The rapid pace of technological change is revolutionizing every sector of the economy, transforming how value is created and delivered to consumers through technologies like robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. This transformation underscores the need for a diverse workforce as the new skills valued and…

In this article, we present an example of a student's recently completed dissertation in practice (DiP) to demonstrate how the DiP can serve as culminating evidence of a student's successful preparation as a scholar-practitioner. The purpose of this DiP was to determine to what extent students develop workforce skills while completing a community…

Purpose: American Community colleges are vital to the country's economic mobility and are leaders in developing and facilitating career, technical, and workforce education. This study explored employer perspectives on employees' common and specialized skills across industries in the United States. Design/methodology/approach: Employers were…

This study explored how associate deans in Illinois community colleges understand and practice culturally responsive leadership (CRL) in their institutions. The conceptual framework for this study is composed of the Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) model in the K-12 system first proposed by Khalifa et al. (2016) and the Applied…

More than half of states have implemented tuition-free college policies aimed at reducing attendance costs and incentivizing enrollment. We review the academic literature on the design features and impacts of these tuition-free policies, and we analyze an initiative Virginia implemented in 2021 called Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3), which…

Retention is a continuing concern for institutions of higher education, especially rural community colleges. Students are often not prepared for the rigor of college-level coursework, encounter academic and/or life obstacles, or do not possess the soft skills needed to succeed in college life. Research has shown that college-preparation courses…

Drawing from examples of career development initiatives implemented by SAGE 2YC Faculty Change Agents, this chapter illustrates the role of career development in supporting the success of all community college students and guides faculty, administrators, and professional societies on how to advance student career development on a variety of…

Metallica's All Within My Hands is a workforce education initiative that provides direct support to community colleges to enhance their career and technical education programs. In 2019, AWMH--alongside initiative sponsor the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)--provided 10 schools with $100,000 each for tuition help, safety gear and…

The purpose of this instrumental qualitative case study was to address the challenges that community college professors face when curating or creating high-quality and low- or no-cost open educational resources (OERs), the accessibility of the resources, and the impact OER has on student success and social justice in education. The goal of this…

The rapid shift to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) across the globe. Educators faced an unprecedented shift from traditional to online classrooms. This basic interpretive study aimed to understand the experiences and perspectives of community college faculty in a public university system…

Students with autism are enrolling in college more frequently, yet graduation rates for these students remain low. One reason posited is a lack of self-determination (SD) skills, which help students communicate with faculty and staff and act on goals. This study investigated how faculty at a community college support students in developing these…

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers' (AACRAO's) Strategic Enrollment Management Endorsement Program, or SEM-EP, is a well-defined, self-paced professional development program and career advancement track for in-service enrollment service professionals. Designed to promote industry competency and readiness, the…

The 47th annual conference of the Adult and Higher Education Alliance (AHEA) was held online and in person in March 2023. This year's conference theme is "Workforce Development: Micro-Credentials, Badges, and CEUs." The proceedings are comprised of the following papers: (1) Investing in Adult Learners and Creating Learning Environments…

The community colleges in many countries contribute enormously to skills development and job creation among the youth. In order to achieve these objectives, many governments play an active role in the establishment of community colleges. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the extent to which the Community Education and Training College…

This practice article describes the goals, strategies, and outcomes of a pilot project that grew out of the Purposeful Pathways: Faculty Planning for Curricular Coherence project, funded by the Teagle Foundation, at Community College of Philadelphia. Included are recommendations for creating and supporting sustainable multidisciplinary…