As community colleges focus on becoming more efficient and preparing more students for success in a climate of reduced state and federal funding, many institutions are reaching out to neighbors in business and industry, forming partnerships and working together to achieve goals that require money and resources colleges are unlikely to raise on…

This is a great time for individuals aspiring to the community college presidency. According to the 2012 American College President Study by the American Council on Education, in 2006, 47 percent of community college presidents were 51 to 60 years old and only 37 percent were between the ages of 61 and 70. More than five years later, 51 percent…

As the focus on student success and completion intensifies on campus, community college leaders know the only way to stay viable is to change the culture of their institutions. With state and federal coffers in perpetual free fall, that means leveraging existing resources to spur reforms. Some colleges have attempted to do this through the…

Over the past few years, 300,000 students have been turned away from California community colleges. Those that remain jockey for classes with ever-narrower registration deadlines. City College of San Francisco may be forced to close its doors to its 90,000 students after a state investigation found that the administration hadn't managed budget…

Almost every institution of higher education engages in late registration. But evidence is mounting that the practice, originally intended to keep the doors of opportunity open for students as long as possible, wreaks havoc on the ability of colleges to achieve the goals of the emerging completion agenda. Despite best intentions, late registration…

The two campuses that make up the West Valley-Mission Community College District (WVMCCD) in northern California's Santa Clara County share a history typical of many community colleges across the country. Its buildings were constructed in the 1960s and '70s, and like many public structures of that vintage, today they bear the ravages of time--in…

With the rising popularity of personal mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets, an increasing number of colleges are asking students and teachers to bring their own technology to class. The so-called bring your own device, or BYOD, movement promises easier access to resources such as textbooks and educational services for students, and…

Jane walks your hallways and those of many colleges and universities across the country. Angry, defiant, and frustrated, she is deeply in debt with college loans and without a single college credit to her name. "She's come undone," as the song says, and there is concern among the staff that she may well hurt someone. According to the authors, Jane…

This study investigates the relationships between individual learner characteristics and gain in writing performance as measured by a standardized writing assessment in a sample of community college academic English as a Second Language (ESL) students in the United States. The ethnically and linguistically diverse convenience sample included 76…

This article argues for the importance of integrating a focus on language, literacy, and academic development for United States-educated language minority (US-LM) students, sometimes called "Generation 1.5." It describes four initiatives at community colleges in California that aim to do so. US-LM students have completed some K-12…

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…

For decades, higher education professionals and researchers have used the term reverse transfer to describe a specific group of students. A current review of community college literature and higher education policy reflects a contextual change of the term, and today reverse transfer has grown to include students who transfer from a two-year…

This article discusses the development, implementation, and evaluation of a tiered internship program for undergraduate students in geospatial science and technology (TIMSGeoTech). The internship program assists education programs in providing skill development that is relevant and useful, and it aligns graduates and their skills with industry…

Community college trustees play a variety of roles in governing their colleges, but there is little consistency in interpreting these actions. Defining the specific responsibilities of trustee involvement has increasingly developed into a priority for community college leaders. To what extent trustees should be involved in different…

Much of the research on undocumented students has primarily addressed the effects of state policy on undocumented students' access to college and financial aid; it has also examined the educational experiences and challenges unique to undocumented students. However, current literature lacks a thorough investigation of how community colleges…