IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) is committed to education excellence in the United States, particularly in American community, technical, and junior colleges. Community colleges have always had relationships beyond the campus with business and industry, high schools, and other institutions of learning. Today's business and education communities face a number of potentially problematic factors, including cultural differences among the student and workforce populations, a decrease in literacy, drugs, and the exponential increase in daily information that needs to be managed efficiently. Microcomputers and other technological advancements combined with computer software programs, e.g., the Writing to Read program and Principle of the Alphabet Learning System (PALS), are now being used to teach literacy skills. Additionally, IBM works with colleges to develop and implement computer-integrated manufacturing and training programs. Continuing education and the fostering of a vital relationship between schools and businesses will result not only in educational excellence, but also in the training of a capable workforce. (DB)