Community colleges are often viewed as the gateway to higher education as well as institutions that can rapidly prepare students to enter the workforce. Yet, in spite of widespread acclaim for their effectiveness and success, community colleges have done very little to garner volunteer and financial support from their alumni. Admittedly, many…

In many respects, one couldn't find a group of 10 schools more diverse than the finalists for the 2013 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. One community college serves 1,500 students, another 56,000. There are institutions devoted primarily--even solely--to technical degrees, and ones devoted mainly to preparing students for further…

The United States is addressing unprecedented economic challenges, and community colleges have been identified by the federal government as part of the solution (Lothian, 2009). Unparalleled federal support to community colleges provides these institutions with a tremendous opportunity to influence the trajectory of the country's economy through…

This article discusses the context in which rural community colleges seek to serve diverse constituencies of adult learners. A variety of innovative approaches to serving diverse adult learners are being undertaken by New Mexico State University at Grants, a two-year college in the New Mexico State University system serving a culturally diverse…

The Atlantic Philanthropies has recognized both the great societal need for programs that serve older Americans and the important role that community colleges can play in meeting this need. Consequently, The Atlantic Philanthropies provided funding for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to conceive and implement the Plus 50…