New York, NY (12-13-04) - The Council for Advancement of Adult 
Literacy has today released working paper number 7 in its series of 
working papers on adult education and community colleges.  The paper 
is titled ADULT ESL AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE. Its authors are JoAnn 
(Jodi) Crandall of the University of Maryland and Ken Sheppard of the 
National Foreign Language Center. The main body of the report is 21 
pages in length. It is a kind of primer that looks at some of the key 
issues in community college ESL programming. The full report contains 
four appendix items including profiles of exemplary ESL programs in 
five community colleges.

A foreword to the paper notes that "ESL is one of the fastest growing 
areas of need in the community college -- for two kinds of students, 
ESL adults with basic literacy deficiencies and adults who were well 
educated in their home countries but need help with their English 
skills. Most colleges...offer several different types of ESL programs 
for both groups, but there is little solid understanding of 
variations and challenges in their management, faculty, curriculum, 
and assessment. The paper calls for research in several areas -- with 
the end goal of improving program placement, expanding service, and 
easing transitions from ESL instruction to GED or college degree and 
job training programs."

Working paper 8 in this series is scheduled for release later this 
month.  It is tentatively titled FORGING NEW PARTNERSHIPS: Adult and 
Developmental Education in Community Colleges (Hunter Boylan and 
associates, National Center for Developmental Education).  Then, 
following two years of task force meetings and other work, CAAL's 
final summary project report is scheduled for release in January or 
February.  It will contain recommendations for adult education, 
community colleges, and state and federal government.

Funding support for CAAL's community college project, and for 
publication of its related papers, has been provided by McGraw-Hill 
Companies, the Ford Foundation, Verizon, Inc., the Lumina Foundation 
for Education, the Nellie-Mae Foundation, Household International, 
and Harold W. McGraw, Jr.

ADULT ESL AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE is available in PDF format, along 
with all other titles in this series, at the CAAL Web site, 
www.caalusa.org.  For the new publication, go to item 7 in the left 
column of the home page.


The other titles (working papers 1 to 6) are listed below:

1. ADULT BASIC EDUCATION & COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN FIVE STATES: A 
Report from the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) 
to the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy. A comparison of 
selected program characteristics of community college and 
non-community college programs in five states (Oregon, California, 
Iowa, Connecticut, and Hawaii) based on comparable data collected by 
CASAS. Published September 2003.

2. ADULT EDUCATION & LITERACY IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN MASSACHUSETTS: 
A Case Study for the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy, by 
Martin Liebowitz. Massachusetts is a state model in which 
jurisdiction is based in the State Department of Education. The study 
describes the way the state's adult education system works and 
assesses the distinctive role of community colleges in the overall 
statewide context. Among other variables, institutional factors 
related to effective performance are identified and assessed, as are 
strategies for building closer linkages and transitions between adult 
education programs and community colleges. Published March 2004.

3. THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN STATE ADULT EDUCATION SYSTEMS: A 
National Analysis by Vanessa Smith Morest with Kery Charron, Annika 
Fasnacht, and Daniella Olibrice of the Community College Research 
Center of Teachers College at Columbia University.An introduction to 
the report notes that the study "brings together information on adult 
education and literacy gathered from several sources, including 
interviews with state directors of adult education across the country 
and the National Reporting System (NRS)." The report examines the 
structure of adult education in the U.S. with special attention to 
the role of community colleges. Published April 2004.

4. ADULT EDUCATION & LITERACY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN KENTUCKY. 
Documentation and analysis of the initiative by the Kentucky 
Community and Technical College System to create a seamless 
transition between adult education, developmental education, and 
degree programs at community colleges. The state's initiative aims to 
construct an articulated course structure, funding and governance 
system, transition to postsecondary education and job training, and 
credit system operated jointly by colleges and other providers. Study 
by CAAL's Forrest Chisman in cooperation with the Kentucky Adult 
Education Council on Postsecondary Education and the Kentucky 
Community and Technical College System. Published May 2004.
5. THE ILLINOIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM & ADULT EDUCATION by Suzanne 
Knell and Janet Scogins of the Illinois Literacy Resource Development 
Center, with assistance from the Illinois Community College Board, 
113 pages. The study investigates the same characteristics as the 
Oregon study. Because Illinois recently transferred responsibility 
for adult education from its Board of Education to its Community 
College Board, special emphasis is placed on what considerations led 
the state to make this change, what difference the change makes in 
state policy and local programs, and what major implementation issues 
the state and colleges are facing. In Illinois, 77 percent of adult 
education and literacy learners are served by community colleges. 
Illinois is the largest U.S. state in which a community college 
authority administers adult education services. Published July 2004. 
6. OREGON SHINES! Adult Education and Literacy in Oregon Community 
Colleges. In Oregon, adult education and literacy programs are 
governed by the state's community college board and by state 
legislative mandate community colleges provide most of the adult 
education and literacy service in the state. The study discussed 
state level policies, management, funding, staff training, quality 
control measures, the population served, and learning gains. It also 
examines the management, structure, quality and outcomes of programs 
managed by selected colleges, with attention to how well they are 
integrated into mainstream instructional and student services 
provision by the colleges, how well they are linked to developmental 
education, and whether (and how) they lead to transitions to 
enrollment in community college or related degree and job training 
programs. This 84-page study is by Sharlene Walker and Clare Strawn. 
Published October 2004.
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