MATHEMATICS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The research reported in this article used regression analyses to examine the factors explaining the variation in instructional costs per full‐time equivalent (FTE) student at 592 public community colleges during the 1991‐92 academic year. The results suggests that instructional costs per FTE student tend to increase with the full‐time faculty‐to‐FTE student ratio, the part‐time faculty‐to‐FTE student ratio, faculty salaries, and the ratio of degree completions to total FTE enrollment in agricultural, skilled trade, and health‐related programs. Community colleges with total FTE enrollments between 1,000 and 1,499, between 2,000 and 2,499, and between 4,000 and 4,499 students tend to have lower instructional costs per FTE student than community colleges having total FTE enrollment less than 500 students.     

THE STATUS OF FACULTY SENATES IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Shared governance plays an important role in institutional decision making. The extent to which faculty are involved in governance, though, has largely been ignored within community colleges. The current study was designed to profile faculty governance units, such as senates, in community, junior, and technical colleges in order to initiate a constructive dialogue about how best to build structures that allow faculty input into decision making. An exploratory survey of faculty governance in community colleges was mailed to a apurposive national sample of community colleges to provide geographic representation. Findings reveal that governance bodies are less common that perhaps previously thought, and that these structures tend to be more informal than in their 4-year college counterparts.     

WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Georgia has one of the largest distance learning networks in the United States with nearly 300 sites connected to a statewide network of two‐way interactive audio and video. Research was conducted to examine the nature and importance of participant interactivity in credit courses at technical institutes using the distance education technology. Six faculty and 62 students who enrolled at host and remote sites at the technical institutes constituted the population of the study. Data were collected from students through a structured, forced‐choice survey questionnaire. Information was collected from faculty through two questionnaires to measure changes in attitudes toward teaching the course. Overall level of satisfaction of both students and faculty was quite high. The students at the remote sites in this study reported more negative experiences with the various types of interaction, but overall they were satisfied with the experience. Experiences that enhance and maximize the various types of interaction need to be intentionally designed and used by instructors. Teaching behaviors, such as calling on students at remote sites frequently and by name, establishing eye contact by looking into the camera when speaking, and including both remote and host site students in discussions seem to be related to student satisfaction and perceptions of effective interaction. To overcome the differences between sites related to instructor presence in the room, instructors can occasionally travel to a remote site to conduct class and interact directly with students there, and use phone, fax, and e‐mail to be more accessible to students.     

NEW IDEAS ON MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN COLLEGES OF TECHNOLOGY

In this article, new ideas for mathematics education for engineering are proposed as follows: (1) Mathematics will be taught by introducing several specific engineering themes early in the program. (2) The themes selected are in the engineering field that the student is studying. (3) As students knowledge of mathematics advances, they revisit these engineering themes for further analysis. The author discusses the reasons motivating a search for a new approach to mathematics education and suggests some advantages and disadvantages of the approach outlined here. An example from mechanical engineering is presented.     

PEER AND STUDENT-FACULTY RELATIONS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This study investigated differences in peer and student?faculty relationships of male and female community college students. Men reported more frequent participation in college activities, whereas women reported more frequent involvement in less formal activities such as studying with other students. Women had less difficulty than men meeting and making friends. For both men and women, little student?faculty interaction outside the classroom was reported.     

REFROMING WRITING AMONG STUDENTS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

ABSTRACT

The Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) movement, which swept through all levels of American education during the 1960s and 1970s, seemed a logical remedy for student writing deficiencies. However, the impact of WAC has not lived up to its promise. The WAC movement, as currently implemented in many community colleges, may be ineffective at best. To significantly improve student writing, systemic reform in pedagogical practice in English composition courses and throughout the disciplines is imperative. With no reform, we may unintentionally rob writing of its ability to be a tool for learning, thus negating the movement's primary goal. This article provides an historical perspective of writing across the curriculum, alongside a suggested reform model that includes essential components.     

ART APPRECIATION COURSES IN ILLINOIS COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the content of art appreciation courses in the Illinois community colleges. Other purposes were to determine instructor characteristics, institutional characteristics, and the methodology used to teach the courses. A mailed survey was used to gather the data from the lead art appreciation instructor at each of 52 colleges. Thirty‐six surveys were returned, for a response rate of 69%. On average, nearly four art appreciation course sections, with a range of 1 to 20, were taught at each 2‐year college. Most instructors used textbooks; 15 different titles were furnished by the respondents. Cultural art, art production, and studio art were included in most courses. Numerous art periods and the works of many artists were studied.     

COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN JAPAN AND THE SOCIAL STATUS OF JAPANESE WOMEN

Historically, Japanese junior colleges have served as preparatory institutions for young Japanese women pursuing marriage. Under influences of American higher education systems during the post-World War II era, Japanese junior colleges have successfully attracted eighteen-year-old females and provided them with a terminal liberal arts education. This article investigates briefly the history of Japanese postsecondary education systems prior to the educational reforms of 1945 and the post-war development of junior colleges. Based on the historical development of Japanese junior colleges, implications for women's social status are examined. Recommendations are made for the future development of Japanese junior colleges and the academic and career advancement of Japanese women.     

THE IMPACT OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ON FACULTY COMPENSATION IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This study examines the impact of collective bargaining on faculty compensation at two‐year colleges over the period 1970‐81. The results show that faculty at unionized community colleges have not experienced significantly greater increases in compensation than their nonunionized brethren. In fact, the nonunion institutions actually experienced higher relative gains in compensation for the first three years after the unionized colleges first engaged in collective bargaining.     

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGES: MISSISSIPPI'S SYSTEM OF COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES

Mississippi's system of public community and junior colleges developed as a response to changing educational needs in the state. The need to provide secondary education to rural areas of the state led to the agricultural high school movement in 1908. Time diminished the need for these schools, so the state's educational leadership proposed using the facilities to offer college‐level coursework. In 1928, Mississippi counties were authorized to join together in forming junior college districts. The colleges began as agencies of local government and continue so to the present. A state‐level office with coordinating responsibilities was established at the State Department of Education. The state's system of 2‐year colleges began just 1 year before the national economic depression. Easy access and low costs made the junior colleges attractive to Mississippians then and now. The junior college mission was to offer university transfer programs to students. After World War II, the junior colleges expanded their missions to include vocational and technical training. This was in response to the demands of business and industry as well as the needs of veterans returning to the workforce. Postwar industrial development in the state gave the junior colleges a greater role in workforce training. Mississippi's two‐year colleges have experienced demographic and technology changes that reflect national trends. In contrast to most other states, Mississippi's community and junior college leadership continues to identify university parallel programs as their primary mission.     

FINANCIAL REPORTING PRACTICES IN ILLINOIS PUBLIC COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of a given financial entity requires comparisons of two kinds. We must examine current data in light of the historical data of the entity with which we are concerned; and we must assess all such data in relation to that of other, similar, entities. Making the necessary comparisons is not currently possible for Illinois Public Community College Districts because all independent public accounting firms do not prepare their financial reports in the same way. The firms do prepare their financial reports consistently from year to year, but reports are not uniform throughout the industry. This lack of industry‐wide uniformity prohibits locally‐elected boards, creditors, investors and taxpayers from analyzing a district's financial report and determining its overall financial position. This study points out the need for a financial reporting methodology that allows not only for an accurate determination of a district's past and present success, but also for a reasonable projection of its financial future.     

PROFILING CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS IN PUBLIC COMMUNITY COLLEGES

A survey of chief academic officers (CAOs) at public community colleges belonging to the American Association of Community Colleges was conducted in 1998-1999. The personal and professional characteristics of respondents are reported in this article. A profile shows the average CAO to be a married White man with a doctorate. He is 52 years old and has served in office for slightly more than 6 years. Women represented more than one third of the respondents. The average female CAO is a 51-year-old married White woman with a PhD. She has served in her current positionfor slightly more than 5 years. She has heldthree previous positions in higher education, two administrative and one faculty. The study indicated that female CAOs differ from male CAOs in four ways. The continued low representation of ethnic minority group members in the CAO position is noted. The importance of the CAO position to the community college and the community college to higher education in general calls for systematic inquiry regarding such profiles on a longitudinal basis.     

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION IN TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This study surveyed Texas community colleges to assess the extent of faculty development programs and the means, the purpose, and degree to which they were evaluated. Ninety percent of the 62 community colleges responded to the Fall 1985 survey with 93% of the respondents indicating that they had organized faculty development programs. The data gathered revealed that most programs were group oriented, perceived as effective, and offered at higher rates than previous studies have indicated. However, the methods used to determine effectiveness were, on the whole, not measures of changes in teacher or student behavior. In addition, there is little evidence that the programs are being used as a major instrument for institutional change and improvement that is linked to the accomplishment of college goals and the establishment of accountability. It is suggested that faculty development programs can improve by being more diligent in the pursuit of opportunities to effectively evaluate outcomes and by focusing on more individual than group activities.     

IIMNOVATIVENESS AND RELATED FACTORS IN CANADA'S COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This study was designed to determine the extent to which innovative activities vary among Canada's community colleges and to what degree specific organizational characteristics correlate with institutional innovativeness. The hypotheses were derived from an extensive literature on innovation theory, largely centered in the private sector. The research methodology was modelled after organizational innovation studies in the structural‐functional paradigm.

Data on specific innovations, both initiated and implemented, together with a number of organizational variables, were gathered from a sample of fifteen community colleges across Canada. The results confirmed that innovativeness does vary among institutions and also correlates positively with concentrations of support function specialist positions and with levels of macro‐environmental funding for innovative activity. The study also confirmed that an inverse relationship exists between innovative activity and measures of centralization of authority.

In general, it was found that findings reached in studies of innovation involving private sector organizations were applicable to the community college sector.     

OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT AND MINORITY STUDENTS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The assessment of outcomes by community colleges was reviewed with special attention paid to the concerns of minority student populations. The definition of outcomes, the “what” of assessment, is discussed along with the process, or “how” of assessment. We provide theoretical perspectives along with examples of practice drawn from the review. The concerns of minority students with regard to assessment are highlighted, and recommendations for programming and further research are made.     

工业区社区大学办学主体和治理结构

如何在较短的时间内使继续教育覆盖到工业区的4000多万外来务工人员?我们的答案是在工业区办社区大学。在农民工的继续教育上存在着若干重要利益相关者,每一个主体都有自己的利益,各利益主体的参与和他们的资源保障社区大学“成本分担模式”可持续。治理结构可能主要有三种类型:政府举办和管理;真正非盈利性的民办社区学院,由社区各方共同举办并有参与式的治理结构;盈利性的公司或私人举办的盈利性社区学院。