Student Decisions to Attend Public Two-Year Community Colleges

While the strategy of funding both systems provides an incentive for both school districts and community colleges to participate with dual enrollment, the current fiscal environment has drawn attention to the inefficient use of the dual funding structure. This article highlights the results of a case study on Florida's dual enrollment program documenting how over a 20-year period policymakers offered different financial incentives as an inducement to greater participation among districts and community colleges. The article documents how the current state fiscal condition has altered lawmaker's motivations for supporting dual enrollment. It concludes by describing the implications of this on community college participation with dual enrollment.     

Using the Wisdom Development Theory to Conceptualize Student Professionalism Development in Community Colleges

ABSTRACT

Historically, community colleges have played a vital role in career and vocational preparation for students. In today’s complex and ever-changing work environment, professionalism issues are at the forefront of employers’ concerns related to millennials and other young students and recent graduates. This issue is aggravated by the rise of social media and other trends that pose challenges related to, for example, professionalism in communication. The community college community is an excellent site for a movement towards structured professionalism training and research that is process-centered and that emphasizes lifelong learning. Drawn upon the literature review and our own experiences in career counseling, we expand on the perspectives of professionalism at the individual and group levels. And we present on how community colleges’ offices, instructors, and administrators can use the Model of Wisdom Development to understand whether and how are students developing professionalism.     

Articulating and Utilizing Communication Student Learning Outcomes in Community Colleges

Academia in the United States stands face-to-face with the constant call for greater levels of assessment and accountability. Academics question whether our students are learning what they’re taught? Are they able to secure employment upon completing their education? Are they prepared to be active, productive citizens in society? Community colleges provide education to those who may typically not have the opportunity to attend an institution of higher education. A foundation of any assessment process is the articulation of the core learning outcomes. It is from this foundation, then, that community college faculty can start assessing the effectiveness of teaching and curricular design. The present investigation details a project that focused on creating discipline-specific student learning outcomes and how these outcomes can be utilized to aligning learning outcomes and mapping to curriculum. Communication studies faculty can utilize the learning outcomes to strengthen and clarify curriculum, demonstrate the acquisition of competencies, and improve departmental offerings.     

Community Colleges and Market Responsiveness: A Conceptual Analysis and Proposed Model

In this article, we explore the functions of the traditional community college and its expanding mission in regard to its responsiveness to changing economic conditions and workforce development needs. To date, few researchers have specifically addressed market responsiveness in community college settings across the United States. In addition, we introduce a model in which a comprehensive framework of the components and dimensions that comprise a market responsive institution is provided. Examining dimensions that characterize market responsive community colleges helps to deepen the theoretical and practical understanding of market responsiveness in two ways. First, it helps educators gain a greater understanding about the internal and external contexts in which community colleges operate. Second, it helps educators better understand how core institutional internal and external dimensions interact to create a market responsive environment. The proposed Model of Market Responsive Institutions can be used by community college leaders as a guide for understanding their internal and external context. In addition, community college leaders can use this model in identifying factors that support their ability be responsive in a constantly challenging and changing environment.     

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.     

Trial and Error: How Student Affairs Staff in Community Colleges Learn to Supervise

Supervisory skills play an important role in individual staff development and the achievement of organizational objectives. These skills are vital to professionals in community college student affairs, who support a diverse student population and a wide array of programming. This study was conducted to describe the kind of supervisory training experience student affairs professionals received. Through interviews with community college student affairs professionals, we found that many experienced a lack of formal training and acquired supervisory skills over time on the job, through trial and error, and from workshops.     

构建新型高校学生公寓社区工作体系探索

高校后勤社会化改革,使高校学生公寓社区快速发展。探索高校学生公寓社区形成、功能、面临的挑战,正确定位学生公寓社区,构建新型学生公寓社区工作体系,要做好学生政治思想教育和日常行为管理等九个方面的工作。     

Moral Consciousness in a Community of Inquiry

In this paper I shall first examine an apparent paradox in Confucius’ view on whether everyone is perfectible through education: on the one hand, he states that education should be provided to all, on the other hand, he says that common people cannot be made to know things. To understand this apparent paradox, I shall argue that education for Confucius is primarily moral education, as he teaches his students to become virtuous persons. So the apparent paradox is really one about whether virtue can be taught. I shall argue in the last section that while Confucius’ answer to the question is affirmative, he does not think that virtue can be taught in the same way as theoretical knowledge or technical skills are taught. For Confucius, the most effective way to teach people to be virtuous is through personal example.     

Decoding the Digital Campus Climate for Prospective LGBTQ+ Community Colleges Students

LGBTQ+ students are increasingly visible on community college campuses, and a safe and welcoming campus climate is critical to LGBTQ+ students’ academic success and well-being. Campus climate is difficult to assess for prospective LGBTQ+ community college students, and institutional websites may be a source of information about campus climate. This study used content analysis to document and analyze the digital campus climate for prospective LGBTQ+ students in the community colleges context by examining institutional websites. Using a mixed methods approach, website content of nine community colleges was analyzed, and both the quantity and nature of the content were used to make sense of colleges’ digital campus climate for prospective LGBTQ+ students. With the exception of a couple colleges, we found that the digital campus climate was not welcoming to prospective LGBTQ+ students. The results suggest that community colleges need to enhance their website in several ways and expand their overall programming (academic and non-academic) to ensure prospective LGBTQ+ students feel welcomed and safe on community college campuses.     

Student Engagement: A CCSSE Follow-Up Study to Improve Student Engagement in a Community College

This qualitative case study at a two-year community college investigated the reasons behind a persistent gap in the college students’ engagement level in several key areas such as active and collaborative learning and student-faculty interaction as demonstrated in the longitudinal Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE) results. Using the maximal variation purposeful sampling method, 63 students participated in the study. Results suggested that students’ own perception and behaviors, faculty’s expectations and characteristics, the course characteristics, and institutional level support all played an important role in engaging students. There was a disparity between students’ high perception of the importance of engagement and low level of effort and a disparity between faculty’s perception of student engagement and students’ own perception of engagement. Community college students welcomed high expectations and high standards from their faculty and also desired more challenging courses despite all the obstacles in their lives. Discussions and recommendations for strategies to close the gap in the two disparities and, thus, improve student engagement level are provided.     

The Growth of International Student Enrollment at Community Colleges and Implications

An emerging trend today is the increased enrollment of international students at community colleges. International students look to American community colleges as a steppingstone to achieving an education that might otherwise be beyond their reach. They are attracted to the community college by the lower tuition costs, opportunities for guaranteed transfer to a four-year university, and the opportunity to study at a variety of geographical locations throughout the United States. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the reasons that international students choose to study at community colleges and to consider the implications for community colleges at a time when funding, services, and growth opportunities have been severely restricted. Suggestions for further research are also included.     

高校公寓社区学生工作探析

高校后勤社会化改革后,公寓社区学生工作发生了显著变化。在这种情况下,高校公寓社区学生工作需要创新：加强领导;建立新机构;以新的工作方法、工作思路,采取相应对策,加强对学生的教育和管理。     

高校学生社团发展的文化引导及模式创新

对于高校社团而言,社团自身文化是其立身之本,发展之基．．而社团的文化来源于社会,并在大学这个纯洁的环境下茁壮成长,不断创新,最后以正确的方式回馈社会。社团在自身发展的过程中,也需要有一系列行之有效的管理制度,做到以人为本、深化模式、不断开阔、完善传承,而指导老师的适时点播也是社团在发展过程中难以取代的一盏明灯。当然,社团的发展过程中需注重学以致用,在平时的活动中多与外界交流合作,让学员能更早的感受社会氛围,积累社会经验,为其今后的就业搭建平台。     

CD-ROM Integration Peaks Student Interest in Inquiry

Summary

Members of the faculty of educational science and technology of the University of Twente, The Netherlands, have been making innovative use of WWW-based course-support sites since 1994. By 2000 all of the faculty were involved not only in using the WWW, but also more fundamentally in a new educational approach. In addition, our educational technologists collaborate with other faculties to support the same progression. How has this come about? In this article, the TeleTOP Method (http://teletop.edte.utwente.nl) is described, showing how it has developed based on an implementation model and experience acquired with innovative use of the WWW for course support. The applicability of the model to other faculties and settings is discussed.     

高中生化学探究学习能力及其培养

培养学生的探究学习能力是高中化学教学的重要课题.教师在教学过程中根据教学内容和学生实际优化实验,创设教学情境,进行开放性教学,鼓励合作探究并重构评价方式,从而不断提高学生的探究学习能力.     

Using Institutional Selection Factors to Develop Recruiting Profiles: Marketing Small,Private Colleges and Universities to Prospective Student Athletes

This paper discusses two important concepts—internationalization and the international marketing of higher education—and how they influence international students' choice of Canadian universities. The paper is based on two studies: one on 140 East Asian international graduate students who enrolled at two large Ontario universities in the academic year 2003–2004, and the other on 95 international undergraduate students who enrolled at an Ontario university in academic year 2005–2006. The research findings show that market segmentation determines the applicability of internationalization and/or marketing of higher education. Activities related to the internationalization of education play a critical role in influencing the research-oriented students' choice of a Canadian graduate school. Marketing activities have a direct impact on graduate students' choice in professional programs. “Twinning” or “incountry” programs—a blend of internationalization and international marketing approach—have a strong influence on undergraduate students' choice to come to Canada.     

Community College Student Success Inventory (CCSSI) for Men of Color in Community Colleges: Content Validation Summary

This study reports on the content validation of the Community College Student Success Inventory (CCSSI) for Men of Color. The CCSSI was designed to be used by community colleges to assess their effectiveness in addressing success outcomes for men who have been historically underrepresented and underserved in education, particularly men of color. A panel of subject matter experts (SMEs) rated the instrument and provided qualitative feedback on additional areas for consideration. Content validity index (CVI) and scale level index scores (S-CVI) are reported. The instrument illustrated strong CVI and S-CVI scores. SMEs suggested several additional areas for consideration that were added to the CCSSI. The instrument is recommended for use by community colleges interested in enhancing outcomes for men of color.     

高校探究性学习有效性研究

探究性学习是让学生在教师的指导下像科学家“做研究”一样,通过科学探究的过程自主构建知识体系的教学方式。然而,目前高校开展的探究性学习大多浮于表面、流于形式,没有实现真正意义上的探究过程。影响探究性学习有效性的因素有学生的认知基础与主体地位、教学设计与教学实施、探究学习的环境与资源、技术工具、评价方法等。通过引导学生进行充分的学习准备,保证高效的探究性学习;采用教学的“元认知”策略,提高学生的学习效率;提倡小组合作学习方式,促进学习者的全面发展;科学制定教学评价标准,通过经验反思促进学习巩固;加强信息技术与教学的整合,可以提高高校探究性学习的有效性。