Iowa's 15 Community Colleges offer thousands of credit and non-credit courses. The 2005 "Condition of Iowa Community Colleges" report will review Iowa Community College programs and related services. The report is supported by Management Information System (MIS) data, as reported by Iowa Community Colleges to the Iowa Department of…

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) felt it was timely to create an academic forum in which university researchers have the opportunity to engage with their peers and relevant stakeholders and document the impacts of their North-South research collaboration in a peer-reviewed publication. The Association achieved this by…

Many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities continue to lose population and businesses, a trend that has intensified over the last 2 decades. Mean age continues to rise, while the 15-24 age group contracts dramatically. Such declining demographics are caused by the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets, as well…

The traditional economic development strategy of the South--concentrating on low-skill, low-wage labor--no longer works; the region cannot compete with other areas of the world that offer low-cost, high-skill labor. The challenges facing rural and central-city communities in the South are immense, and only a comprehensive approach to economic…

Women's literacy rates have improved in nearly all countries for which data are available. However, discrimination in access to education starts in early childhood and tends to continue throughout women's lives. Reproductive, productive, and community roles are considered family responsibilities to be assumed by women. Because these activities…

Until recently, culture (a collectively held set of values and assumptions) was not considered as a factor in the process of development. Now, however, culture is recognized as the heart of the development process. What policies promote a sustainable development process that encourages the flowering of human culture? Cultural freedom is a…

This working paper is intended to enrich an initial description of alternative businesses and A-Way Express Couriers, in particular. (A-Way, a 12-year-old community organization, is a psychiatric survivor-run alternative business.) The paper begins with a brief commentary on the psychiatric survivor movement and research on it. The paper traces…

In Malaysia, vocational education and training (VET) is accorded a high priority in the nation's industrialization agenda. With the vision of becoming an industrialized nation in 2020, Malaysia must prepare a well-educated, skilled, and competitive workforce. The government has placed human resource development as a major emphasis and strategic…

This publication analyzes relationships between various forms of learning and economic performance at the regional level and provides rather strong evidence of the importance of individual and firm-level organizational learning for regions' economic performance. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 maps out a conceptual framework for the…

In 1990 a study was conducted whose purpose was to establish empirically the degree to which governance of each state community college system was centralized or decentralized. This data would provide information on which to base decisions for changing governance structures. The 1990 study was replicated in 1997. A 100% response rate was obtained…

This booklet, which was produced as a follow-up to the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education, examines literacy and learning strategies. After a brief overview of the workshop from which the booklet emerged, the new convivial approaches to literacy that are being developed through experimentation in many developing countries are…

This publication highlights and explains relevant Minnesota legislative developments affecting higher education. For each bill, there is a summary provided in plain English, followed by copies of related portions of the legislation. The bills presented are: (1) Higher Education Omnibus Funding Bill (H.F. 2380); (2) Bonding Omnibus Bill (H.F.…

This paper explores the divisive issue of providing effective workforce development services from within a traditionally run academic institution. Over the years, state funding levels for community colleges have decreased dramatically. As a result, college presidents have had to become more adept at finding alternative sources of revenue. Many…

Arizona businesses are facing a dearth of skilled workers. The work force deficit is about quantity and about quality. It is both an immediate problem and a long-term problem. It is a threat to business competitiveness and Arizona's competitive advantage, and it challenges both industry and government to find solutions. Currently the State of…

The six chapters of this report provide an overview of the vocational education and training (VET) system in France. Chapter 1 contains general information, such as the political and administrative structures of the VET system, population statistics, and a profile of the French economy. Chapter 2 describes the education system and its evolution…