Academic leaders at community and technical colleges must balance institutional projects, student success initiatives, and academic programs. Many of the tasks associated with these endeavors involve faculty and staff members. As academic leaders plan for change, it is wise to involve faculty in a positive way. The goal of faculty members'…

Despite demonstrated student benefits from Open Educational Resources (OER), especially those in community colleges, faculty adoption remains marginal. This study is framed by diffusion of innovations theory, which acknowledges that adoption of an innovation must exceed a tipping point to ensure enduring success. The study focuses on community…

With the mounting pressures on institutions of higher education to do more with limited resources, the opportunity to collaborate with other colleges has emerged as a viable tool to create efficiencies and obtain valuable knowledge otherwise unattainable by an institution, even if that collaboration takes place with a competing institution.…

The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy in 2013 to support the development of middle leaders across California Community Colleges (CCCs). This report captures reflections from both leaders of and participants in the 2017 LFM Academy, with the goal of advancing and…

The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy in 2013 to support the development of middle leaders across California Community Colleges (CCCs). This is an executive summary to that full report that captures reflections from both leaders of and participants in the 2017…

This article discusses how following graduation, students often enter the job market unprepared to find, evaluate, and use information in the digital environment effectively. Essentially, there is a disparity between the skills students attain in college coursework, including information literacy (IL) skills, and those required in the workplace,…

"Three Big Lessons in Six Years" is both a reflection on the past and a look ahead to the future at Charlestown (C-Town) High School (Boston, Massachusetts) and other early college programs across the country. The purpose of this series is to document essential design elements, operational structures, and critical support for students to…

Distance ed and information technology (IT) have had to teamed up to boost Wi-Fi on campus and provide students with face-to-face tutoring due to COVID-19. While the relationship between IT and distance-learning staff is often necessity-driven, changes wrought by the coronavirus resulted in more of a "hand-and-glove" approach, where most…

This paper will discuss why technical skills alone will not be enough for students to have successful careers in the digital age. Much of their success will hinge on critical soft skills, such as adaptability, inner strength, holistic thinking, and a collaborative spirit. Examples will be provided for inclusion with a computer science program, but…

Pathways in Technology (P-TECH) provides a 6-year, career-focused program that combines high school and college coursework with real-world work experience. This report includes findings regarding demographic characteristics and academic outcomes of the students served by the program, highlights emerging topics from the student and teacher and…

We examine the potential to expand and diversify the production of university STEM degrees by shifting the margin of initial enrollment between community colleges and 4-year universities. Our analysis is based on statewide administrative microdata from the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development covering enrollees in all…

Collaborations between 2- and 4-year funded AANAPISIs with shared student and community profiles offer unique opportunities to leverage resources to efficiently and effectively serve their students.

Two-year college faculty have begun articulating a "teacher-scholar-activist" professional identity. After tracing the emergence of this concept and calls for solidarity in two-year college writing studies, we draw on two case studies to advocate for cross-sector disciplinary alliances that expand educational opportunity, improve…

This article explores how four community college faculty leaders draw upon their past experiences and current motivation to brighten students' futures.

Community colleges are not immune to the challenges faced by the education sector as they try to continue providing quality learning experiences during the ongoing pandemic. Some might argue that COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities that have long needed attention, such as the 16-week semester model, a heavy reliance on in-person learning, a lack of…