Sebelius, Solis Announce Nearly $1 Billion Recovery Act Investment in Advancing Use of Health IT, Training Workers for Health Jobs of the Future

More than $225-million in U.S. Department of Labor grant awards are being earmarked to train 15,000 people for careers in health care, information technology, and other fast-growing fields. The training will be offered at community colleges and other local education providers. The money is part of $1-billion in federal stimulus money being doled out to help make health information technology available to more than 100,000 health-care providers by 2014 and to support job training.

Full text article is available via the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2/12/10.

A Test of Leadership

When the history of American higher education in the 21st century is written, I suspect the end of the first decade will be known for two resounding themes: the growing importance of community colleges, and a move from college access to a focus on college success. The vocabulary of this important time centers on words like efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness. These are terms that, thanks in no small part to the work of foundations like Lumina and Gates, finally have traction among both administrators and consumers of higher ed. In a very real sense, this is nothing less than astounding progress for an institution built primarily to enroll students privileged enough to attend college -- and not necessarily to graduate them.
Full text article by Sara Goldrick-Rab is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/28/09.

Community Colleges Get Gift of Millions for Online Education

While Congress is still weighing legislation that could put $500-million into the development of open, online courses, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has stepped up to the plate. The charity is giving $12.9-million to advance technology at community colleges, improving virtual learning environments for both students and teachers.

Full text article by Josh Fischman is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/3/09.

Community Colleges Begin $1-Million Project to Improve Graduation Rates

With money from two foundations, eight two-year colleges are starting a pilot project to produce more graduates at a lower cost per student. The project will begin by identifying a set of common data that community colleges need to collect to determine their effectiveness. The project's goal is to have a voluntary accountability system in 20 community colleges by 2011.

Full-text post by Eric Kelderman is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/6/09.

10 Ways Colleges Can Work With Their Communities

Does your college have an uneasy relationship with their community? Has a mistrust of academe been born out of a history of broken promises and projects that have never reached completion? Have students volunteered for brief periods, bound to their course schedules and academic terms, often with little regard for the disruption to the organizations they are assisting, harming the underresourced neighborhoods that depend on the services offered? As the Obama administration has ushered in a renewed commitment to service in our country, especially for higher education, The Chronicle of Higher Education suggests 10 opportunities for colleges to assist their communities during their call to service.

Full-text post by Gregor V. Sarkisian and Sylvie Tayloris available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/7/09.

Obama to Propose Graduation Goal and $12-Billion in Programs for 2-Year Colleges

The president will call on the nation's community colleges today to produce five million more graduates by the year 2020 and will propose spending $12-billion over 10 years to improve programs, courses, and facilities at two-year institutions.

Full-text article by Sara Hebel is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 7.14.09.

Research Center to Assess Community College Effectiveness

The Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, has announced a three-year, $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a series of studies that will help identify the most productive investments in community colleges.

Full-text press release is available via PhilanthropyNewsDigest, 7.6.09.

Community Colleges Challenge Hierarchy With 4-Year Degrees

Nationwide, 17 states, including Nevada, Texas and Washington, have allowed community colleges to award associate’s and bachelor’s degrees, and in some, the community colleges have become four-year institutions. Others states are considering community college baccalaureates.

Full-text article by Tamar Lewin is available via The New York Times, 5.2.09.

Community Colleges Play Key Role In Tough Economic Times

In Pennsylvania, all 14 community colleges are offering or finalizing plans for tuition assistance to locals who've lost jobs. More than 1,000 people are already signed up, says Diane Bosak, executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. Among the nation's 1,200 community colleges there is no tracking of how many are making similar gestures, but examples can be found in New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Washington State.

Full-text article by Stacy Teicher Khadaroo is available via The Christian Science Monitor, 4.11.09.

'Morphing' Community Colleges

With some offering bachelor's degrees and others building dorms or creating campuses for businesses, institutional leaders consider how to define missions and emphasize the associate degree.

Full-text article by Scott Jaschik is available via InsideHigherEd, 4.7.09.

Alliances Between Universities, Community Colleges Ease Student Troubles

Long competitors for students, Michigan's universities and community colleges are finding it's increasingly good for business to team up instead.

Full-text article by Robin Erb is available via The Detroit Free Press, 3.28.09.

Community Colleges and the Economy

Summary report for the winter 2009 League for Innovation/Campus Computing Project survey of 120 community college presidents about the impact of the economic downturn on enrollments, hiring, budgets, and program development.

The report is available via The Campus Computing Project, 3.17.09.

Junior College Squeeze

Community colleges across the country are seeing enrollment climb just as local governments scale back funding. Community-college administrators are thrilled to attract top performers, but they also worry that the influx of students who can afford other options is squeezing out the disadvantaged students such schools were built to serve.

Full-text article by Caitlin McDevitt is available via Newsweek, 12.15.08.

Worsening Economy Could Cause Trouble for Smaller Colleges

Moody's reports worsening economic conditions could lead to trouble, particularly for small private colleges that draw locally, local community colleges, and regional or less-selective public institutions.

Full-text article by Scott Carlson is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 7.18.08.

The report, "U.S. Higher Education Outlook: Six-Month Update," is available online for Moody's subscribers.

Americans Favor Career and Technical Colleges Over Community Colleges, Report Says

Many Americans believe that career and technical colleges are better than community colleges at preparing students for a competitive work force, according to public-opinion poll results by the Career College Association.

Full-text article by Kate Mosher is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 6.4.08. [Subscription required.]

Foundation Commits $50-Million to Community Colleges

The Bernard Osher Foundation, in San Francisco, has pledged up to $50-million to the California Community Colleges system to support scholarships at 109 colleges.

Full-text article by Beckie Supiano is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 5.6.08. [Subscription required.]

California Community Colleges Step Up Fund-Raising Efforts

California’s 109 community colleges, which rarely receive big gifts, are embarking on a search for large donations from businesses, foundations, and alumni, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Full-text article by Tanya Schevitz is available via the San Francisco Chronicle, 3.10.08.

Community Colleges Are Key to Shoring Up the U.S. Economy, Report Says

Community-college students need more financial aid, the colleges themselves need more money, and both need to achieve higher standards of success. Meeting those demands is key to improving the competitiveness of the American work force in today's global economy, says a report released by the College Board today.

Full-text article by Elyse Ashburn is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 2.1.08.

"Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening America's Middle Class" published by the College Board, 2.2008.