Remarks from the editor

NOW IS NOT an easy time to be involved in higher education either as a provider or a consumer. For students and administrators alike, costs are rising, demands are rising, and resources are shrinking. The gap between supply and demand is increasing and consequently keeps student retention-as it should be-among the highest priorities of today's college administrators. Institutions, students, and the larger community benefit from higher education's ability to hang on to its students until graduation. However, it is more and more difficult to retain students from low-income or minority families, thus increasing the intellectual gap, and-as a consequence-the economic gap in American society.

Several of the authors in this issue have chosen to focus on student retention, its challenges and promises. Steven Berg, editor of the regular feature, "Two Sides of the Same Coin," interviewed John N. Gardner and Watson Scott Swail regarding how best to effect student retention. Regina Rochford considers retention among remedial students and Amy Rychen illustrates how meaningful internships boost persistence-to-graduation rates.

Two articles consider the problem of retention in the Latino community. Victor Garcia, Laura Gonzalez, and Geoffrey Grimes describe the ways in which an ethnographic perspective helps Latino students overcome barriers to higher education. Lee Waller and Karla Hase look at the education and economic gaps between Latinos and other groups in Texas.

Virginia Hamori-Ota presents the second installment of her two-part article on new program development and Greg Timberlake looks at decision-making in multi-campus higher education institutions.

Dominic Aquila looks at the function of arts and humanities inside and outside the academy via three books: Cultural Capital: The Problem of Literary Canon Formation by John Guillory, Arts of Living: Reinventing the Humanities for the Twenty-first Century by Kurt Spellmeyer, and The Middle Mind: Why Americans Don't Think for Themselves by Curtis White. For the Book Review, Alec Thomson considers Accountable Teacher Evaluation! Toward Highly Qualified and Competent Teachers. Finally, in the Technology Review, Shawn FitzGerald advocates open source software as a cost-effective option for higher education.

Let me take the opportunity to welcome two new members of The Community College Enterprise Editorial Board. Mark Harris, Professor of English at Schoolcraft College, is the journal's new Technology Editor, taking over from Jeanne Bonner who retired as Technology Editor in June but stays on as a member of the Editorial Board. Pamela L. Eddy, Assistant Professor of Higher Education at Central Michigan University, joins the distinguished list of Editorial Board members. I thank them both for their willingness to contribute and welcome them to our team.

Louis A. Reibling, Ph.D.

Editor

Louis A. Reibling, Ph.D.

Copyright Schoolcraft College Fall 2004
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