The national imperative to improve postsecondary degree completion has led to various innovations within colleges and universities to improve student retention and academic success, particularly of non-traditional learners. One innovation that has been in use since the 1970s, but is often under-promoted and under-utilized within institutions, is…

This is the first report from the evaluation of the Community-Based Job Training Grants (CBJTG) being conducted by the Urban Institute, with its partners Johns Hopkins University and Capital Research Corporation. The CBJTG program focuses on building the capacity of community colleges to provide training to workers for high-growth, high-demand…

For recent high school graduates, life is tough. In the past year, one in four young high school graduates was unemployed and over half were underemployed. In the past decade, recent high school graduates' wages have fallen by 12 percent to just $19,400 annually in 2011, below the poverty threshold for a family of four. The downward plight of high…

America's community colleges are the brokers of opportunity for a stronger middle class and more prosperous nation. The value of community colleges has repeatedly been detailed in broad brushstrokes. While these broad-brush pictures of the community college contribution are important, the community college is an intricate institution offering…

This executive summary provides background information on unemployment rates, the need for new jobs, and the role community colleges have in securing opportunities for a stronger middle class and more prosperous nation. The summary is the introduction to the "Community College Contributions. Policy Brief 2013-01PB." [For the full report,…

Educational, industry, and state leaders worked together to design a program to meet the training needs of Nebraska's fast-growing ethanol industry. The statewide initiative, guided by Northeast Community College and funded through the President's Community-Based Job Training Grants program, is developing dual-credit, short-term training that…

Every state offers community colleges as the first rung on the ladder of higher education. They prepare students for four-year colleges, educate key professions, offer job training and basic skills, and bolster economic development. However, this education policy brief finds that the 50 states differ widely in the extent to which they use their…

The "Fall Enrollment and Staffing Report 2014" provides a snapshot of enrollments in community and technical colleges during fall quarter 2014. The report addresses the questions most commonly raised regarding the community and technical colleges in Washington. The primary source of information for this document is the State Board for…

This fact sheet summarizes data gathered in the 2011 survey of National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant recipients. Conducted by EvaluATE, the evaluation resource center for the ATE program located at The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University, this was the twelfth annual survey of ATE projects and…

In 2007, Michigan undertook a bold mission: to retrain tens of thousands of adults to qualify for jobs in emerging and expanding sectors of the economy. The state's proposal to jobless, dislocated, and low-income residents was simple but appealing: enroll in up to two years of postsecondary education, and Michigan would cover up to $5,000 in…

This study examined California's efforts to foster preservice preparation of early intervention assistants through a certificate program offered by community colleges, the Community College Personnel Preparation Project. Community colleges enrolled in the project must meet a series of requirements, including infusing early intervention assistant…

Looking to put some of its community members--many of whom have seen their jobs evaporate amid a troubled economy--back to work, administrators at Berkshire Community College (BCC) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, have committed as much as $200,000 in grant money to establish a new job corps that will give low-income or displaced workers free…

The community college has always played an integral role in job training but never more so than following the 1998 Workforce Investment Act (WIA) that significantly increased the community colleges' opportunity to join with others in the provision of job training services. With this, however, came demand for high levels of collaboration between…

The St. Lucie West Library, also known as the FAU Treasure Coast Campus Library, is a joint-use library facility, with Florida Atlantic University partnering with Indian River Community College and the St. Lucie County (FL) Library System. This article will discuss the circulation, course reserves, interlibrary loan, and collection management…

In an attempt to better understand how community colleges responded to the economic maelstrom, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) surveyed its member institutions to examine changes in enrollment, local factors contributing to enrollment shifts, and the lessons learned from their experiences. The authors found the following: (1)…