Approximately a quarter of community college students are entering college-level courses underprepared for the literacy and critical thinking skills required to be successful in discipline courses (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2013). Discipline faculty are considered experts in their content area and are often not trained in…

Interprofessional education (IPE) is critical in today's educational and healthcare arenas. This article describes the initial design, implementation, and evaluation of a Community College/ University IPE collaboration that enabled dental hygiene graduate students to satisfy course requirements and service learning competencies, promoted faculty…

As two Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) faculty set out to create an innovative learning community, they found that they also fostered a complex and rewarding professional development opportunity. This is an account of what it took to create such a community, and some of the lessons they learned along the way.

The authors discuss the joining of 12 Virginia community colleges from the Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia with Radford University to form the Regional Technology Education Consortium (RTEC), a three-year project funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education program and designed to develop articulation…

Describes the experiences of a teacher during her year as Virginia Community College System's faculty-in-residence in instructional technology. States that the year rewarded professional-development opportunities as well as opportunities to participate in system activities, and was appealing because it offered the opportunity to do concentrated…

Asserts that, over the next decade, there will be gradual but significant changes in student population and that community-college professionals need to recognize the differences that exist between the generations to relate to the new students. Suggestions for undertaking a "philosophical shift" to address change are included. Contains 11…

Argues that if the Virginia Community College System rewarded its adjuncts with a few of the opportunities that are accorded to full-time employees--such as professional development activities--adjuncts would stay loyal to their institutions, experience more job satisfaction, and provide more effective instruction. (AUTH/NB)

Describes a teachers' professional development seminar presented by Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Reports findings of a survey of 53 faculty participants of the seminar, along with recommendations on improving the seminar's format and content. Includes survey instrument. (NB)

Describes VaCIE-CEMP, a faculty/staff exchange program between the Virginia Community College System and schools in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the Netherlands. States that participants pair up with their overseas equivalent and exchange houses, keeping costs to a minimum. Reports that during the two-week visits,…

Argues that the Virginia Community College System must begin to offer partial benefits and more equitable monetary compensation to part-time instructors. Contends that full-time faculty must help find solutions to the exploitation of adjunct faculty. (NB)

Compares the 21st century adjunct faculty member to the 19th century sharecropper. Explains that sharecroppers thought they were getting a chance at equality, but instead they were bound to a revised system of indenture. Claims that the status quo will win out in the educational system, as with the sharecroppers. (NB)

Explores which faculty in the Virginia Community College System faculty are using technology for instruction, and how and why this technology is being used, and discusses the faculty work issues that are related to the use of technology, including teaching, training, time, technical support, and terms (and conditions of employment). (VWC)

Asserts that one way to find creative teaching solutions to age-old problems is to attend the Virginia Master Teachers Seminar. Describes the experiences, friendships formed, and techniques learned at the seminar that allow teachers to present the same information to students in different ways. Outlines other useful insights provided at the…

Argues that part-time faculty in the Virginia Community College System should be considered for full-time employment when positions become available, rather than being viewed simply as fill-ins. (NB)

Presents 13 "best practice" motivators and innovations shared by teachers from across the country at the July 1998 Virginia Master Teacher Seminar. Teachers who attended the seminar not only wanted to master the teaching craft but also sought more knowledge as students on their way to mastery. Encourages readers to borrow ideas…