Objective: This project analyzed recent doctoral dissertations addressing the role of community colleges in rural development for the purpose of identifying themes in the reported results and offering recommendations for future research. Methods: A meta-synthesis approach was utilized with 20 doctoral dissertations from the time period 2009 to…

This chapter discusses an innovative state public policy which has incentivized Iowa's community colleges to become the economic drivers of their region. Created in the 1983 legislation, it continues to this day to affect Iowa's rural communities and their colleges.

The traditional role of workforce training by community colleges in support of regional economic development is insufficient to help rural areas survive in a global economy. Rural community colleges are uniquely positioned to provide enhanced economic development support through entrepreneurship and small business development programs. Using…

In an attempt to better understand the need and importance of the community college's role in economic development, this article takes a closer look at how collaboration in the Juniata Valley of Pennsylvania between Industrial Development Corporations (IDCs) of Mifflin and Juniata counties, career and technical centers, and other agencies is…

In 1994 the Ford Foundation launched the Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) as a "national demonstration project to help community colleges in distressed regions move their people and communities toward prosperity. It challenged community colleges to become catalysts for economic development and supported aggressive efforts to increase…