Today’s community college students wear many hats: Whether a part-time employee, a parent or a midcareer worker looking to change fields, our students need flexibility in where and when they receive their education. This is where online training comes in. The key to creating a successful online training program is to use an efficient, collaborative […]

Following President Barack Obama’s announcement of America’s College Promise, community college students across the country have come forward to share stories and show support for the institutions that set them on a path to success in school and in life. Perhaps the most famous of these accounts is from Tom Hanks (read our full commentary […]

Achieving greater student success is the goal of all educators, yet achieving measurable results requires commitment and accountability from the highest levels of leadership. Shortly after I became chancellor of the Community Colleges of Spokane, the board of trustees participated in “The Governance Institute for Student Success” and directed me to draft a comprehensive Student […]

President Barack Obama’s America’s College Promise proposal has sparked a national conversation about the value of community college for today’s students. Many, myself included, support the president’s vision of making two years of higher education more accessible to all Americans. Others are more skeptical, often citing low completion rates for community college students. To help our […]

Like many other states, California is facing a significant challenge: providing a pipeline of skilled workers that meet the needs of employers. Many say that California is too large to respond nimbly to regional, state and national calls to close the skills gap, but California’s community colleges are up to the challenge. In 2012, California […]

If, like Rip Van Winkle, you’ve been asleep for a couple of decades, let me bring you into the bold new world of higher education; it is filled with rigor and accountability. The early days of academia were laced with bearded men in long robes giving their wisdom from on high. The current world has […]

For today’s students, community colleges are not only a road to an associate degree, but with the right partners, they can also be a stepping stone to a bachelor’s degree. As outlined in Recommendation Five of AACC’s Empowering Community Colleges to Build the Nation’s Future, community colleges are encouraged to build alliances with universities, community-based […]

We are reminded daily of the importance of world affairs. Ebola. ISIS. China overtaking the United States as the world’s largest economy. We care about these matters as much as we care about roads, taxes and other local concerns — which is why our community college students should learn about them, too. Santa Fe College […]

Just as I was, many of our students at Phoenix College are first-generation Latino students. I was fortunate that my parents encouraged my educational pursuits and supported me on my path toward work I am passionate about: providing access and opportunity to underrepresented student populations. Latinos are the fastest-growing student population in America, and their success […]

In automobile manufacturing, the Just in Time (JIT) training model refers to the production of presold automobiles. Essentially, manufacturers only build enough cars or trucks to meet existing demand. In San Antonio, the Alamo Colleges take a similar approach to job training. Earlier this year, the district collaborated with the San Antonio Manufacturers Association (SAMA) […]