The book analyses and evaluates several key community college reform programs that emerged after the Recession of 2008 and as a result of major initiatives in California, New York, Tennessee, Florida, Connecticut and Wisconsin. Because of the economic downturn in the early 21st Century, an already eroding financial base for public higher education…

The City University of New York (CUNY) is the largest urban public university system in the United States with approximately 100,000 students enrolled in associate degree programs. Similar to trends nationwide, many associate degree students come to CUNY underprepared for college-level classes and are assigned to take remedial or developmental…

The goal of this American Association of School Administrators (AASA) youth apprenticeship toolkit is to encourage the creation of school and business partnerships as a viable and expansive pathway to success in school, career and work. This toolkit provides resources for secondary and community college administrators to advocate for and build…

In today's labor market, students increasingly need greater levels of postsecondary education and training to enter or advance in many industries. Meanwhile, employers are calling for the education system to better align with industry needs, as their demands for a skilled workforce continue to rise. In response to the increasing emphasis for…

The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy in 2013 as a professional development experience for community college educators--faculty, administrators, and staff--who have formal or informal leadership responsibilities. Over the first three years, close to 150…

The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy in 2013 as a professional development experience for community college educators--faculty, administrators, and staff--who have formal or informal leadership responsibilities. Based on a commitment to learning from experience,…

Postsecondary career and technical institutions are required to follow a set list of performance indicators in order to receive federal Carl Perkins funding (Perkins IV Accountability, 2009). Within those indicators includes measuring technical skills attainment, which the state of Mississippi chooses to utilize program-specific standardized…

"Degrees of Freedom" challenges California to include currently and formerly incarcerated students in the vision set by the state's 1964 Master Plan for Higher Education--a vision of college access for all, for the benefit of the entire state. A college education strengthens economies, changes lives and renews communities, and yet, for…

"Degrees of Freedom" finds that California has not been adequately providing effective college opportunities for criminal justice-involved students, despite the fact that such access will help California build safer and more economically viable communities. This report is part of a larger initiative--Renewing Communities--to expand…

Rising remediation rates among college students are leading to increased time for completion of degree, additional costs for students and colleges, and financial aid being used on courses that do not count towards a degree. In response to these issues, in 2007 the state of Illinois passed the College and Career Readiness Act, Public Act 095-0694,…

Recent concern about academic quality and costs has resulted in growing criticism of the transfer function of the community college. This criticism has arisen, in part, from the evaluations of university-based researchers who have argued that a very small percentage of community college students succeed in transferring to four-year institutions…

In response to the rising costs of health care and large increases in insurance premiums, a study was conducted at Lakeshore Technical Institute (LTI) to investigate the feasibility of using a self-funded health insurance plan at the college. Data were obtained through a literature review; telephone and on-site discussions with a personnel…

Nassau Community College (NCC) is currently working with a program evaluation model in which faculty from one department serve as peer evaluation consultants to direct the self-evaluations of other departments. The four functional objectives initially motivating the development of NCC's plan directed that: real decisions about academic programs…

As the Illinois public community college system approaches its 20th anniversary and in the face of a changing economy and shifting public priorities, the establishment of a systematic, collegewide program review and evaluation process that can improve the colleges' overall effectiveness and efficiency in relation to student, community, and state…

The Bilingual Vocational Instructor Training (BVIT) project at California State University at Long Beach was established to teach instructors to communicate with limited English speakers in specialized skill areas. An evaluation of the program was conducted after its third year of operation to assess the placement of graduates and the…