Redefining the community college's historical commitment to open access requires an analysis of the community college within the larger system of higher education. In 2002, Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Massachusetts (MCC) was selected as one of 12 leaders nationwide to head a cluster group of colleges. A total of 7 diverse institutions have partnered with MCC to create an evolving, interdisciplinary community of practice around scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). The partner colleges include Fitchburg State College, Holyoke Community College, Northern Essex Community College, Pine Manor College, Salem State College (all in Massachusetts), Valencia Community College in Florida, and Iowa Western Community College in Iowa. The cluster's name, COPPER (Communities of Practice: Pooling Educational Resources to support the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) recognizes the commitment to collaborate and to establish internal and cluster-wide support networks. The work in the COPPER group focuses on student learning. It also addresses ways that collaborative projects across institutions can help to meet challenges facing all of the institutions. Recent work stresses that collaboration across institutions is essential for understanding the educational needs of the new century.