For the first time in the nation's history 46 States and the District of Columbia have agreed that all K-12 students will be educated along a common continuum of high academic expectations known as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Having clear, consistent standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics will help ensure that all…

Presented here are four guest lectures and a paper by the instructor from The Junior (Community) College, a class at The University of Kansas. Topics are: (1) "The Challenge to Higher Education in Kansas in the Decade Ahead," which deals with the tremendous expansion expected in the Kansas community college system and the needed…

Identifies the major functions of short cycle education and two aspects of governance and administration related to these purposes: specifically, local or regional autonomy v national control, and comprehensive, multi-purpose v specialized programs. Considers short cycle education in 12 countries. (AYC)

The modern comprehensive community college has become a powerful learning nexus, an essential educational player in cities, counties, states, and nations. Community colleges are distinct and necessary players in a strong education community. Their missions are diverse, essential, and supportive of economic, educational, and social development. If…

Major socioeconomic trends, including the growth of service industries, increased urbanization, and the enhanced importance of leisure time, have brought about the evolution of what might be called the full-service community college. This institution, which culminates the development of the American community college toward its community-based…

Considers short-cycle education in the context of international cooperation in postcompulsory schooling. Looks at common characteristics of short-cycle institutions worldwide. Identifies four types of short-cycle institutions. Enumerates the potential advantages and disadvantages of uniting two-year colleges with appropriate university faculties.…

After 20 years of experience, comprehensive education in Belgium is characterized by many compromises. Pedagogically, positive results have been achieved. Curricular and structural reforms have been largely successful. However, too much is being expected of it as a lever for social change, and the system may fail as a result. (MSE)

Historically the American educational organization both institutionally and programatically within institutions has been adaptable enough to allow the co-existence of the most diverse institutional forms and curricular programs. In 1953, public 2-year colleges in New York State were encouraged to get rid of their 1-year vocational curriculums and…

This speech emphasizes the thesis that the major function of education should be to prepare students for a vocation. Some implications for community colleges are: (1) the need for comprehensiveness, including communication and cooperation with high schools and 4-year colleges; (2) the need for statewide planning, clear identification of…

Community colleges may fall short of the expectations made of them but they do so not by design but by lack of design. These expectations and assumptions, as commonly held by community college educators, students, and critics, include both positive and negative myths and realities. The assumptions that community college programs are inexpensive,…

Revised general education (GE) curricula at two community colleges are described in an effort to illustrate the outcomes of a "telic" curriculum revision based on: (1) the collective identification of the purposes of GE by an institution's faculty, and (2) the design of a GE curriculum which reconciles those identified purposes with the…

Consistent with their name and mission, rural community colleges should be committed to building community. This can be accomplished through comprehensive curricula; extracurricular events; community education programs; continuing education; partnering with businesses and schools to encourage local youth to prepare for college; service learning;…

After 40 years of efforts, the first bill authorizing the establishment of community colleges in the state of Ohio was finally adopted in June 1961. Before and after the passage of the act, attempts had been made to create a comprehensive community college system in Ohio, but all of them failed. A 1970 study by the Ohio Board of Regents (OBOR),…