ED477911 2003-02-00 Student

Involvement in the Community College

Setting. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Development Team

www.eric.ed.gov

Table of Contents

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Student Involvement in the Community College Setting. ERIC Digest... 1

FRESHMAN ORIENTATION SEMINAR.................................... 2

LEARNING ASSISTANCE CENTERS (LAC).............................. 3

LEARNING COMMUNITIES.................................................. 3

CONCLUSION.................................................................. 4

REFERENCES.................................................................. 4

ERIC Identifier: ED477911

Publication Date: 2003-02-00

Author: Chaves, Christopher A.

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges Los Angeles CA.

Student Involvement in the Community College

Setting. ERIC Digest.

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT

ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC

American community colleges, urban ones in particular, face unique challenges with

their first-generation, immigrant, economically disadvantaged, non-White, and limited

ED477911 2003-02-00 Student Involvement in the Community College Setting. ERIC

Digest.

Page 1 of 6
English ability students (Hirose-Wong, 1999). Moreover, many traditional and

non-traditional students alike are inadequately prepared, academically and

psychologically, for college-level work and learning (Howell, 2001). These challenges

can be exacerbated by students' failure to connect and become involved in college at

the level necessary for academic and workplace success, herein defined as successful

completion of required course work.

Astin (1984) defines involvement as "the amount of physical and psychological energy

that the student devotes to the academic experience" (p. 134). According to Tinto

(1997), high levels of student involvement generally proved to be an independent

predictor of gains in learning. Tinto (1987) posits that achieving success in student

retention generally "hinges on the construction of educational communities in college,

program, and classroom level which integrate students into the ongoing social and

intellectual life of the institution" (p. 188). In the community college setting, a redefinition

of what constitutes "involvement" is necessary, primarily because this non-residential

constituency usually works at least part-time and, as a consequence, finds it difficult to

become involved in traditional campus activities. This digest discusses three student

involvement opportunities - freshmen orientation, learning resource centers, and

community college learning communities - that can be critical for students' academic

success.

FRESHMAN ORIENTATION SEMINAR

Freshman orientation programs are a proven method to assist in raising students' levels

of academic performance, retention, and degree program completion. Cuseo (1997)

provides a comprehensive taxonomy of major topics that should be included in an

effective student-centered freshman seminar, including the college experience,

academic skill development, academic and career planning, and life management.

In her review of studies of retention, Brawer (1996) reported findings from a study

conducted at four North Carolina community colleges indicating that involvement in a

freshman orientation course improved student performance regardless of race, age,

gender, major, employment status, or entrance exam scores. Brawer further noted a

study at Valencia Community College in Florida, where an extended orientation course

provides comprehensive learning assistance during the critical freshmen year. The

results indicated that between 1987 and 1992, 81% of students enrolling in the

extended orientation course succeeded in passing their first-term courses, compared

with only 56% of those students who enrolled in other college preparatory courses. After

four academic terms, 65% of the students enrolled in the extended orientation course

persisted as enrolled students. Additionally, a study of students who participated in a

freshman orientation seminar at Sacramento Community College in California

completed courses at a 50% higher rate than those students who had not participated

(Barefoot, 1993).

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Digest.
LEARNING ASSISTANCE CENTERS (LAC)

Continued comprehensive learning assistance is necessary to help students manage

the academic demands placed upon them. Maxwell (1997) identifies the 14 academic

and co-curricular activities offered by LACs. They include academic evaluation and

diagnostic testing, programs to improve study skills, peer tutoring; supplemental

instruction, computer assisted instruction, remedial courses, faculty outreach services,

contact with college faculty, contact with college administrators, ongoing staff

development/certification, referral services, counseling, advising, and program

evaluation through surveys and questionnaires.

According to Enright (1997), LACs create a "sense of place" for the non-traditional

student and assist in boosting student retention. The following two examples describe

pertinent activities of successful LACs. At Allegheny Community College in Maryland,

student involvement activities include a freshman seminar designed to achieve

connection between students and faculty members; a college-funded, on-campus

work-study program; a women's center designed to provide assistance specifically to

non-traditional female students; the establishment of more student organizations; and a

faculty development program (Brawer, 1996). At Bronx Community College in New

York, student services professionals offer the Freshmen Year Initiative Program (FYIP),

a comprehensive academic and counseling service for first-semester students who

require assistance in English, reading, and mathematics. The FYIP offers the Freshmen

Outreach, Caring, Understanding, and Support (FOCUS) Center; in concert with other

assistance programs, this center is a holistic counseling center designed to provide

confidential help with individual, developmental, vocational, academic, and social

problems via counseling interviews, psychological assessment, and pertinent

educational and occupational data. Preliminary results indicated that between fall 1993

and fall 1994, FYIP participants persisted at a rate of 76.5%, compared to

non-participants (59.3%) (Baron, 1997).

LACs can also create a sense of involvement and community through methods that also

incorporate computer technology, collaborative learning, and collective learning

(Enright, 1997). For instance, supplemental instruction (SI) programs afford students

who have done exceptionally well in a difficult course to re-enroll in the same course for

the purpose of undertaking a leadership role. The SI student leader serves as a model

learner, who completes all assignments, takes class notes, and takes required exams

along with other students in class. Research indicates that students participating in SI

programs earn higher average scores, compared with non-SI students of equal ability

(Levitz, 1990).

LEARNING COMMUNITIES

According to Kellogg (1999), learning communities can be any form of curricular design

that links together existing courses to enable subgroups of students and their teachers

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ED477911 2003-02-00 Student Involvement in the Community College Setting. ERIC

Digest.

Page 3 of 6
to achieve a deeper understanding and integration of the course material. Common

learning community models include freshmen interest groups, linked courses, learning

clusters, and federated learning communities. At Long Beach City College in California,

faculty and administrators created the Students and Teachers Achieving Results

(STAR) program to increase the academic success and retention rates of

underrepresented students (Mackay et al., 1996). The STAR program links courses

designed to (1) develop effective communication skills, (2) build self-esteem, (3)

leverage faculty expertise, and (4) utilize interdisciplinary and cooperative learning

models.

Academic-occupational integration (AOI) is another learning community model. Perin

(2001) defines AOI as "the fusion of reading, writing, English language, math and/or

critical thinking skills with career related instruction" (p. 305). There are five AOI models,

including linked courses, known as paired or tandem courses; course clusters, also

characterized as learning communities; infused occupational courses, which offer

writing instruction within an occupational course; infused academic courses, which use

occupational themes to teach academic courses; and hybrid courses, which are single

courses that incorporate occupational and academic content. One of the major benefits

of AOI is said to be that it is a student-centered instructional method that emphasizes

literacy skills for the workplace. Example AOI models include one located at a

community college in an urban northeastern city with a large immigrant population that

linked an intermediate course in ESL with Introduction to Computers for business

students and another located at a urban midwestern city that offered a course cluster for

nursing students entitled, "Introduction to Healthcare: Nursing, Philosophy, and College

Composition."

CONCLUSION

Community colleges will continue to educate a unique group of traditional and

non-traditional students. Many of the students the colleges serve are unprepared for

college-level academics and require assistance and involvement opportunities to

successfully achieve their academic goals. Since an increasing number of community

college students must work full-time or can only attend classes part-time, finding the

opportunity to connect and become involved in the college environment is a continuing

challenge.

At the community college, effective involvement occurs when students participate in

orientation programs, receive on-going academic assistance, and experience a

curriculum that connects classroom requirements to workplace relevance and skills. If

community colleges are to involve their students effectively, a focus on serving them

through a variety of activities such as those discussed here can lead to the kind of

critical engagement necessary for improved learning and retention.

REFERENCES

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Page 4 of 6 ED477911 2003-02-00 Student Involvement in the Community College Setting. ERIC

Digest.
Astin, A. W. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education.

Journal of College Student Personnel.

Barefoot, B. O. (Ed.) (1993). Exploring the evidence: Reporting outcomes of freshman

seminars. Monograph series No. 11. National Resource Center for The Freshman Year

Experience. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina.

Baron, W. (1997). The Problem of student retention: The bronx community college

solution -The freshmen year initiative program. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED

409 971).

Brawer, F. B. (1996). Retention-attrition in the nineties. ERIC Clearinghouse for

Community Colleges. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED 393 510).

Cuseo, J.B. (1997). Freshmen orientation seminar at the community college: A

research-based rationale for its value, content, and delivery. Unpublished manuscript.

(ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED 411 005).

Enright, G (1997). LACR, LRC, and developmental education: An orientation for the

beginning learning center professional. In S. Mioduski and G. Enright's (eds.)

Preceedings for the 15th and 16th Annual Institutes For Learning Assistance

Professionals: 1994 and 1995. Tucson, AZ: University Learning Center, University of

Arizona.

Hirose-Wong, S. M. (1999). Gateways to democracy: six urban community college

systems. ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. (ERIC Document Reproduction

No. ED 438 873).

Howell, C. L. (2001). Facilitating responsibility for learning in adult community college

students. ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. (ERIC Document Reproduction

No. ED 451 841).

Kellogg, K. (1999). Learning communities. ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education.

(ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED 430 512).

Levitz, R. (1990). Supplemental instruction takes off. Recruitment and Retention

Newsletter, (November), p.7.

Mackay, J. et al (1996). Establishing a learning community for community college

students: STAR-students and teachers achieving results. (ERIC Document

Reproduction No. ED 393 514).

Maxwell, M. (1997). What are the functions of a college learning assistance center?

Unpublished manuscript. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED 413 031).

Perin, D. (2001). Academic-occupational integration as a reform strategy for the

ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

ED477911 2003-02-00 Student Involvement in the Community College Setting. ERIC

Digest.

Page 5 of 6
community college: classroom perspectives. Teacher's College Record, Vol. 103, No. 2,

April. Teacher's College, Columbia University.

Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition.

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as communities: exploring the educational character of

student persistence. Journal of Higher Education, Nov-Dec, Vol. 68, No. 6, p 599.

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University of California, Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall, P.O. Box 951521, Los Angeles,

CA 90095

Title: Student Involvement in the Community College Setting. ERIC Digest.

Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)

(071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);

Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. University of California

at Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall, P.O. Box 951521, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524. Tel:

310-825-3931. For full text: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/ERIC/eric.html.

Descriptors: Ancillary School Services, Community Colleges, Educationally

Disadvantaged, Immigrants, Minority Groups, Non English Speaking, Nontraditional

Students, Orientation, School Holding Power, School Orientation, Two Year Colleges

Identifiers: ERIC Digests

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