The WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) has long been interested in multi-institutional consortia and systems that help their member institutions share resources with the goal of increasing the institutional capacity for technology-enhanced courses, programs, and student support services. WCET's Consortia Group has focused on the…

One key objective of California's Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) Student Mental Health (SMH) initiative funded under Proposition 63 is to establish a formal process for ongoing collaboration between higher education systems and county mental health, as well as to increase collaboration among higher education campuses to improve student…

This case describes the two-year development of a set of interactive tutorials for students and faculty at a number of community colleges and one university in order to target information literacy skills among their students, primarily searching for and evaluating information found online. The tools created were published under a "Creative…

In 2011, working groups from across the eight campuses of Miami Dade College (MDC) conducted a wide-ranging examination of why many students were not completing their programs. These groups identified a number of reasons for student attrition. Students were unclear about how to progress through programs--they had too many course and program…

"Voices from the Field: Collaborative Innovations in Early Childhood Educator Preparation" is jointly published by the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) and the Illinois Board of Education (IBHE), and highlights the accomplished work of many of the state's two- and four-year faculty to redesign early childhood educator…

The idea behind guided pathways is straightforward. College students are more likely to complete a degree in a timely fashion if they choose a program and develop an academic plan early on, have a clear road map of the courses they need to take to complete a credential, and receive guidance and support to help them stay on plan. However, most…

A growing number of community colleges and four-year universities are seeking to improve student outcomes by redesigning academic programs and student support services following the guided pathways approach. These institutions are mapping out highly structured, educationally coherent program pathways for students to follow by starting with the end…

University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) and Metropolitan Community College (MCC) have recently completed a five-year NSF STEP project to increase the number of homegrown STEM graduates. The overall project has been quite successful, and the numbers of degrees granted has increased. However, some strategies have worked much better than others. Among the…

American higher education is the envy of the world, and it also is the world's most democratized system. But originally, colleges and universities were created for affluent students ages 18 to 22. They were socially, racially and ethnically homogenous. This is no longer the case because today, universities are filled with students of all ages,…

Community colleges and public libraries have much in common, can both learn from each other, and have a great deal to share with each other as they carry out their respective roles: both profess to have total community-wide service as their goal/objective; both draw upon the same population and tax base; and the general public often makes use of…

Describes the planning and implementation of a cooperative program in higher education involving Milliken University and the Community College of Decatur in Illinois. (Editor/PG)

Points out the degree to which the community college's image is distorted by the provision of hobby and recreation classes. Advocates linkages with other community organizations offering adult and community service programs. Calls for college involvement in community development and the solution of urban and suburban problems. (DMM)

Considers the application of purposive cooperative structures to guide community colleges in functioning effectively with other community schools and agencies. Provides examples of Charette, Delphi, and Community Forum models and examines established cooperative structures at Lane, Clackamus, and Denver Community Colleges. (CM)

Discusses ways in which community colleges have used collaboration and partnerships to enlarge resource bases, examining a range of approaches for addressing collaborative facility development. Reviews examples of community college facilities acquisition, construction, leasing, and shared-usage. Identifies issues and challenges involved with such…

Two-year continuing education project jointly sponsored by Oklahoma County Libraries System and South Oklahoma City Junior College is described. (KP)