An important aspect of the community college mission is to educate working adults including those without a high school diploma or its equivalent. Three important changes are forcing community colleges to reevaluate how these services and activities are delivered as well as policies that govern this critical work. These shifts provide a new…

This article examines the current literature and state legislation of statewide "free tuition" promise programs. The purpose of this paper was to analyze state free community college programs, legislation, scholarly literature, and state websites to understand program structures, funding sources, and student-eligibility requirements. The…

This resource outlines a menu of actionable strategies for local leaders for workforce-related recovery efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding recession. These strategies focus on evidence-based interventions and approaches which promote inclusive recovery. We categorize these strategies by goal, type of action, and phase…

College completion matters, especially from the perspective of equity. Who finishes, how long it takes them, how much they benefit economically and how their citizenship benefits local communities all "matter." This is especially true of knowledge-driven, innovation economies in New England. For Massachusetts--a state that ranks third…

This paper asks the question: Is now the right time to consider a statewide policy initiative to support increased access for Massachusetts community college students to paid internships that can help them improve their employment and earnings trajectory? Is this something that employers, colleges, and state leaders would see as a welcome…

The California Community Colleges, through the Economic and Workforce Development Program (EWD), is an incubator of educational and workforce development that collaborates with industry to develop and deliver cutting-edge career and technical education (CTE) skills training. Guiding the work taking place at the regional and state levels is the…

The Wyoming Community College Commission's internal strategic plan for the five-year period spanning 2016 through 2020 is taking a new streamlined approach to conveying future goals. Specific agency sections' mission statements, responsibilities, and accomplishments will be relayed in the agency's annual report. For the time span of 2016 through…

Community colleges are well-positioned to provide formal education and early field experiences to Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers, particularly the non-traditional students who are balancing multiple obligations of family, work, and education. The increasing demand for online coursework formats by community college students has grown…

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 offers multiple opportunities to align the workforce development efforts of these stakeholders through structural measures and targeted support. In this paper, the authors examine ways that WIOA can influence a state's job training environment and highlight the crucial role of community…

The "Annual Partnership Report" catalogs partnerships that Wyoming community colleges established and maintained for each fiscal year. This partnership report fulfills statutory reporting requirement W.S. 21-18-202(e)(iv) which mandates the development of annual reports to the legislature on the outcomes of partnerships between colleges…

As concerns grow over labor shortages in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, the colleges ready students for jobs or more education. Educators are also looking to community colleges to fill the gap. With their high enrollments of minority and low-income students, community colleges are obvious places to recruit a diverse work…

Objective: In the first study of its kind, the impact of excluding noncredit enrollments in calculations of spending in community colleges is explored. Noncredit enrollments are not reported to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), but expenditures for these efforts are. This study corrects for this omission and provides new…

Within the next few years the majority of jobs in the U.S. will require some type of postsecondary credential. However, less than half of adults in this country currently possess a credential beyond high school. Though they may not have a college degree to show for it, most adults have likely gained significant and valuable learning through their…

This report provides an annual update on metrics related to the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) Governing Board Outcomes for University and Transfer Education, Workforce and Economic Development, Developmental Education, and Community Development and Global and Civic Engagement. While this report necessarily looks back in time…

Current public health and aging service agency personnel have little training in gerontology, and virtually no training in evidence-based health promotion and disease management programs for older adults. These programs are rapidly becoming the future of our community-based long-term care support system. The purpose of this project was to develop…