The Irish institute of technology sector is undergoing a major restructuring that will culminate in mergers, to form technological universities (TU). It is essential that the perspective of key stakeholders is fully considered throughout this process, in order to facilitate a successful transition. This research investigates the factors…

The most important components of an academic institution are the educational programs it offers. California Education Code and accreditation standards emphasize the essential nature of a college's educational programs to that college's existence, and often a college's programs reflect the individual personality of the college and the uniqueness of…

This chapter outlines the birth and growth of a veterans' program in Salt Lake City, Utah, and discusses next steps in spurring additional innovations and advancements to improve service for student veterans in community colleges.

Following World War II, North Carolina created public junior colleges and industrial education centers to meet the educational demands of veterans and expand the technical skills of the state's workforce. Despite the creation of these campuses, in the early 1960s North Carolina ranked 47th in the number of citizens in college, and 66 counties in…

As community colleges across the country look for ways to promote student success, the need for scaling effective approaches is critical. This guide builds on a framework of four phases of scaling developed in Job For the Future's (JFF's) previous publication, "Thinking Big: A Framework for States on Scaling Up Community College…

LaGuardia Community College has a saying: Challenge expectations. As fitting as these words are in an essay on the unique value of an honors program at a community college, they also reflect the creation, growth, and ultimate goal of LaGuardia's Community College Honors Program and its students, faculty, and staff, who embody these words every…

This chapter describes the multifaceted history and future trajectory of community colleges in India and considers implications for policy and practice.

This chapter describes the results of case study research on a partnership between a community college in the United States and a university in Chile that attempted to develop the first community college system in Chile.

Among the diverse and varied missions of community colleges is the provision of instruction for students who have either been underserved by their previous educational institutions or not had the opportunity to complete high school. Included under this umbrella are low-performing high school students, individuals with low basic skills, and those…

The purpose of the study was to understand the institutional forces that constructed and shaped the function, nature of funding, and governance of Washtenaw Community College (WCC). This qualitative, historical case study built on organizational theory used archival research to identify themes and the institutional building blocks for the junior…

This special issue of Research in Comparative and International Education investigates the spread and development of two-year and community college institutions worldwide. While not all post-secondary education falls within the scope or definition of community colleges, both post-secondary and community college education tend to serve the needs of…

The $17.2 million Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) demonstration grant program funded by the Ford Foundation which ran from 1994 to 2001 represents the largest philanthropic project specifically aimed at rural community colleges in United States history. While a good deal of literature has been published about this initiative, much was…

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 their students' labor market success. We examine this question using the 58 colleges in the North Carolina Community…

This essay examines the impact of the Bologna Process on the development of short-cycle higher education in Europe, noting that the integration of short-cycle qualifications within the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area, combined with the critical place allotted to those programs in national lifelong learning…

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…