In recent years, developmental education in the community colleges has received much attention. However, there has been little research examining the relationship between course length and course success in developmental education. Using historical enrollment data from a large, suburban community college in southern California, this study examines the relationship between course length and course success in developmental education when social and academic background characteristics are controlled. The study hypothesized that there would be no significant or practical difference in success rates for students taking compressed (i.e., courses less than eight weeks in length) or regular length developmental English, reading, or math courses when social or academic characteristics are controlled. Results demonstrate that developmental course length was associated with statistically and practically significant differences in course success observed across all categories of age, gender, and ethnicity. Students enrolled in compressed-format courses were more likely to succeed than students enrolled in regular-length courses. Higher successful course completion rates for compressed courses were observed across all departments, with the highest successful course completion

This review discusses the impact of fiscal contraction on community colleges. It explores how reduced state appropriations have adversely affected community college instruction and student support systems. It closes with the example of how fee increases in the 1990s lowered access to the California community college system and reduced transfers to the universities. The research shows that because instruction and student support services suffer when the budget is reduced, fiscal contraction can hamper the ability of community colleges to provide universal access.

Logistic regression was employed to determine whether student transfer to for-profit, 4-year colleges (as opposed to other 4-year colleges) is a function of students' social background characteristics, the students' academic experiences at the community college, and the transfer context of the community college attended (i.e., the overall transfer rate of students from the community college and the distance of the community college from a public university). Study results, based on records for 613,595 California community college students who transferred to 4-year institutions between July 2000 and June 2004, indicate that the strongest predictors of transfer to for-profit institutions include part-time enrollment, age, and grade point average. However, students of color were more likely to transfer to for-profit institutions than White students, and students attending community colleges with lower overall transfer rates were also more likely to transfer to the for-profit sector. Finally, students who used the community college transfer center were less likely to transfer to 4-year, for-profit universities.

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This chapter reviews resources from scholars, practi‐tioners, and policymakers on benchmarking in community colleges.

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