With the mounting pressures on institutions of higher education to do more with limited resources, the opportunity to collaborate with other colleges has emerged as a viable tool to create efficiencies and obtain valuable knowledge otherwise unattainable by an institution, even if that collaboration takes place with a competing institution.…

"Making the Future: The Wisconsin Strategy," under the leadership of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC), received a Round Two U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance for Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant. The consortium brought together all 16 colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System…

In 2011, Washburn University of Topeka, Kansas was awarded a $19.6 million Round 1 TAACCCT grant through the Department of Labor to provide industry-relevant, hands-on training for high-demand, high-wage careers. The consortium, Technical Retraining to Achieve Credentials (TRAC-7), was led by Washburn University, and included seven Kansas…

The California Community Colleges serves approximately 2.1 million students each year and is the largest system of higher education in the nation. The state's 112 community colleges are charged with providing workforce training, basic skills education and preparing students to transfer to four-year universities. Currently, 78 of our 112 community…

Several federal grants prioritized the role of community colleges in education and training in recent years, and one of the most substantial investments was the Trade Adjustment Act Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program of the United States Department of Labor (DOL). Beginning October 2011, these $2 billion capacity-building…

People do not want to know the history, minutiae of policy, or operations, or even the political intrigues of a virtual consortium. People want to know if the consortium has value, whether it can help them, and if it is a threat. In this article, the author focuses on the operating principles and policies that have proven successful in the…

Lists seven requisites for the implementation of community college teleconferencing. Describes the development of a consortium comprised of 15 Iowa community colleges and Iowa State University designed to increase educational program offerings using the community college telenet system. Analyzes results and problems and offers recommendations.…

Describes the College Consortium for International Studies, a consortium offering overseas study opportunities for U.S. students in 18 foreign countries. Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of the consortial approach; how consortial membership works; and overcoming prejudice, inertia, and other obstacles. (DMM)

Rural Arizona libraries received a severe blow when the Arizona Inter-Library Loan Center closed because of lack of funds. No northeastern Arizona libraries have been invited to join a new Arizona database, which is a spin-off of OCLC, and none of these rural libraries are in OCLC. The libraries will also have to pay long distance and user fees to…

The Portland Area Vocational Technical Education Consortium (PAVTEC) was created to enhance and strengthen the working partnerships between Portland Community College and local high schools in order to provide high quality, articulated vocational technical programs. PAVTEC's third annual report highlights activities which have added to the…

The model for student assessment and placement described in this report was developed by the Learning Assessment Retention Consortium (LARC), a year-old network of 17 northern California colleges organized to examine problems related to assessment and to implement specific action plans. The report begins by citing statistics on the increasing…

This guide offers a practical, step-by-step approach to developing an industry-based office education program. It equips business educators with the tools, strategies, and ideas necessary to develop a multiyear plan for implementing the program. Section I provides the rationale for cooperation between industry and education and offers ideas for…

This report is the summary of key aspects of Tech Prep in Illinois over the five year period of 2001-2005 during which all Tech Prep consortia provided annual data based on federal legislative requirements and state-determined essential elements of successful programs. These annual Tech Prep reports enable local educators to monitor student…

In 1988 the Oregon Precision Metal Fabricators Association (OPMFA) asked Clackamas Community College (CCC) to develop and conduct a training program specifically for the precision sheet metal industry. The aim of the partnership was to train new workers and to upgrade skills of current employees. OPMFA equipped the Advanced Technology Center…

The Columbia-Willamette Skill Builders Consortium was formed in early 1988 in response to a growing awareness of the need for improved workplace literacy training and coordinated service delivery in Northwest Oregon. In June 1990, the consortium received a National Workplace Literacy Program grant to develop and demonstrate such training. The…