new effort to recruit community college graduates to the state university's flagship campus." According to the article, there is already a state policy in place guaranteeing admission to most community college graduates who earn a 2.5 GPA and waiving tuition to those with a 3.0. This new effort will also offer priority registration and housing, as well as scholarships and special advising.

By Katherine L. Hughes and Judith Scott-Clayton, published by Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University, Feb 2011. From the report description: "This paper examines the extent of consensus regarding the role of developmental assessment and how it is best implemented, the validity of the most common assessments currently in use, and emerging directions in assessment policy and practice." A PDF of the full paper is available from this web page.

By Susan Coleman Goldstein from the Do Your Job Better column, The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 5 2011. While on sabbatical, Goldstein, an English professor, takes a computer class at her school and finds herself distracted by the Facebook activity going on at her fellow student's computer terminal. In this piece, she thinks and re-thinks her own in-class policy regarding social media.

Developmental Ed statistics in texas. Case for reform - highlights ATD and Gates money to colleges

A guideline statement published by National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), 1987. From the statement: "Faculty members must be given adequate time to fulfill their responsibility to their students, their departments, their institutions, their profession, the larger community, and to themselves. Without that time, they cannot teach effectively."

This came up in a ped circle discussion, late in the semester, regarding workoad and how the demands of college employment tend to get in the way of the reflection, collaborative work, and intellectual development of individual instructors.

This article in the Aug 8 Chronicle of Higher Ed makes the bold proposal that "we need something grander and more comprehensive, something that will lead to a conceptual sea change in the way the nation understands and deals with the issue of academic underpreparation. "I propose that a wealthy foundation or consortium of foundations support with great fanfare a National Center for the Study and Teaching of Basic Skills. Such a center would have a long-term effect on education, social justice, and economic prosperity." Rose continues, something like the Smithsonian Institution or a National Endowment for Basic Studies.

The National center for Postsecondary Research (NCPR) at Teachers College, Columbia University, hosted this conference, September 23-24 2010. Downloads of all presentations are available from this site,as are some conference videos.

PA attended this conference.

By Stanley Fish, August 1, 2008. On Hover Institution, Stanford University

R.S. assigned this essay, week 12, semester 2.

The mission of this organization is to improve community college effectiveness and student success by engaging in relevant and applicable research related to community college practice and policy.

Part of The Aspen Institute, "The purpose of the Aspen Prize is to recognize community colleges with outstanding academic and workforce outcomes in both absolute performance and improvements over time. By focusing on student success and lifting up models that work, the prize will honor excellence, stimulate innovation, and create benchmarks for measuring progress." (Program Summary)