It is a frequent, if not ongoing, problem: deep funding cuts despite increased enrollments, and accompanying need for more instructors and updated technology. According to Joe Barwick, Roy Flores, Bernadine Chuck Fong, Al Lorenzo, Judith Redwine, and Jerry Sue Thornton, community colleges should start at the top when they deal with institutional…

Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), in Springfield, Massachusetts, has become known nationally for its entrepreneurship education programs. From establishing a technology park, a small business incubator, and a student business incubator, as well as college-level, high school, and K-8 entrepreneurship education programs, STCC has…

Community colleges have encountered many factors that may reshape their future. Environmental imperatives weigh heavily on community colleges, as does the new integration of the sciences, such as breakthroughs in the biochemical sciences, such as the human genome project. It is also important to pay attention to the forms in which knowledge is…

This article explores the partnership between the Peace Corps and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), which may expand opportunities for community college graduates to serve as Peace Corps Volunteers and then continue their formal education in the United States. This includes opportunities to grow professionally and personally…

Although Genesee Community College serves a relatively small student body (enrollment 5,000) in a largely rural area that covers 2,300 square miles, its equipment and facilities, as well as the application of technology, are equal to or superior to most two- and four-year colleges in the area. This community college has infused technology…

In Fall 2000, Dallas Teleconferences approached a prominent higher education organization about producing a series of satellite teleconferences for them. The intended recipient was complimentary of Dallas' teleconferencing endeavors, but representatives suggested that teleconferencing was an old medium employing antiquated technology. They…

Today, educational reform equals testing. This over reliance on testing has come about because of a belief that a paper and pencil or computer-based test can truly measure student learning and that results can be used for punishment, reward, and accountability purposes. This simplistic approach to reform is viewed as a quick fix to long seething…

High-Definition Television (HDTV) is a new standard for broadcasting. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been working on the new standard for many years and has mandated that broadcasting stations be fully operational in HDTV by 2006. This is the dilemma for community colleges as they approach the deadline for the conversion to the…

Technology is and will continue to be a driving force in the United States economy. The U.S. Department of Labor (2003) projects computer and data processing services to be the fastest growing segment of the economy between the years 2000-2010. A study by the National Association of Manufacturers (2001) indicates that more than 80 percent of…

Recognition for outstanding faculty should be an ongoing facet of every community college's program to improve instruction. This is still far from the case, however, in a significant number of colleges across the country. The authors conducted a national study of recognition programs for teachers in American community colleges. Chief instructional…

The budget squeeze is battering both community colleges and their workforce development clients. But a unique network is helping those community colleges reel in clients through computer- and Web-based learning. In this article, the author describes the ACT Center network of Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Georgia. ACT Centers are designed…

Getting people back to work has become a national concern. The nation's economy lost jobs as of July 2003 for six months in a row, dealing another blow to a slow reviving labor market. According to the Labor Department, 486,000 jobs disappeared from the economy. And, the Employment Development Department in California reported a decline of 21,800…

New information technologies enable community colleges to develop a better understanding of the needs and desires of their students, as well as to deploy traditional services to students that include new interactive components. Information technology (IT) has not only enhanced and made more efficient traditional functions of educational planning…

The Community College Futures Assembly convenes annually as a national policy forum for key opinion leaders to work as a "think tank" in identifying critical issues facing the future of community colleges and to recognize Bellwether Finalist colleges as trend-setting institutions. Ten Bellwether finalists in each of the three award categories are…

Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, North Carolina serves a rapidly growing Hispanic population through its Family-Centered Literacy Program. The Hispanic population in the region has been increasing at a staggering rate of 50% per year, most of which is in-migration. These newcomers frequently face challenges adjusting to their jobs,…