"Community colleges are unique in higher education: they are colleges of opportunity for the underprepared and the underrepresented, those new to the country and new to higher education, those seeking a second chance, and those needing a new start. As a result, student affairs practitioners in two-year institutions function in ways that differ significantly from their counterparts in four-year colleges and universities. This volume of New Directions for Student Services examines the dynamics of change that characterizes community college students; offers a theoretical base from which to understand today's new student; explores the impact that organizational structure and partnerships have on program effectiveness; suggests a critical role for counseling in the two-year college; describes exemplary programs across the country; and proposes a model to help practitioners anticipate and respond to change. Using student success as the yardstick by which program effectiveness is measured, the authors attempt to capture enduring principles that practitioners can use to shape student affairs programs to meet the unique needs of their institutions and their students."--Jacket.