Community colleges concentrate on the neglected first two years of college; raise educational levels of underprepared students; educates and trains students to be qualified, skilled workers; and re-educates those whose skills are outdated; and those who have college degrees but no work skills. Drawing from interviews with community college students, faculty, and administrators, this book seeks to demonstrate the value of open-door institutions of higher learning which are being threatened by budget cuts and public and professional misunderstandings and misperceptions. The book contains 10 chapters: (1) "The New Educational Reality," which dispels the myth that college students are all 18-year olds enrolling in four-year colleges; (2) "David and Connie: Writing Their Own Educational Scripts," which profiles two students with nontraditional educational paths; (3) "Community College Students: Diverse Goals, Diverse Paths," which examines community colleges' responses to many different needs; (4) "Builders of Community, Agents of Change," which explores the colleges' role in and responsibility to the community; (5) "Teaching Today's Students," which urges teachers to find new ways to teach the changing population; (6) "Initiating the Uninitiated: The Uses of Language," which delves into the area of teaching underprepared, illiterate, or non-English speaking students; (7) "Educating a Vital Workforce," which takes on the topic of vocational education; (8) "Big and Bold: Democracy's Colleges," which examines the commonalities and differences between community colleges; (9) "Keeping the Door Open: History and Change," which offers a historical perspective; and (10) "Community College Issues: What Is Success?," which suggests more relevant ways to measure success than numbers of students transferring to four-year institutions. (KP)