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.     

LEARNING DISABILITIES PROGRAMS AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Students with learning disabilities (LD) from selected Midwest colleges and universities participated in a study to determine the differences between LD programs at community colleges and four-year institutions; the level of satisfaction with college LD programming; and the services most important to students. Focus groups were held at five institutions including two community colleges, two independent institutions, and one public university. Focus group participants included male and female students aged 16 to 56 years and enrolled in freshmen through graduate levels. The literature suggests that the focus of LD programs and the types of services vary between two-year and four-year institutions due to differences in missions and the characteristics of the students served. However, results from the data in the present study reveal that the types of LD services offered among the institutions participating in the research were quite similar, but the quality of services varied. Students at the large public university had difficulty getting note takers, books on tape and tutors, and obtaining adequate assistance from LD staff. Participants from the smaller community colleges and private colleges and universities considered the smallness of their institutions to be a benefit. The LD program was easily accessible and LD staff were always available. Although the participants in the study who had received LD services in high school believed the services at their college or university were comparable or better, existing programs need to be evaluated to identify services in need of improvement.     

APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This article discusses community college involvement in a key welfare-to-work training program, the Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS), as a mirror to reflect on the larger issue of how federal and state workforce policy impacts publicly-controlled institutions of higher education. A qualitative assessment of JOBS programs at community colleges framed discussion regarding the challenges community colleges face as they attempt to preserve these programs within an era of devolved responsibility for welfare-to-work funding from the federal government to the states.     

ASSESSING THE FINANCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES: A MODEL APPROACH

We surveyed Arkansas community and technical colleges to determine the extent to which these institutions had been affected, during the past 3 years, by tight budgets, volatile enrollments, unstable state support, and other unfavorable forces. In addition, we requested information concerning methods used by these institutions to address such problems. The survey instrument collected data pertaining to institutional demographics, budgetary trends, tuition trends, faculty issues, expenditure control methods used, institutional advancement activities, projections as to future financial directions, and staff development needs. The findings indicate that enrollments at most Arkansas community and technical colleges are increasing and budgets are growing, but often in amounts inadequate to compensate for rising costs. Arkansas 2‐year institutions are responding to this challenge by raising tuition, increasing the use of part‐time faculty, and seeking new sources of revenue. Staff development needs were identified for those functional areas in which additional training and development will enhance staff members’ ability to respond to changing economic conditions. This survey can be replicated in other community college systems, thus serving as a model for assessing the financial and institutional concerns of community and technical colleges nationwide.     

RECENTLY COMPLETED DISSERTATIONS ON COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES

This study was undertaken to investigate the perceptions held by developmental educators and counselors—student affairs professionals of current procedures for working with students with learning disabilities in community colleges. Current knowledge of students with learning disabilities and perceptions about their academic success were also examined. Implications for practice based on the results of this study were included.     

BODYFAITH AND THE MIND'S HEART: EDUCATIONAL HEALING FOR COMMUNITY

In this paper, I will show that: 1) human consciousness has evolved over time and history, which means that one can no longer “know” and experience the world as the pre‐modern, archaic communities once did; 2) however, there are elements in our contemporary practices of spirituality that are seen particularly through the window of popular religiosity, which can access, though not fully, some of the “mythical,” the archaic, and the primordial wisdom that has been lost or buried through the modernization process; for the Korean/ Korean‐Americans, these elements are most deeply found in musok, namely, Korean Shamanism, which is an indigenous Korean popular magico‐religious practice; and, 3) through the lens of imagination, some elements of Korean shamanic spirituality will be identified to further enrich, nurture, and refresh the dry and hardened religious images of our times.

     

对我国高师院校教育成本的改革研究

教育成本是衡量学校办学效益的尺子,也是国家制定有关政策的重要依据。本文对高师院校教育成本的内涵及如何建立教育成本的约束机制进行了有益的研讨。     

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN COMMUNITY/JUNIOR COLLEGES: THE STATE OF THE ART AS VIEWED BY THE ACADEMIC AFFAIRS OFFICER

The purpose of this study was to determine the state of the art in curriculum development in U.S. community/junior colleges. Responding to a questionnaire of 33 items, 184 academic affairs officers expressed their perception of community/junior college curriculum development including (1) goals and objectives, (2) content, (3) learning experiences, (4) learner characteristics, and (5) planning and evaluation. Several areas are identified as needing attention that provide direction for improved curriculum development.