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ABSTRACTS,
SPRING 2002 (Volume 29, no. 4)
Identification and
Assessment of Community College Peer Institution
Selection Systems
Hurley
This paper identifies
and assesses the current status of community college
peer institution selection systems. five questions
were posited: What are the impetuses for conducting
institutional comparative analysis? Who has developed
community college institutional peer groups? What
constitutes a peer group; are there different methods
used and variables included? To what extent are
institutional peer groups present in community college
settings? This research found that a limited body of
research exists in the study of community college peer
institution selection systems. Additional research is
suggested for identifying unique community college
variables and for determining the role of
classification systems to further describe community
college diversity.
The Legislative
Evolution of Performance Funding in the North Carolina
Community College System
Harbour
This article reports
on an analysis and interpretation of the legislative
evolution of the North Carolina community college
performance funding program. Analysis of appropriation
bills, government documents, and consultants' reports
demonstrates that the program evolved from community
college accountability inititatives, a funding study,
and a state government performance audit.
Faculty
Development in SACS-Accredited Community
Colleges
Murray
This article presents
the results of an exploratory study of community
college faculty development activities. The purpose of
the study was to determine if community colleges
evaluate faculty development efforts and use the
results to shape a coherent faculty development plan
that supports the mission of the institution. The
community colleges in this study clearly relied on
traditional approaches to faculty development and made
minimal efforts at evaluation, preferring to rely on
untested assumptions and past practices. Their efforts
tend to be unfocused, with little or no attempt to
deliberately connect activities to the institutional
strategic plan.
With the increasing
calls for accountability coupled with shrinking
resources, it becomes imperative that community
colleges demonstrate that they wisely use their
resources to impact the mission of the institutions.
This means that community colleges must develop
focused faculty development programs that have clear
and distinct goals that are intended to improve
classroom learning and teaching.
Using Survey and
Focus Group Research to Learn About Parents' Roles in
the College Choice Process
Bers and
Galowich
Parents of the high
school class of 2000 students who attended their local
community college in fall 2000 responded to a mailed
survey and participated in a focus group discussion.
The study examined parents' expectations from the
college, role in their sons' and daughters' college
choice, and observations following their children's
first year. Survey findings revealed parents had high
academic goals for their children but overestimated
academic abilities; they engaged in a variety of
college search and choice activities. Focus group
research enriched survey findings: Parents expected
substantial communication directly from the college
about their sons' or daughters' course choices and
academic progress. Implications for practice and the
value of using multiple research approaches are
discussed.
ERIC Review:
Issues in Developmental Education
Kozeracki
With increasing
numbers of ill-prepared, first-time community college
freshmen, developmental education has become an
important topic within the higher education community
as well as with the public. This article discusses the
meaning and extent of developmental education in
community colleges and higher education; presents some
of the current controversies being discussed at
institutional, state, and national levels; examines
some of the data related to outcomes of developmental
education; and addresses the issue of faculty training
in the field.
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