The purpose of this study was to examine sustainability policies and practices at community colleges. A social-constructivist worldview guided my exploratory qualitative study that targeted nine sustainability professionals at eight community colleges with enrollment under 10,000 in the midwestern region of the United States. I relied on the…

Facility managers have the challenge of adhering to community college policies and procedures while fulfilling requirements of administration, students, and teachers concerning specific needs of classroom aesthetics. The role of facility manager and how specific entities affect perceptions of the design and implementation of classroom aesthetics…

From their very beginnings, the community colleges have demonstrated a commitment to their founding principles of access, affordability, and quality. However, following February 2009, when President Obama set forth the agenda for U.S. postsecondary education to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, priority shifted…

The United States and Canada have a long tradition in recognizing that there are considerable social and economic benefits of providing high quality education to as many people as possible. Community colleges made a significant contribution in expanding educational opportunities for the masses. Attendance at one of these institutions is associated…

In September of 2012, a mixed methods exploratory research study was conducted from among the 270 presidents of public two-year colleges in the 11-state region accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The purpose of the study was to examine the environmental sustainability practices used at these…

Community college enrollments usually rise during tough economic times and the recent recession and slow recovery are no exception. According to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the number of students attending community colleges has grown dramatically in the last decade to about 12.4 million last fall. The AACC says that 1.4…

When the author is invited to speak about climate change, he always makes these four basic points: (1) Climate change is real and occurring; (2) It's principally caused by burning fossil fuels, which releases the greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide; (3) The consequences are serious; and (4) It's not too late to do something about it. These points…

APPA's highest institutional honor, the Award for Excellence in Facilities Management (AFE), recognizes those educational institutions whose facilities management organizations demonstrate quality in overall operations and effectiveness. This article presents the three most recent recipients--Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania, Pima…

This article profiles Darrel Meyer, APPA's President for 2010-2011. A graduate of the APPA Institute for Facilities Management, he served at the state, regional and international levels and on APPA's Board of Directors and Executive Committee before becoming President-Elect last year. He received APPA's Pacesetter Award in 2005 and Meritorious…

Facilities and services are a huge drain on community college budgets. They are also vital to the student experience. As funding dries up across the country, many institutions are taking a team approach, working with partner colleges and private service providers to offset costs and generate revenue without sacrificing the services and amenities…

This article describes how two institutions in the U.S. Southwest--Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico and Pima Community College (PCC) in Arizona--have implemented new energy projects on their campuses. Albuquerque Academy's one-megawatt DC photovoltaic solar array is one of the largest secondary schools projects to date in the United States. The…

West Virginia Code §18B-1D-8 statutorily mandates the West Virginia Higher Education Report Card. This annual accountability report provides year-end higher education statistics for both of the state's higher education systems, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (Commission) and West Virginia Council for Community and Technical…

The purpose of "Facilities Performance Indicators" is to provide a representative set of statistics about facilities in educational institutions. The second iteration of the web-based Facilities Core Data Survey was posted and available to facilities professionals at more than 3,000 institutions in the Fall of 2005. The website offered a printed…