If enacted, President Barack Obama’s free community college proposal could make higher education a reality for many more students in this country. Another added benefit: It has great potential to close the U.S. skills gap. Community colleges will be essential in educating the workers who will take the current 26 percent of jobs that require […]

Due to declining enrollments nationwide, many community colleges are scaling back programs and making difficult cuts. Both the budget and the student body at North Carolina’s Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) have shrunk over the last few years. But not the physical size and scope of the college. Construction has been a constant at GTCC over […]

When offering online and remote education, you work with what you have — or around what your students don’t have. At Pine Technical and Community College (PTCC) in rural Pine City, Minn., many students don’t have access to high-speed Internet. So the college offers courses designed to be accessed via a dial-up connection — the only […]

There are many aspects of the American dream. One is that with enough hard work and dedication, you can start your own business. Of course, financial acumen, a business plan, and a few other key skills also really help. Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) is helping prospective entrepreneurs gain those business skills with “Start Your Own […]

Community colleges far and wide have entered into partnerships with local businesses to provide critical training for their employees. These partnerships give businesses work-ready employees, provide colleges with a steady stream of income and offer communities better economic outlooks. Here’s another benefit: These corporate training programs give colleges a wealth of knowledge — and equipment — they can also […]

Community colleges have long served populations that are underrepresented in higher education. Students who have been in foster care have among the lowest high school and higher education success rates. This past semester, Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) in Springfield, Mo., began a pilot project to help foster care youth age 17 to 21 prepare […]

Community college leaders know their institutions must be involved in driving and diversifying the local economy. To do this, community colleges are partnering with local businesses and industries in myriad ways. In New York, the state program Start-Up NY has so far helped 61 state colleges and universities — including more than a dozen community […]

Not long ago, officials in Massachusetts were not terribly concerned about the state’s public college and university system. “The thought was, unlike other states, we have these prestigious private institutions; we don’t need to have the best public system,” says Katy Abel, associate commissioner for external affairs of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. Herein […]

Military veterans are returning to civilian life with marketable skills, but they often need gap training and education to turn what they learned during their time in the military into a job. For example, military medics who receive additional training can fill in-demand nursing jobs. Beginning in March 2015, Joliet Junior College (JJC) in Illinois […]

The middle-skills gap is a stubborn workforce problem that community colleges across the country are attacking in a number of different ways. Case in point: An increasing number of community colleges are partnering with local industries to create advanced manufacturing centers, which offer real-world factory training. Through these centers, community colleges are providing employers with […]