The sales from auxiliary services such as cafeterias and retail stores can be a good source of revenue for community colleges. But sometimes, a little ingenuity is required. During the 2016-17 school year, the bookstore and food service operation at Orange County Community College in New York (SUNY Orange) lost more than $200,000 combined—and officials […]
Advocacy and Funding Articles
Promising news on federal funding
Congressional negotiators have approved the final version of the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Labor, HHS and Education (LHHS) appropriations bill, and the news is mostly good for community colleges. The bill, which is joined with the FY 2019 Department of Defense appropriations legislation in a two-bill “minibus,” will be considered by the Senate next week […]
The early numbers
Stopping or slowing enrollment declines is something on the minds of most community college presidents. With the fall semester just getting underway, here’s a check in to see where a few colleges are at with their numbers. Enrollment is up at North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Community College after several years of flat enrollment. The college […]
Mentor-Connect leader demystifies institutional review boards
Mentor-Connect, a partnership between the South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center and American Association of Community Colleges, helps two-year college educators write competitive Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF). The ATE program focuses on improving the education of technicians for advanced technology fields. As NSF’s largest investment in associate-degree-granting […]
Mentor-Connect helps improve technician education programs
In the past two years, Snow College in Utah has revamped its agriculture program with support from a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) grant. That grant was made possible with Mentor-Connect’s guidance. Mentor-Connect, an ATE project, provides mentoring, in-person and virtual technical support, and digital resources to help two-year college faculty prepare competitive […]
Innovative grants help workers transition into new careers
Under Virginia’s New Economy Workforce Credential Grant program, one-third of the tuition for eligible non-credit certification programs is paid by the student, one-third is paid by the state when the student completes the training, and one-third is paid by the state when the student earns an industry-recognized credential. The success of the program “has surpassed […]
Coming together to slow enrollment declines
In May, Virginia’s Community Colleges (VCCS) board accepted recommendations from a blue-ribbon task force that spent the past several months studying the issue. The panel developed recommendations aimed at reversing the trend. “We recognize enrollment declines are a threat to our ability to pursue the VCCS mission and serve the commonwealth,” said John Capps, president […]
The importance of CCAMPIS on campuses
In the summer of 2017, it looked like the federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program may be in jeopardy. The Trump administration’s budget plan for fiscal year 2018 cut the program. But now, the program may be safe. This week, the White House released its fiscal year 2019 budget proposal requested […]
Measuring your impact
While stories of student success can be moving, some community college stakeholders are more concerned about numbers – particularly numbers with dollar signs in front of them. Doing an economic impact study can help you prove that investing in your college has a high return. “Student stories are very powerful. They have even more impact […]
What the end of net neutrality means
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to vote to roll back net neutrality rules. That means internet access providers would be able to block websites or charge more for faster internet speeds. Colleges and universities depend on the internet to carry out their educational and public service missions, and these potential changes […]