UCLA's Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Program (HHURP), a collaboration between the College of Letters and Science and the School of Medicine, trains a group of highly motivated undergraduates through mentored research enhanced by a rigorous seminar course. The course is centered on the presentation and critical analysis of scientific journal articles as well as the students' own research. This article describes the components and objectives of the HHURP and discusses the results of three program assessments: annual student evaluations, interviews with UCLA professors who served as research advisors for HHURP scholars, and a survey of program alumni. Students indicate that the program increased their ability to read and present primary scientific research and to present their own research and enhanced their research experience at UCLA. After graduating, they find their involvement in the HHURP helped them in securing admission to the graduate program of their choice and provided them with an advantage over their peers in the interactive seminars that are the foundation of graduate education. On the basis of the assessment of the program from 1998-1999 to 2004-2005, we conclude that an intensive literature-based training program increases student confidence and scientific literacy during their undergraduate years and facilitates their transition to postgraduate study.

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.

Each year, thousands of students transfer from a community college to a four-year college or university. Because of the large number of students involved in this process, many individuals and organizations-including administrators, researchers, faculty members, and policymakers-are interested in the progress and academic achievement of these students. A substantial amount of information, usually collected by institutions for purposes other than research, is available to provide the basic facts about the progress of transfer students: how many students transfer, what their grades are at the two-and four-year institutions, and whether they attain a baccalaureate degree. What is less readily available are data that examine the factors that affect student success and that explore the effectiveness of community colleges in preparing students to transfer.Using documents from the ERIC database and articles from relevant journals, this chapter examines from a methodological perspective the research being done on transfer students-namely, who is conducting the research, what methods are being used to gather the information, and what types of data are being collected. It will also present examples of comprehensive and useful studies that researchers interested in community colleges may want to consider adapting for their own institutions. The purpose of providing these examples is to identify research questions that have been asked and exemplary college programs and practices in place that can be considered by other community colleges to improve the transfer readiness of their students.

After presenting a comprehensive definition of service learning in postsecondary education, the author reviews the literature on service learning at community colleges. In addition to discussing national initiatives to promote service learning experiences for students, this review provides examples of service learning programs and summarizes best practices for starting and managing such programs based on case studies in the literature. The results of recent program evaluation efforts are discussed, and the author defines current research needs to determine how service learning affects students.