Increasing the number of college students who earn STEM credentials and enter STEM careers remains a national priority, as does the need to diversify the population of STEM workers by race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic background. This fact sheet describes how community colleges hold potential for diversifying the STEM workforce as well as…

The purpose of this qualitative single-instrument case study was to explore how leadership styles and funding knowledge impact presidential turnover as experienced by trustees and senior-level administrators using a rural member college of the North Carolina Community College System as the setting. The central question of this study was, how do…

This article provides a succinct synthesis of research about community college presidents who have experienced a crisis or dilemma as leaders and focuses on issues surrounding a sudden and unplanned departure. In addition to describing themes, the authors present implications for leaders and potential areas for future research.

Community colleges employ more than one-third of the nation's higher education faculty. Nevertheless, the labor market through which faculty are recruited, selected, hired, evaluated and retained or replaced is one of the least understood aspects of these institutions. Functional management and effective policy both require a clear understanding…

Facing a cutthroat academic job market, many doctoral students are now willing to explore the possibility of a community-college career. And they have many questions. In Part 1 of this series, the author focused on the hiring process at two-year colleges and answered some common questions like "Do I have to have a Ph.D. to teach in that sector?"…

The U.S. energy sector has become highly innovative in developing and applying new technologies. These innovations often require higher-paid, more-highly skilled labor, yet many employers in the region report that they have difficulty filling jobs, particularly for medium-skilled (or semi skilled) positions that require only a high school…

This article examines national employment and program trends in the nursing profession, the nursing shortage in Iowa, and state policy and community college responses in Iowa. During the seven-year period 2001-2008, two Iowa governors convened special task forces to study the nursing shortage and to make recommendations. The policy responses dealt…

Workforce development represents a central priority in a comprehensive effort to create wealth, industry thickening, and broad-based prosperity. From the onset of the Great Recession in 2007, the Sacramento Region experienced anemic economic growth and remained behind the nation in job creation. Contextualized in the aftermath of the economic…

This examination of turnover among college data processing personnel begins by defining "turnover" and discussing the negative consequences of excessive turnover in terms of retraining costs and reduced staff morale. It then considers seven major causes of turnover: (1) the low supply of and high demand for data processing personnel; (2) the…

This dissertation is an examination of the state of the liberal arts curriculum in community colleges in three geographic regions of the United States. From a constructivist paradigm and using globalization theory as a theoretical framework, this multiple case study examined faculty work life and administrative processes related to curriculum…

The 31 papers in this yearbook are organized in five sections: I. Changes in the Labor Force, which includes: "Labor Market Needs to the Year 2000" (Morgan V. Lewis) and "Occupational Adaptability and Transferable Skills: Preparing Today's Adults for Tomorrow's Careers" (Frank C. Pratzner and William L. Ashley); II. Educating Adult Students, which…

Provides information and suggestions for potential candidates in the community college job market in languages and literature. Discusses the mission of community colleges and characteristics of their students; teaching opportunities and experiences in community colleges; reasons to teach in a community college; applying for a position; faculty…

Considers ways in which community colleges can help employers implement programs to improve the work environment and retain trained workers. Presents a model for employee retention that has worked effectively in Pueblo, Colorado. Describes Pueblo Community College's cooperative program with the Wats Marketing Group to help reduce employee…

A two-round Delphi study was conducted to identify the characteristics of viable and sustainable employees in northeastern Tennessee in 2015. The Delphi panel selected for the study consisted of 25 experts who represented a cross-section of the businesses and communities in the 10-county area of northeastern Tennessee served by Walters State…

A project was conducted to improve the state of Washington's community and technical college system by developing and using an improved occupational forecasting system to assess and respond to education and training needs. First, long-term occupational forecast data from Washington's Employment Security Department were matched with technical and…