Leading community colleges has become more complex in the 21st century and demands a greater range of skills. Two significant trends have driven--and continue to drive--the expanding leadership challenges. The first is growth--increases in student enrollments caused by population expansion; workers' greater needs for job retraining; and employers'…

Say the words "college student" to someone in the street and ask that person to describe the mental image the term generates. The image will likely be that of a recent high school graduate, a young, white, middle- or upper-income person pursuing a four-year degree on a residential campus. This image is inaccurate. students of color…

The term "student swirl" was coined by Alfredo de los Santos and Irene Wright in 1990, along with the term "double-dipping" (concurrent enrollment at two institutions), to characterize the back-and-forth, multi-institutional attendance pattern common among students attending community colleges. However, traditional…