Student Flow Between Community Colleges: Investigating Lateral Transfer

The traditional unidirectional (“linear”) postsecondary path from high school to a community college to a 4-year institution into the workforce represents accurately a decreasing proportion of the pathways actually taken by students through higher education. Instead, students increasingly exhibit patterns of enrollment that take them through multiple postsecondary institutions, both within levels of the higher education system (e.g., multiple community colleges, multiple 4-year institutions) and across levels (e.g., movement back and forth between community colleges and 4-year institutions). These “swirling” patterns of enrollment are widely recognized by scholars of higher education, but they remain poorly understood. In this study, I employ data that address 89,057 first-time students in the California community college system to answer a number of key questions concerning lateral transfer between community colleges, which, according to prior research, constitutes one sizeable component of student “swirl”. Building on the very limited work on this topic, I examine whether the reported high prevalence of lateral transfer holds true under a more stringent operational framework than that employed in prior work. I explore whether lateral transfer is primarily an artifact of students enrolling simultaneously in multiple community colleges, sometimes called “double-dipping”. I investigate the timing of lateral transfer from several different perspectives to determine how lateral transfer fits in students’ progress and development. Finally, I probe the relationship between students’ level of academic investment in their current community college and the risk of lateral transfer.     

Complementarity Between the Transfer Goals of Community Colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Learning from History

Community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) often serve the same populations; however, the historical purposes, policies, and practices of HBCUs often better prepare them to serve first-generation students. Although both HBCUs and community colleges have their origins within the same historical period, the forces that created each of these branches of higher education also created a divergence in how they operate. This article looks at the most critical of those shaping forces to identify why HBCUs and community colleges often view their mission and their students differently and, thus, perform their work differently. The increased diversity of students whom community colleges are serving provides an opportunity for community colleges to look at HBCUs' successes and determine how community colleges can learn from and adapt those successes with students of color especially. The article suggests that in their mission to serve transfer students, community colleges can learn much from HBCUs' successes with underprepared students.     

美国社区学院的转学教育

转学教育是美国两年制学院最重要的特征之一.同职业教育、社区教育和补习教育相比,转学教育在美国两年制学院最初半个多世纪中一直是最重要的课程,后来才走向衰退.但这种衰退已引起美国各州政府和高等教育领导人的高度关注.本文探讨了美国社区学院转学教育的演变过程及其决定性因素、转学教育的内在本质及由此决定的未来趋势,最后简要论述了我国开展转学教育试验的必要性.     

美国社区学院转学教育功能的形成和历史沿革

社区学院是美国高等教育系统中的重要组成部分,其最传统的教育功能就是转学教育。文章在分析社区学院转学教育功能形成原因的基础上,根据历史线索对其在不同时期的兴衰史及其相关因素进行了梳理和探讨,并对其未来发展趋势做了预测。     

中美社区学院的比较与启示

中美社区学院在促进高等教育大众化、服务社区发展、开展灵活办学等方面具有较大的相似性,但因为国情和历史的差异,在发展背詈和动力、政策制定和定位、制度设计和管理等方面存在许多不同。借鉴美国社区学院的发展经验,我国社区学院应定位公益教育,立足制度创新,实施三教融通。     

Examination of Factors that Predict Academic Adjustment and Success of Community College Transfer Students in STEM at 4-Year Institutions

ABSTRACT

There are a limited number of individuals who possess the skills to fulfill the workforce demand in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in the United States. Therefore, community colleges and 4-year institutions must be able to identify academic and social factors that impact students’ participation in the areas of STEM. These institutions must also explore the possibility that these factors contribute to the high rate of students switching out of STEM fields. This study’s purpose was to develop a better understanding of the perceptions of community college transfer students who continue at a 4-year institution to determine academic and social factors that influenced their academic success in STEM. To collect the quantitative data, the Laanan-Transfer Students’ Questionnaire was utilized. The results of this study reveal that Academic Adjustment was predicted by father’s highest level of education, interaction with faculty at the community college and university, and perception as a transfer student at the university. The cumulative grade point average (GPA), was predicted by the highest level of education of the father, associate degree obtained at the community college, community college transfer GPA, general courses from the community college, transfer credit hours, and university course learning. Overall, the findings indicate that community colleges and 4-year institutions should encourage students to be connecting more in class and after class—not only with their peers, but also with faculty. Findings also suggest that students should become more involved academically and socially to enhance their academic and social adjustment at a 4-year institution.     

美国社区学院与大学的转学衔接:问题、措施和启示

美国的社区学院与大学的转学衔接日益紧密。美国社区学院学生在转学后常会遇到有关融入新环境、财政补助、课程衔接和学分互认等方面的问题,社区学院和大学通过采取加强课程衔接沟通、建立伙伴关系、设立专门的转学中心、制定共同的转学目标、加强财政补助和指导、完善学分转换政策等措施,帮助社区学院转学生顺利完成转学衔接工作。美国社区学院和大学的转学衔接措施可为当下我国建设“专升本”教育提供启示:坚持“以生为本”的教育理念,加强专科院校和本科院校之间的联系,专科院校和本科院校应积极为“专升本”学生提供专项的支持服务,以及加强专科院校和本科院校之间的课程衔接。     

民办本科院校如何做大做强

民办高等教育的现状与未来一直是教育界和学术界普遍关注的问题。我国应该适度超前发展高等教育尤其是适度超前发展民办高等教育,我国具有独立颁发毕业证书资格的民办高校尤其是民办本科院校,应该坚持教育理念创新、教育机制创新,做大做强。     

独立学院转设政策的利益博弈及其治理

利益关系是行为主体之间最基本的社会关系。在独立学院转设政策执行的过程中,其行为主体的申请方、合作方、主管方均有着自身的行为目标和利益诉求,从而形成了三方利益博弈的格局。独立学院转设政策执行过程中行为主体各方的利益存在差别,因此,要实现博弈均衡,需要在协调利益关系、拓宽利益表达渠道、完备博弈规则等方面进行制度创新。     

At-Risk Readers and Community Volunteers: A 3-Year Perspective

The Charlottesville Volunteer Tutorial, known locally as Book Buddies, is a one-to-one community volunteer tutorial that is an integral part of the Charlottesville City Schools' plan to ensure that all first- and second-grade children learn to read. Analyses of the first 3 cohorts reveal the growing efficacy of the program. Participants with greater than 40 sessions significantly outperformed participants with fewer than 40 sessions on most pre- and posttest gain scores and on both outcome measures of text reading and word recognition. Effect size for word recognition in Cohort III was +1.29, considerably higher than effect sizes reported for other tutorials using paraprofessionals and volunteers. The gains over the years have demonstrated that 2 sessions of one-on-one tutoring per week, by a trained, supported, and supervised community volunteer for a minimum of 20 weeks, can be an effective and affordable alternative intervention for children at risk for reading failure.     

美国社区学院转学教育功能研究

美国社区学院的转学教育是沟通副学士和学士学位的桥梁,透视美国社区学院转学教育的历史沿革、现状,研究影响转学功能的五个关键因素以及发展趋势,对完善中国高等教育专本衔接机制应有一定的借鉴意义.     

Organizational Effectiveness of 2-Year Colleges: The Centrality of Cultural and Leadership Complexity

The central purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which community college faculty and administrators' perceptions of the organizational effectiveness of their institutions was related to their perceptions of the cognitive and behavioral complexity of the organizational cultures and the leadership roles performed by senior campus officials of their institutions. The findings show a strong relationship between perceptions of the organizational effectiveness of the institutions and the level of complexity in their campus cultures and the leadership behaviors of senior campus officials. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research on the organizational effectiveness of colleges and universities and policy and practice initiatives that have the potential to improve the performance of these institutions.     

The Flattening of Literacy: Community Colleges and Skills Training

Community colleges occupy a contradictory position in the rise of globalization. They are at once both local and global institutions. This essay examines the complicated location of community colleges in local economies through the developing community college system in Indiana. In particular, it highlights the horizontal transitions of a growing number of students through community colleges and the impact of such transitions on the framing of literacy education.     

美国社区学院推进国际化的举措与启示——基于对19所社区学院的分析

美国社区学院在推进人才培养、办学模式、师资队伍国际化等方面取得了卓越性成就,提升了美国教育和劳动人口的全球竞争力。通过分析2009—2020年获得安德鲁·海斯克尔国际教育创新奖的19所社区学院的教育国际化实践,可以概括出社区学院推进国际化策略的突出特征,即具有较强的国际化理念;提高教师队伍国际化素养;积极促进学生国际流动;全方位、全要素推进全面国际化。这一系列举措对于提高我国高等职业教育国际化发展水平具有重要的参考意义。     

The Organization and Structure of Community Education Offerings in Community Colleges

One of the key services community colleges provide is community education, meaning those programs and activities that are often offered for leisure or self-improvement and not for credit. Programs of this nature are increasingly challenged to be self-financing, whether through user fees or externally funded grants. The current study explored 75 community college community education offerings and found that most offered over 50 distinct community education programs, with less than half of those being self-funded. These colleges typically relied on a professional program director to administer programs; and, most frequently, these individuals reported through a division of academic or student affairs. Among other findings, the majority of community education programs profiled were classified as leisure education, although there were large numbers of programs that related to some distinct element of a community (such a national forest, historic downtown, etc.). Study findings highlighted the need for community college leaders to find balance between community needs and financial responsibility. This includes taking on the responsibility for hosting programs that might be financially unviable, but might meet a strong community need.     

校企合作共建实验室的博弈分析

校企合作共建实验室是当前实验室建设和发展的新模式,然而校企合作共建大都合作不紧密、流于形式,很难有实质性和持久性的进展．文章从博弈论角度出发,首先分析了影响校企合作共建实验室的博弈因素及其选择过程,接着建立校企合作共建实验室的博弈模型,探讨高校与企业之间合作共建不足的本质,并在此基础上提出促进校企合作共建实验室的相关策略．     

加拿大社区学院的办学特色及启示

社区学院是加拿大中学后教育的重要组成部分,其学制安排的灵活性、专业设置的针对性、课程内容的综合性、培养目标的多元性等都较具特色.本文对此进行分析,以期对发展我国的高职教育有所借鉴.     

新时代职业教育校企命运共同体的内涵特征与实现路径

随着社会的快速发展和职业教育的不断变革,职业教育校企合作呈现出新的时代内涵,职业教育校企命运共同体应运而生并呈现出新的方向。职业教育校企命运共同体由“校企利益共同体”“校企情感共同体”“校企文化共同体”和“校企责任共同体”组成,是职业教育校企合作的最高形态,具有共生性、包容性、开放性和互补性等特征。新时代职业教育校企命运共同体的建设和健康发展,需要构筑义利统一的发展共识,需要构建情理交融的共生合作机制,需要共建开放包容的合作文化,需要落实互融共生的责任主体。