The instructor/author first started to think about the relationship between time and literacy when she was writing her dissertation and doing a study in a first-year composition course at a community college in Chicago. She realized that many teachers at community colleges think about the issue of time, as they realize it is something their students simply do not have. And she noted that "Jack," the instructor of the class she was observing, brought time for literacy into the equation by his approach in which he guided his students step-by-step through the process of an assignment. A variety of statistics show how issues of time are important for all kinds of institutions (but especially for community colleges)--for example, 75% of community college students work and are less involved on their campus compared to students at 4-year institutions. The author/instructor begins her own community college classes with a writing prompt which queries her students on their reading/writing memories and feelings. Some of their responses show how negatively they consider the relationship between time and literacy--literacy takes time to achieve, time they do not have; and literacy takes away their time, therefore they do not want to give any time to it if they do not have to. More and more it seems as though time is becoming an issue for both teachers and students. (Contains 10 works. Definitions of academic literacy and functional literacy, a course schedule worksheet, statistics on community college students, and student comments are attached.) (NKA)