Community colleges always have played an integral role in training workers for infrastructure- and transportation-related fields like truck driving, construction, welding and electrical work. If the $1 trillion infrastructure package proposed by President Donald Trump comes to pass, these fields will grow significantly, at least for a while, which…

This letter to the future president of the United States urges her to conduct herself as president as if she were a role model of an educated person and the nation's principal teacher. This obligation entails the need always to be clear about the reasons why her decisions are taken, the evidence or values that support those decisions, the…

Urges community colleges to develop health care training programs specific to the employment needs of a community. Examines issues related to health care credentialing and program accreditation. Reviews the wide range of nursing programs that community colleges can provide as continuing education or for college credit. (DMM)

While health services personnel in the United States receive the best technical training available, they are rarely exposed to a holistic health science curriculum which would enable them to develop the interpersonal competence needed in the delivery of health services. Indeed, the primary task of health services personnel is teaching patients to…

Examines the community college's role in state economic development, describing the North Carolina model, which teams community colleges and the department of commerce to insure adequate program funding. Encourages similar linkages in other states to provide resources for occupational training of skilled workers in high technology, critical…

An advertisement for higher education, and specifically for the City University of New York (CUNY), presents data to support arguments in favor of college education. The benefits described include: preparation for a career, increased job opportunities, occupational mobility, and personal fulfillment. Also listed are numerous occupations and the…

Argues that teaching excellence depends upon subject knowledge and professional refreshment and growth. Challenges community college practices that emphasize teaching roles over research and scholarship. Suggests that professional growth can be achieved through continuous research and scholarship and the practice of applied expertise. (DMM)

The interrelatedness of the fields of nursing and sociology is discussed in this paper in an effort to encourage a sympathetic symbiosis between these two fields and between technical and general education. First, an overview is provided of recent trends in sociology, citing the influences of anthropologists and cultural historians on current…

Recommends the establishment of a Noncommissioned Officer Training Corps (NCOTC) on community college campuses to provide technical training for military personnel. Lists occupational areas where community college and military training programs overlap; outlines funding considerations; and enumerates the purposes and advantages of an NCOTC…

The emphasis in community colleges on teaching as a primary faculty responsibility has frequently caused classroom teaching to be divorced from scholarship. Although the teaching role is not a necessary condition for successful scholarship, some form of scholarship appears to be a necessary condition for successful teaching over an extended period…

As postsecondary vocational education turns increasingly to preparation for high technological occupations, the question arises as to whether or not this infatuation with education for high technological occupations is reasonable and justified. Data on technician-level employment seem to contradict the view that high technological manufacturing is…

Discusses common personal concerns of college teachers (i.e., time, money, reputation, significance, and the future) as revealed in surveys and conferences. Views escape and disengagement as typical responses and a sense of community and gratitude as possible restoratives. Reports on a survey of master teachers' attitudes about community college…

Examines planning considerations for community colleges and faculty related to fiscal constraints, the changing student population, vocational versus general education, and collective bargaining. Describes a study of 198 community college faculty members' career satisfaction and familiarity with and use of professional development options. (DMM)

Reviews studies identifying the attributes of excellent teachers. Discusses prevailing myths about teaching quality that inhibit teacher effectiveness. Suggests ways community college leaders may evidence commitment to excellence through formal evaluation systems, awareness of excellence and incompetence, and identification and elimination of…

Some of the fastest growing occupations are in technical and paraprofessional fields. Community colleges train many of the workers who enter these occupations. (JOW)