Describes community colleges as institutions with several missions: supplying courses to students interested in transferring to a university college, providing occupational training adapted to local labour market needs as well as adult basic education and workforce development. Using the 1996 cohort of first-time freshmen, discusses results of educational research into the questions to which extent the colleges meet the education and training needs of immigrants and whether the attainment responds to changing skill demands of the local economy.

This book systematically analyzes the evidence on four key issues that have divided commentators on the community college: The community college's impact on students, business, and the universities; the factors behind its rise since 1900; the causes of its swift vocationalization after 1960; and what direction the community college should take in the future.

In the United States, where social mobility has been considered a birthright, community colleges are essential to that promise. But America's one thousand community colleges, which educate nine million students, often fall short of their potential. The lion's share of the blame lies with policies that systematically shortchange community colleges financially, asking twoyear institutions to educate those students who tend to have the greatest needs, using the fewest financial resources. What can be done? With the support of the William T. Grant Foundation, a twentyonemember Century Foundation Working Group analyzed the problem over a twoyear period, and now offer a bold set of recommendations. Among them, the group calls for the creation of a new body of research that will establish, for the first time, what it costs to provide a strong community college education. Such studies, which are commonplace at the K-12 level, could provide guidance to policymakers on the amount of money to invest in community colleges, and could provide support to community college leaders on where best to invest. Much better research could greatly improve decisionmaking, the Working Group suggests, substantially boosting the life chances of community college students, and jumpstarting social mobility in America. This volume includes the report of the Working Group, along with three background papers: Bruce Baker and Jesse Levin, "Estimating the Real Cost of Community College" Anthony P. Carnevale, Artem Gulish, and Jeff Strohl, "Educational Adequacy in the TwentyFirst Century" Richard D. Kahlenberg, Robert S. Shireman, Kimberly Quick, and Tariq Habash, "Policy Strategies for Pursuing Adequate Funding of Community Colleges"

Two-year colleges are facing major change. The majority will undergo a turnover in college presidencies in the next ten years, at a time when they are being asked to be engines for economic growth, enable more students - and a greater diversity of students - to gain 21st century qualifications, and provide a pathway to higher degrees, all with reduced state and local funding. Recognizing that future community college leaders - at all levels- will manage increasingly complex organizations, and face very different challenges than their predecessors, this book provides a multidimensional model of leadership suited to these new demands and environments. The model addresses issues of leader cognition, race and gender, the importance of culture, and the need for more collaborative modes of communication and decision making to frame and implement change. It recognizes that there is no longer any one way to lead, and that the next generation of leaders will be more diverse, possess experience and qualifications from a wider variety of careers, and follow new pathways to their positions. Leaders in the future will possess a cultural competency that is fostered by being lifelong learners.Through over 75 individual interviews with leaders and campus members, Eddy is able to provide examples of the model's components in practice and to illuminate which experiences proved the most relevant for these leaders on their route to upper administration. She shows how her model intersects with the leadership competencies defined by the American Association of Community Colleges, and proposes strategies for future leadership development. This book is intended for anyone considering a leadership position, at any level, in a community college; for college administrators and boards responsible for leadership development programs; and for individuals in corresponding organizations who conduct training programs for aspiring leaders. Likewise, those employed at four-year universities may find value in the model as a developmental tool.

Historically, community colleges have served societal and functional missions that expanded over time, with the result of trying to achieve multiple goals for multiple audiences. This volume explores the forces currently shaping community college missions and the resulting tension between stated goals, assumed goals, and achievement of those goals. In an era of increasing accountability, tighter coupling, and the need to do ever more with fewer resources, mission focus is vital to college survival. Explore such issues as: the unspoken social contract, transfer, developmental education, noncredit education, dual enrollment, workforce development, the free college movement, and planning for the future. The topics are explored thoughtfully from both scholarly and practical perspectives, highlighting the forces that shape community college missions. This is the 180th volume of this Jossey-Bass quarterly report series. Essential to the professional libraries of presidents, vice presidents, deans, and other leaders in today's open-door institutions, New Directions for Community Colleges provides expert guidance in meeting the challenges of their distinctive and expanding educational mission.

Urban and Regional Policy and Its Effects, the second in a series, sets out to inform policymakers, practitioners, and scholars about the effectiveness of select policy approaches, reforms, and experiments in addressing key social and economic problems facing cities, suburbs, and metropolitan areas. The chapters analyze responses to six key policy challenges that most metropolitans areas and local communities face: • Creating quality neighborhoods for families • Governing effectively • Building human capital • Growing the middle class • Growing a competitive economy through industry-based strategies • Managing the spatial pattern of metropolitan growth and development Each chapter discusses a specific policy topic under one of these challenges. The authors present the essence of what is known, as well as the likely implications, and identify the knowledge gaps that need to be filled for the successful formulation and implementation of urban and regional policy. Contributors: Karen Chapple and Rick Jacobus (University of California, Berkeley and Burlington Associates), Jeffrey R. Henig and Elisabeth Thurston Fraser (Teachers College, Columbia University), W. Norton Grubb (University of California, Berkeley), Harry J. Holzer (Georgetown University and Urban Institute), Susan Christopherson and Michael H. Belzer (Cornell University and Wayne State University), and Rolf Pendall (Cornell University)

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms of its conceptual and methodological rigor and sets forth an agenda for future research intended to advance knowledge on the chosen topic. The Handbook focuses on a comprehensive set of central areas of study in higher education that encompasses the salient dimensions of scholarly and policy inquiries undertaken in the international higher education community. Each annual volume contains chapters on such diverse topics as research on college students and faculty, organization and administration, curriculum and instruction, policy, diversity issues, economics and finance, history and philosophy, community colleges, advances in research methodology and more. The series is fortunate to have attracted annual contributions from distinguished scholars throughout the world.

This book offers a national view of trends and statistics related to today's community colleges. The new edition includes completely revised text as well as updates to charts and tables on topics such as enrollment, student outcomes, population, curriculum, faculty, workforce, and financial aid. Informative narrative introduces and provides context for the data. An excellent resource for presentations, public information, media relations, and long-range planning. Chapter 1, Community Colleges Past and Present, recounts the history of community colleges and summarizes some of the more pressing issues facing them today. Chapter 2, Community College Enrollment, provides detailed information and demographics concerning enrollment at community colleges and puts it in perspective with the rest of higher education. Chapter 3, The Social and Economic Impact of Community Colleges, describes the impact of community colleges on students and their communities through measures such as degree and certificate completion, employment data, and educational attainment within the general population. Chapter 4, Community College Staff and Services, offers a view of staffing at community colleges, from the presidency and senior administration to faculty and support staff. Chapter 5, College Education Costs and Financing, focuses on the financial aspects of community colleges, as they affect the institution and its students. Chapter 6, A Look at the Future, presages trends and issues that will define the community college of the future. The book also contains a Preface, Glossary, References, Index, and About the Authors. (Contains 39 figures and 77 tables.).

Increasingly, students worldwide are seeking post-secondary education to acquire new skill-sets and credentials. There is an explosion of community college models that provide educational opportunities and alternative pathways for students who do not fit the traditional higher educational profile. This book focuses on economic models to help local and national economies develop strong workforce training, humanitarian models to bring about social mobility and peace, transformative models to help institutions expand and keep up with societal needs, and newly created models that respond to the educational and training needs of a constantly changing world. These models seek to capture the imagination of those who are committed to learning about what works in higher education and in particular, the impact community college models are having on the changing nature of world social, political and economic landscapes. With contributors representing 30 countries, this book presents an international perspective.