The completion agenda demands higher community college graduation rates among adult learners, and prior learning assessment (PLA) is a promising solution. PLA permits students to earn credit for college-level learning acquired outside of higher education and is associated with improved student outcomes. However, little is known regarding community…

Despite the desire of many older adults to remain in the workforce, those without jobs face unprecedented durations of unemployment. Many of the unemployed lack current skills for jobs in demand and need to either upgrade their skills or be trained for a new occupation to become reemployed. An aging workforce, combined with the negative effects of…

The Community College Survey of Men (CCSM) assesses predictors of student success for historically underrepresented and underserved men in community colleges. The instrument is designed to inform programming and service-delivery for male students (Wood & Harris, 2013). While the instrument was designed for community college men in general,…

Many have heard calls from national policy experts, the Obama administration, and influential foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Lumina Foundation for Education to increase the number of Americans with postsecondary credentials earned at community colleges by 5 million within 10 years. If community colleges choose to run…

As the United States economy moves away from manufacturing, members of this workforce are facing an uncertain future. In this study, an interpretive methodological framework is used to explore women's experiences with textile manufacturing job loss, and subsequent retraining at a local community college. Narratives of four displaced workers and…

The Obama administration, along with many others, has placed a high priority on accelerating the nation's transition to a cleaner, greener economy. Transforming the nation's economic, energy, and environmental systems to become more sustainable will require a level of expertise, innovation, and cooperation unseen since the 1940s war effort. Public…

Across the country, some 78 million baby boomers are closing in on retirement age. While some are considering second careers--in teaching or health care, for instance--others are staying active and involved through volunteering and community service. Recognizing the tremendous opportunity this population holds in terms of experience, skills, and…

Diversity is an important goal for any college. A healthy mix of men, women, and people of different races and ethnic and religious backgrounds breeds interaction and readies students for life and work. But it takes more than just students to achieve the right mix on campus. The most progressive colleges also strive for diversity from within and…

As President Barack Obama begins to confront the many challenges facing his administration, it is timely to examine the role of community colleges in American democracy and the democratic process. During the heated 2008 presidential campaign, many colleges served as candidate venues for their local communities. On these occasions, community…

As community colleges face increasingly tight budgets and calls for a renewed focus on improving student outcomes in the form of graduation rates, colleges must address the concept of access. How much access to higher education can they continue to provide low-skilled students in adult education and similar programs? One way to ensure access to…

Teaching is a popular pursuit among many second-generation career-seekers. The road from the private sector to the classroom often is littered with time-consuming and difficult requirements--for subject matter mastery, credentialing, and licensure. Too often qualified people check out the rules, consider the challenges, and give up. That wasn't…

Twenty-first century is seeing changes in the nature of work, the workforce, and employment practices. These changes, along with increased employer need to select employees who will have the best fit with particular jobs in order to increase return on investment, are leading employers toward greater use of preemployment assessments. The purpose of…

The demand for improved workplace skills in the U.S. is rapidly rising, and U.S. industries, employees, and educational systems are struggling to respond. This paper describes the Skills Advantage program, an effort led by employers and facilitated by Kirkwood Community College to address regional employment needs. This work-ready certificate…

Over the past decade or so there has been increasing concern over the unprecedented wave of retirements of community college leaders, from department chairs all the way to presidents. There are three different venues for developing future leaders in order to offset this deficiency: university-based formal degrees, professional and continuing…

The purpose of this study was to describe, interpret, and analyze the educational experiences and factors contributing to the decision to persist for adult, female, part-time students currently enrolled at a community college in the Midwest. This study sought to expand the research on student retention by describing the perspectives of adult…