The evolution of community colleges from their origins as junior colleges to institutions with dual missions to provide both academic and workforce preparation raises questions about the impact of a college's mission focus on its students' labor market success. We examine this question using data from the 58 colleges in the North Carolina…

A description of how public colleges and universities became important to American higher education is presented by tracing their origins, development, and evolving missions. In the past three decades, the people of the United States have created the comprehensive public state college and university by the conversion of over 200 existing…

This paper reviews the definition and historical development of the Carnegie classification for Comprehensive Universities and Colleges I and II by referring to specific examples in each category. It then identifies several significant characteristics of these institutions, noting their historic underpinnings as teachers colleges. The paper next…

This study proposes to understand the major practical and philosophical issues faced by community colleges as they continue to expand the economic development roles of their contract education programs. The author argues that these practical and philosophical issues are influenced by the convergence of three key factors: (1) many community…

In 1992, Hudson County Community College (HCCC), in New Jersey, began a mission review process to expand from a limited, career-oriented institution to a comprehensive urban community college. Mission statements were reviewed from 67 comprehensive community colleges in 22 states and a questionnaire was devised to determine college staff and…

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),…