Amid persistent concerns about the well-documented skills gap, community colleges have the potential to provide low-cost, high-quality education and training to students. Robust relationships between colleges and local industry partners are critical to building strong workforce development programs for students. In this context, this toolkit…

Opportunity America received a grant from Lumina Foundation to conduct a national research study of community colleges' credit and noncredit occupational education programs and their relationships with employers. Opportunity America contracted with Wilder Research to manage data collection and analysis for the study. The purpose of this study was…

U.S. strength in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has formed the basis of innovations, technologies, and industries that have spurred the nation's economic growth throughout the last 150 years. Universities are essential to the creation and transfer of new knowledge that drives innovation. This knowledge moves…

"Linking Workforce Development to Economic Development: A Casebook for Community Colleges" is a compilation of best practice examples, which illustrate what it takes for community colleges to achieve their goal of helping people acquire education and skills, helping employers, supporting communities, and building the nation. The book is…

The Adopt-a-School program, a successful pairing of businesses with Anaheim Union High School District's 20 schools, has benefited California students through increased work exposure and career guidance. Communities have profited as well, by gaining access to a skilled work force. (CJH)

To establish high employability in the United States, higher education, other educational providers, workers, employers, unions, state and federal governments must create partnerships. Coalition must have a shared agenda and concrete programs to advance it. The value of college credentials may diminish, but the value of teaching expertise will…

A new report, "Spanning the Chasm: Corporate and Academic Cooperation To Improve Work-Force Preparation," offers recommendations on how the two sectors can cooperate to provide college students with the skills needed in the workplace, which corporate leaders feel graduates now lack. Corporate, alumni, and college perspectives on student…

Sixty profiles are presented that demonstrate actual contracting in practice between organizations and colleges for the provision of instruction to employees, clients, or members. The objective is to assist colleges in the early stages of developing such arrangements, as well as to guide organizations that are considering this approach. Contracts…

This document focuses on the need for public schools in the United States to develop the capacity of individuals to participate successfully in the nation's economy. An introduction discusses the impact of schools on the American economy and the effects of the economy on education. Section 2 lists objectives to which the American education system…

The current state of corporate education and the role played in it by U.S. colleges and universities are examined in this book, whose comprehensive framework brings both business and higher education into the process of upgrading and maintaining the skills of the American workforce. Attitudes, procedures, and policies that block increased…

Addresses issues related to the evaluation of community colleges' economic development efforts, describing the context for evaluation in terms of the external environment and college management/governance; practical realities guiding evaluation; steps in designing an evaluation programs; and the application of results to decision making. (DMM)

Creation of a larger number of well-educated minority group members is a strategic priority for both business and higher education. Collaboration between business and academic leaders in academic innovation is needed. Queens College (New York) has done so successfully in an experimental program combining business administration and liberal arts…

In fall 1982, Johnson County Community College (JCCC) conducted two surveys to determine the internal training needs of business and industry in Johnson County. One survey was mailed to the chief executives of some 2,000 businesses and industries, and another was distributed to about 2,000 employees of a large corporation in the county. Study…

The most effective colleges and universities in the next few decades will be those able to adapt to a changing workforce and shifting demands of business, political, and other environments. Effective institutions will build effective management teams, create new change strategies, focus on quality, and demonstrate learning from history. (MSE)

Problems and opportunities posed for liberal arts colleges by the current political concern for educating students for high technology industries are considered. Recent reports on education, high technology, employment, and economic growth are concerned with the competitive position of the United States versus other industrialized nations,…