The bricks-and-mortar infrastructure of community colleges has not nearly kept pace with increases in student enrollments. Not only are colleges bursting at the proverbial seams, but, according to the American Graduation Initiative, many two-year institutions "face large needs due to deferred maintenance or lack the modern facilities and…

Urban universities are often characterized as economic engines--directly and indirectly serving the needs of the communities within which they are situated. However, the relationship between urban universities and their neighbors is often strained. Reflecting on the University of Illinois at Chicago's Neighborhoods Initiative (UICNI) and its…

Illinois School District 151 is the first Northern court ordered desegregated school system. Prior studies indicate that community members do not support the district. This Title III project has as its major goal to increase the areas of support and reduce the areas of nonsupport, in order to provide an invigorating stimulating educational…

The possibility of converting a vacated school building into a useful resource presents a community with an interesting situation. During a 5-year period ending in 1997, over 100 rural Illinois communities encountered this situation. This report explores what happens to vacant school buildings and offers case studies of various re-uses, new…

Compares traits and attitudes of two Illinois farming communities with populations characterized as "German yeoman" and "Yankee entrepreneur." Discusses how community characteristics shape responses to social and economic changes and affect the course of economic development. (SV)

When the parents of school age children have significant relationships with their children's schoolmates, a particularly strong school-community relationship forms. Public schools in the United States are best organized to serve such functional, neighborhood communities, which are rapidly disappearing. School reorganization might renew community…

Presents a model developed from seven interrelated social factors to help diagnose various kinds of community conflicts. To verify the model and illustrate its utility, the standoff over the Berm Highway routing in Alton, Illinois, is analyzed. Findings suggest the importance of broadening the participants' definition of the situation through more…

Over the past decade, online courses and entire online degree programs have been made available, serving millions of students in higher education. These online courses largely have been designed and taught using the theoretical concepts and practical strategies of Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). During 2003-04, approximately two million…

This book offers a groundbreaking examination of citizenship education programs that serve contemporary youth in schools and communities across the United States. These programs include social studies classes and curricula, school governance, and community-based education efforts. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the…

The principal goals of the Institute were to implement equality of educational opportunity and school desegregation in eight Illinois communities, through the training of eight Community Teams, consisting of professional public school leaders and community leaders. The initial status of each community, the processes in which they engaged to…

Community colleges report opening Spring term enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board via a brief web based survey. These figures reflect only those students enrolled in credit courses that were operational on the census date (last day for course registration for regular classes). This report summarizes the survey results. This…

This publication welcomes students attending one of the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC's) international fairs during Fall 2007 in Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Hong Kong and Macau, China; and Seoul, Korea. AACC holds these tours to acquaint international students in Asia with the benefits of…

A CONFERENCE WAS HELD IN AUGUST 1963 TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF JOINT SOCIAL INQUIRY BY THE THREE REPRESENTED DISCIPLINES OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, SOCIOLOGY, AND EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION. THIS BOOK CONTAINS THE PROCEEDINGS AND RESULTS OF THE CONFERENCE. DISCUSSIONS WERE CENTERED ABOUT FOUR MAJOR SUBJECTS--(1) MAIN TRENDS IN COMMUNITY POWER…

This publication reviews 56 bills introduced in the 95th General Assembly that, if signed into law by the Governor, would have the most direct positive and negative impacts on communities of color. The "2007-2008 Illinois Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity" evaluates the Governor and legislators on their responses to these…

CASE HISTORIES OF SYSTEMATIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS INVOLVING EIGHT RURAL COMMUNITIES (INCLUDING ALL OF POPE COUNTY) AND EAST ST. LOUIS PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF GRASS ROOTS DECISION MAKING IN SOCIAL, CULTURAL, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, EDUATIONAL, AND CIVIC BETTERMENT, AND ILLUSTRATE BASIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL…