Journal of Applied Research in the Community College 

About: Journal of Applied Research in the Community College is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Higher education & Academic achievement. It has an ISSN identifier of 1068-610X. Over the lifetime, 229 publications have been published receiving 1763 citations.

Achieving and Sustaining Institutional Excellence for the First Year of College

Abstract: Achieving and Sustaining Institutional Excellence for the First Year of College Betsy O Barefoot, John N Gardner, Marc Cutright, Libby V Morris, Charles C Schroeder, Stephen W Schwartz, Michael 3 Siegel, Randy L Swing Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA: 2005 448 pages (ISBN: 0-7879-7151-0) Acccountability Yes, higher education today is squarely in the crosshairs of those who want results Government leaders want to justify their dwindling investment in higher education in terms of higher graduation rates Accreditors are fighting for their very existence and hounding colleges for data on student learning outcomes High tuition rates are fostering an increasing sense of consumerism among students (and their parent-investors) to be sure they get that sheepskin As campus leaders, we are under increasing pressure to take those underprepared entering freshmen, clean them up, and get them across the finish line We can complain and continue to blame high schools - or we can look at research results and published accounts that produce results Barefoot and Gardner's book is about results: thirteen well researched and documented case studies of a range of colleges that got freshmen through the first year and on to complete their educational goals As a college president who was trained as a scientist and institutional researcher, my first inclination when faced with a problem is to look for data One persistent problem is persistence- the community college's open door is more often a revolving door Community colleges typically lose about half of their students in the first year It was a real eye-opener for me to read in Cliff Adelman's seminal research study, Moving Into Town - and Moving On: The Community College in the Lives of Traditional-age Students, that "The prize is getting beyond 20 additive credits by the end of the first calendar year of attendance" (Adelman, 2005, p 69) So what set of college behaviors can enable students to achieve those 20 units and persist into the second year? John Gardner is certainly one of the best people to answer that question He heads the Policy Center on the First Year of College and founded the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience at the University of South Carolina, originating and teaching USCs University 101 program His 35 years of experience working to improve the success of first-year students greatly contributed to his work on this book Here at College of the Sequoias we have used this book, and related works of Professor Gardner and his colleagues, to establish our own successful First Year Experience (FYE) initiative John has worked closely with our staff in this process, and we can testify that the elements of the case studies in this work are practical and useful in improving student achievement The case studies reported in this book originated with proposals from dozens of colleges, which were winnowed down by a team of reviewers using specific criteria Finalists were subjected to site visits, so the descriptions are rich with first-hand observations Two of the studies are of community colleges The two-year schools are LaGuardia Community College in Queens, New York, and the Community College of Denver (CCD) The nine, fouryear school case studies are arranged by institutional size All of the examples have nuggets of insights Of CCD, John Roueche, in his 2001 study of the college, lauded their "logical, rational, and commonsense approaches to improving student success" (Roueche, 2001) This certainly emerges in Gardner's profile Several approaches used by CCD to assist its 13,000 students are notable: assessment is required of all students, academic advising is well utilized through a three-tier delivery mechanism, a case management system actively contacts students about their progress, and all this is done in a flexible and student-oriented manner The book describes these initiatives in sufficient detail to be useful to the reader who would like to pursue implementation …

Success in Cyberspace: Student Retention in Online Courses

Abstract: This study addressed the relative dearth of data on student retention in distance education through archival and survey data on student retention in online courses at a large, comprehensive community college in the Northeast. The college's online program had been active for 5 years, and at the time of the study, encompassed nearly 4,000 student registrations in more than 200 online courses each year. Archival data included records for the past 3 years for "attendance" in class and class performance. A student survey was designed to be administered to students who had received an "F" or "W" (withdrawal) in an online class within the past academic year. Responses were received from 71 usable survey responses from the initial sample of 500 students. The archival and survey data provided insight into the nature of student retention in online courses at a large community college. The study also provides evidence in support of the 4-factor model of barriers to success in distance education courses proposed by M. Garland (1993). Some factors that appear to have negative impact on a student's chances for completing an online course successfully include: (1) large course load; (2) lack of experience in higher education in general; (3) lack of experience with online courses; (4) busy lives outside of school; (5) young age; and (6) lack of easy access to computers. Study findings are being used to inform practice through a comprehensive institutional pilot process. (Contains 23 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Student Retention in Online Courses 1 Success in Cyberspace: Student Retention in Online Courses Kathleen Moore, Jeffrey Bartkovich, Marie Fetzner, and Sherrill Ison Monroe Community College PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) riefh-is document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy.