1998-1999 Research Agenda

The 1998-1999 Community College Research Agenda addresses five issues considered most important to community college research. It includes collaborative input from members of the American Association of Community Colleges' Commission of Research, staff from member colleges, and other interested individuals. The agenda is intended to direct the focus of research related to community colleges by research institutions, universities, graduate students, and community college institutional research officers. 

The agenda items are presented in a grid to enable researchers to think about community college research in a systematic manner. Three broad research elements, relevant to any community college research, span the top of the chart -- Access, Learning Process, and Outcomes/Value Added. The five current issues should clearly consider one, two, or all three of the top elements when exploring that issue. 

The following examples illustrate the point. Research on the issue of technology may involve all three elements (access, the learning process, and outcomes/value added). A study of distance education could study technology in relation to: access (e.g., How well do Internet courses provide access for underserved populations?); the learning process (e.g., Are multiple learning styles adequately addressed in Internet courses?); and outcomes/value added (e.g., Are students who take Internet courses adequately prepared for job settings?).

AACC strongly endorses high standards for research design, methodology, and data analysis, and an open exchange of research ideas and findings. Samples of sufficient size should be gathered to allow appropriate subgroups analysis (i.e., institutional size, full/part-time, racial/ethnic background, and college readiness). In addition, AACC strongly encourages studies that are national in scope.