Community college students start college with goals including transferring to earn a bachelor's degree and gaining the skills and credentials that have immediate labor market value. These goals are not mutually exclusive. Students deserve access to clear pathways, whether they enroll in short-term education and training programs or in college…

America does not have the workforce it needs for the economy that it has. That was a conclusion of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education in 2006. The Commission went on to note that if current trends are not reversed, the US economy and per capita income will actually decrease over the next 15 years, for the first time in US history. In…

This paper, which was presented at the Meeting of the Inter-American Bank Countries at Harvard Graduate School of Education in September 2000, discusses the United States Community College System. There are three types of education at American community colleges: university parallel programs, career education, and continuing education. The…

This report reviews the performance of Arizona's Maricopa Community College District (MCCD) toward achievement of the Governing Board's goals, which reflect the district mission components of (1) transfer and general education; (2) developmental education; (3) workforce development; (4) student development services; (5) continuing/community…

This booklet opens with a list of the features that society now demands from higher education and then describes approaches to assessing the community college mission. Twenty-first century expectations for higher education are being shaped by: (1) a change in focus from teaching to learning; (2) the need to base credentials on demonstrated…