Assessment at Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) involves asking the right questions and using data to determine what changes should be implemented to enhance student learning. Guided by a 5-stage design, CCBC's assessment program is faculty-driven, risk-free, and externally validated. Curricular and pedagogical changes have resulted in…

The Community College Leadership Consortium is building the Bellwether Coalition for Instructional Leadership toward the development of a voluntary system of accountability for community colleges. In response to the Spellings Commission's national call for accountability in higher education, the consortium and its partners convened an Independent…

The Video Game Development program is designed and developed by leaders in the Austin video game development industry, under the direction of the ACC Video Game Advisory Board. Courses are taught by industry video game developers for those who want to become video game developers. The program offers a comprehensive approach towards learning what's…

The Remote Automation Management Platform (RAMP) is a real-time, interactive teaching tool which leverages common off-the-shelf internet technologies to provide high school learners extraordinary access to advanced technical education opportunities. This outreach paradigm is applicable to a broad range of advanced technical skills from automation…

Cochise College, Cochise County, and the Cochise Community Foundation partnered to create the Cochise County Quality of Life Index--the first to be developed in Arizona. The project brought together stakeholders to address shared problems in new ways, based on non-traditional partnerships. The college's Center for Economic Research provided…

Carreras en Salud (Careers in Health) provides bilingual/bicultural individuals with a fully-supported customized career path for nursing and other allied health occupations bridging individuals from unemployment/underemployment to high-demand healthcare positions. Healthcare providers, elected officials, and community leaders have partnered with…

Catawba Valley Community College has introduced digital storytelling (DS), an innovative instructional method that has produced extraordinary results. Digital storytelling uses affordable software to craft powerful multimedia presentations of student writing. Students create 3-to-4-minute movies with images, voiceovers, and music. This project…

Three focus groups consisting of board of trustee members, community college presidents, senior administrators, administrators, and faculty members developed critical issues facing community colleges with respect to instructional planning and services; planning, governance, and finance; and workforce development. Thereafter, the delegation of more…

The integrated online planning and budget development system at Baton Rouge Community College is an innovative approach to systematically link college strategic priorities and unit plan objectives with financial resources. Using two industry standards (Microsoft Access and Sungard Banner), a user-friendly program was developed that has facilitated…

This article shares the college's experiences and the lessons learned in the creation of the GREENRichland Program and the other approaches to building sustainability. These programs directly support the college's vision to be the best place to learn, teach, and build sustainable local and world community. This discussion features details…

Responding to an impending health crisis due to a national nursing shortage, Montgomery County Community College increased nursing admissions by 50% and graduates by 51% through implementing a Continuous Nursing Program (CNP). Through implementing three 14-week semesters per year, the CNP uses an accelerated timeframe while maintaining a…

Strong partnerships and external funding allowed San Jacinto College North to engage a declining community to transform into one valuing education. A community center, training classes, and student support programs contributed to this effort. The results included doubling Hispanic college enrollment, skyrocketing high school graduation rates, and…

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College's (MGCCC) long-term commitment to providing workforce training in a post-Katrina environment became a catalyst for designing short-term flexible educational opportunities. Providing nationally recognized skills training for the recovery/rebuilding of communities challenged the college to develop innovative,…

Immediately after 9/11, Burlington County College (BCC) realized that the focus of emergency preparedness must change. BCC responded by identifying community needs, developing customized simulation training using high-fidelity human patient simulators and laptop/desktop technology; developing partnerships, and securing outside funding. Over 8,500…

The Gulf Coast Petrochemical Information Network (GC-PIN) is a workforce development partnership among industry businesses and area institutions of higher education in the four-county Gulf Coast region. GC-PIN partners develop new industry-specific curricula, foster industry career awareness, and retrain existing employees in new technologies.