Angela Long - Böcker

Situated in Wiltshire on the banks of the River Kennett, the picturesque market town of Marlborough is a place of considerable antiquity, with a history dating back to prehistoric times. Marlborough was once a famous coaching town, but the development of railways during the early Victorian period brought economic decline, which was mitigated, to some extent, by opening of Marlborough College in 1843. The ‘Castle Mound’ in the college grounds was constructed as long ago as 2400 BC, and it was once said to have been Merlin’s burial place.The countryside around Marlborough and Avebury is particularly rich in archaeological remains, and indeed it could be argued that this part of Wessex is the very heart of prehistoric Britain. There are several important prehistoric monuments within the area, including Avebury Henge, West Kennet Long Barrow and the mysterious artificial mound known as Silbury Hill.

Constituting one in twelve of adult Americans, GED certificate holders comprise a major pool of underdeveloped human capital in our society. They are a resource that will be sorely needed as “boomers” reach retirement and the traditional pipeline of 17 – 23 year olds falls short of filling our growing workforce needs. Although these nontraditional students can potentially meet our future workforce demands, and although half of them enter post-secondary education, half of those who do so drop out of college for lack of basic support systems – often at the very same institutions that provided programs of retention while they were earning their GED and completing basic Adult Education classes. Yet national data collected by the National Center for Educational Statistics reveals that GED certificate holders who persist to their second year of community college studies accumulate grade point averages equal to high school graduates, refuting widely held beliefs that GED earners are not capable of rigorous academic work. This is the first book to remedy the dearth of data on this forgotten population, to present original research on these students, describing their characteristics and motivations, and to provide proven models for identifying, retaining and graduating this under-counted and underestimated cohort. It addresses the issue of the pipeline from GED centers to postsecondary education, and includes first-person narratives that offer vivid insights into GED earners’ resilience and needs. As this book reveals, more than 40 percent of community colleges responding to a 2010 ACT survey have no one responsible for coordinating retention efforts; and more than half have no goals for first-year student retention; and estimates that community colleges are cumulatively foregoing over $1.5 billion in revenues as the result of failing to retain their GED populations.This book is a comprehensive resource for college administrators, and for educational policy makers and researchers, offering both broad policy recommendations and tested ideas and models that can be implemented at the state and institutional level.

Constituting one in twelve of adult Americans, GED certificate holders comprise a major pool of underdeveloped human capital in our society. They are a resource that will be sorely needed as “boomers” reach retirement and the traditional pipeline of 17 – 23 year olds falls short of filling our growing workforce needs. Although these nontraditional students can potentially meet our future workforce demands, and although half of them enter post-secondary education, half of those who do so drop out of college for lack of basic support systems – often at the very same institutions that provided programs of retention while they were earning their GED and completing basic Adult Education classes. Yet national data collected by the National Center for Educational Statistics reveals that GED certificate holders who persist to their second year of community college studies accumulate grade point averages equal to high school graduates, refuting widely held beliefs that GED earners are not capable of rigorous academic work. This is the first book to remedy the dearth of data on this forgotten population, to present original research on these students, describing their characteristics and motivations, and to provide proven models for identifying, retaining and graduating this under-counted and underestimated cohort. It addresses the issue of the pipeline from GED centers to postsecondary education, and includes first-person narratives that offer vivid insights into GED earners’ resilience and needs. As this book reveals, more than 40 percent of community colleges responding to a 2010 ACT survey have no one responsible for coordinating retention efforts; and more than half have no goals for first-year student retention; and estimates that community colleges are cumulatively foregoing over $1.5 billion in revenues as the result of failing to retain their GED populations.This book is a comprehensive resource for college administrators, and for educational policy makers and researchers, offering both broad policy recommendations and tested ideas and models that can be implemented at the state and institutional level.

Overall, nearly half of all incoming community college students “drop-out” within twelve months of enrolling, with students of color and the economically disadvantaged faring far worse. Given the high proportion of underserved students these colleges enroll, the detrimental impact on their communities, and for the national economy as a whole at a time of diversifying demographics, is enormous.This book addresses this urgent issue by bringing together nationally recognized researchers whose work throws light on the structural and systemic causes of student attrition, as well as college presidents and leaders who have successfully implemented strategies to improve student outcomes.The book is divided into five sections, each devoted to a demographic group: African Americans, Native Americans/American Indians, Latino Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Caucasian students in poverty. Each section in turn comprises three chapters, the first providing an up-to-date summary of research findings about barriers and attainments pertaining to the corresponding population, the second the views of a community college president, and the final chapter offering a range of models and best practices for achieving student success.The analyses--descriptions of cutting edge programs--and recommendations for action will commend this volume to everyone concerned about equity and completion rates in the community college sector, from presidents and senior administrators through faculty and student affairs leaders. For educational researchers, it fills blanks on data about attrition and persistence patterns of minority students attending community colleges.ContributorsKenneth AtwaterGlennda M. BivensEdward BushCara CrowleyMaria Harper-MarinickJoan B. HolmesG. Edward HughesLee LambertCynthia Lindquist, Ta’Sunka Wicahpi Win (Star Horse Woman)Angela LongRussell Lowery-HartJamillah MooreChristopher M. MullinBrian MurphyEduardo J. PadrónDeborah A. SantiagoWei SongRobert TeranishiRowena M. TomanengJames UtterbackJ. Luke Wood