Educational institutions throughout the world have established various non-traditional, or non-university, forms of postsecondary education to accommodate people who are past the age of compulsory schooling and who are not served by traditional universities. These institutions may be compared and contrasted to community colleges in the United States in terms of their mission and policy, programs and services, and governance and control. Occupational related studies, for instance, are prominent in a majority of these non-traditional educational institutions. Japan's junior colleges provide a useful comparative example in that they are terminal education institutions providing general, short-term postsecondary education and differ significantly from their U.S. counterparts in admissions policy, governance, and control. Despite differences, key challenges face many community colleges around the world, including articulation; developing comprehensive exit examinations; supplying necessary remedial courses; deciding how much emphasis to place on community services; high graduate unemployment rates; and issues of social equality. Finally, many other countries that do not have comparable institutions are faced with the need to implement community colleges or similar institutions, such as in Australia which is experiencing a high demand for skill-based programs. The expansion of the community college sector appears certain because of the world-wide demand for a variety of non-university educational services at a reasonable cost by people who are past the age of compulsory schooling. (TGI)