Book Review: Next Steps for the Community College

Recently Published Dissertations on Community and Junior Colleges

New Directions for Community CollegesVolume 1979, Issue 26 p. vii-x Editors' Note Editors' notes Maxwell C. King, Maxwell C. King Maxwell C. King is president of Breuard Community College, Cocoa, Florida, and chairman of the boards of directors of the Community College Cooperative for International Development and the American Association of Community and Junior College International/Intercultural Consortium. He has served as a consultant to Kenya and to the Republic of China.Search for more papers by this authorRobert L. Breuder, Robert L. Breuder Robert L. Breuder is special assistant to the president at Breuard Community College and serves as executive director of the Community College Cooperative for International Development. He is the author of several articles on international education and director of the nationally recognized Community College World Studies ProgramSearch for more papers by this author Maxwell C. King, Maxwell C. King Maxwell C. King is president of Breuard Community College, Cocoa, Florida, and chairman of the boards of directors of the Community College Cooperative for International Development and the American Association of Community and Junior College International/Intercultural Consortium. He has served as a consultant to Kenya and to the Republic of China.Search for more papers by this authorRobert L. Breuder, Robert L. Breuder Robert L. Breuder is special assistant to the president at Breuard Community College and serves as executive director of the Community College Cooperative for International Development. He is the author of several articles on international education and director of the nationally recognized Community College World Studies ProgramSearch for more papers by this author First published: 1979 https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.36819792602 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume1979, Issue261979Pages vii-x RelatedInformation

Friedel, J. N., Killacky, J., Miller, E. & Katsinas, S. (Eds.). (2014). Fifty state systems of community colleges: Mission, governance, funding and accountability (4th ed.). johnson City, TN: The Overmountain Press. 384 pp. US$29.95 (paper), ISBN 978-1-57072-339-1.The fourth edition of Fifty State Systems of Community Colleges: Mission, Governance, Funding, and Accountability is an invaluable reference for community college scholars, practitioners, and policy makers. A unique feature of the American community college sector is that there is no national system regulating these colleges, and not all states have formal systems in place. As a result, there are numerous approaches that colleges and systems take toward finance and governance, while serving similar missions. This volume is organized so that each chapter provides the following information about community and technical college systems in each state: a broad overview, history, mission, governance, funding, major partnerships, accountability measures, and major challenges and opportunities. The result is a comprehensive survey that provides state-specific information relevant to those researching, working within, or creating policy for community colleges.Each of the 50 states has its own chapter, and most chapters were written by practitioners, thus providing insight as to the most important issues at the ground level. The preface notes that the majority of chapters were written by the chief state-level community college system officers or their designees, with other chapters penned by current or retired executive directors or staff of state community college associations, professors in university-based community college leadership programs within the state, or doctoral students in community college leadership programs. Chapters in the book are relatively short, ranging from 3 to 10 pages each. Although most chapters provide information about their states using the predefined categories listed above, the quality and depth of that information varies from state to state. Some states present a historical picture that illustrates the growth and evolution of their system and/or colleges, whereas others merely present a snapshot. However, enough information is included to allow the reader to perceive the trends that shaped missions, funding, and governance over time, and to view developing trends that present challenges and future opportunities for colleges and state systems.Fifty State Systems provides a state-level view of community colleges and, to a lesser extent, a national-level examination of economic and accountability trends that are heavily influencing the work of community colleges, making this a nice complement to The American Community College (Cohen, Brawer, & Kisker, 2014). Where The American Community College defines the comprehensive role of the community college in American society through data, literature, and an analysis of the issues, Fifty State Systems enhances that picture by presenting information specific to each state and, in many cases, the reason behind changes that have occurred at the state level. It also provides a real-world glimpse at the way community colleges continue to struggle with the tensions between academic, economic, and workforce values (Levin, 2007; Levin, Kater, & Wagoner, 2006). …

Factors shaping the probability of community vs. four-year college entrance and acquisition of the B.A. degree

Reviewed by: International Reform Efforts and Challenges in Community Colleges. New Directions in Community Colleges, No. 138 Patricia Somers, Associate Professor Edward J. Valeau and Rosalind Latiner Raby (Eds.). International Reform Efforts and Challenges in Community Colleges. New Directions in Community Colleges, No. 138. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. 112 pp. Paper: $29.00. ISBN: 978-0-470-17688-7. This monograph provides a basic overview of the issues, challenges, and models involved in internationalizing community college education. The editors wrote this book to fill the post-September 11 void about information on international education reform for community colleges. However, 9/11 was a double turning point: Americans understood the need to be more globally connected yet monies were diverted to national safety and security programs rather than educational activities. Eleven chapters form the monograph, with three common threads: (a) the role of new community college leaders in providing leadership for international programs, (b) how some community colleges have embraced globalization, and (c) how international education can become a catalyst for educational revitalization in community colleges (pp. 2–3). The book is aimed at relatively novice practitioners. The first three chapters have a good, but at times redundant, general overview of internationalization in community colleges. Two interesting chapters deal with the globalization of workforce development and technical/occupational programs. Six chapters review specific details of how to internationalize. Two of these chapters discuss consortial efforts. Consortia provide key support for international programs, particularly study-abroad efforts, which need a critical mass of students to be financially viable. Other chapters present examples of on- and off-campus programs and profile international faculty in community colleges. The most useful part of the monograph is two case studies. The first is a cautionary tale about how international education programs can become politicized, especially in a localized setting such as a community college. This case included charges of "pork barrel" trips by administrators for recruiting students and administrators who are junketing on "inspection visits" to colleges abroad. The final chapter is a case study of the successful Asia-Pacific Emphasis at Kapi'olani Community College in Hawai'i. While this volume seeks to help practitioners, it also contains useful research. For example, a study of 700 community college students found that they acknowledged financial barriers to study abroad, yet family and job considerations were even more important in their decision not to study abroad. Further, one of the consortia did a pre- and post-study of intercultural sensitivity, with mixed results depending on the program location. The monograph could be very helpful to community colleges just beginning an international effort. There are some omissions, however. A more detailed description of visa issues for international students and faculty would provide a realistic understanding of the effort involved in bringing international scholars to campus. Additional case studies would be useful. One author mentions that a community college has successfully used local immigrant communities to help develop its international program; a description of this program would be interesting. Further, a case study of a successful program at a "border" college (U.S/Mexico or U.S./Canada) would provide another model for globalizing the community college. On the whole, Valeau, Raby, and associates provide good basic information on internalizing the community college. The addition of a few more case studies would make the volume outstanding. [End Page 521] Patricia Somers, Associate Professor Higher Education and Women's/Gender Studies, University of Texas at Austin, and Fulbright New Century Scholar Copyright © 2008 Association for the Study of Higher Education

Online education is the fastest growing form of course delivery of higher education in the United States. It has revolutionized how students and instructors interact in the educational process. Yet students in online courses continue to experience higher attrition rates than their counterparts in traditional face-to-face classes despite the advantages offered by the technology. This study examined the impact that institutional policies and practices at community colleges in the state of Texas have had on student persistence in online courses. It also examined how institutions collect and use data in addressing students' attrition. The findings were used to identify the most effective institutional practices to share with community college systems in Texas in an effort to improve student persistence in online courses across the state. The population for the study consisted of the 50 public two-year community college and the technical college systems in the state of Texas. The study used a mixed method. A theoretical model of institutional impact on online persistence was drawn from the literature review. This model's five categories were then used to construct a survey to collect data on institutional practices and measure the effectiveness in addressing student persistence. Four college systems were identified using the survey data that best met the five categories. Interviews were then conducted at these four college systems to produce case studies of these institutions' practices and experiences with online persistence. The results highlighted the roles that institutions play in promoting student persistence in online programs. They revealed differences in the ways institutions define and track student success in online programs and the difficulty these differences pose in comparatively evaluating various institutions' programs. Results lent support to the theoretical model of institutional impact on online persistence that was developed for this study, and results yielded a proposed list of promising practices to enhance student persistence in online programs in public two-year community and technical colleges.

The article presents a report of the 1971-1972 Committee on the Junior (Community) College Curriculum of the American Accounting Association (AAA) which provided recommendations to improve cooperation between community colleges and junior colleges. Students generally do not decide to major in accounting until their freshman or sophomore year in college. The number of students who transfer from community colleges to complete the baccalaureate degree with a major in accounting is steadily increasing. Two-year colleges are growing so rapidly that some day they may provide most of the introductory accounting education. The AAA should sponsor workshops, seminars, and/or courses that would acquaint community college teachers with innovative teaching methods as well as the significant concepts developed in recent years. The AAA should step up efforts to attract community college teachers to the regional and national meetings.

This research investigates the identity-based practices and experiences of English composition instructors who teach at community colleges and assesses the extent to which LGBTQ-inclusive pedagogical approaches are undertaken to meet the needs of sexual and gender minority students. The participant pool was comprised of community college instructors within the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) who have taught English composition courses within the past five years. This study aims to answer the following research questions: 1. In what ways and to what extent is identity-based instructional content incorporated in community college English composition courses? 2. In what ways and to what extent do community college English Composition instructors engage in LGBTQ-inclusive pedagogical approaches? To answer these questions, the researcher deployed an online survey to which twenty-eight participants completed. Additionally, seven eligible engaged in one-on-one interviews with the researcher. Following the traditions of exploratory research design, inductive research was conducted through a lens of narrative inquiry to examine the meaning-making processes undertaken in community college English Composition courses. The goals of this research were to attain the professors’ lived experiences and to examine best practices for the engagement and empowerment of LGBTQ community college students. Through the exploration of participants’ individual and collective experiences, this study identified two areas of focus, namely, LGBTQ visibility in assigned readings and writing prompts and sexual and gender minority-based professional development opportunities. This study aims to fill the gap in literature on English composition faculty experiences navigating classroom instruction of diverse learners with a focus on the LGBTQ student population.

This study examines the practices of U.S. community (two-year) colleges earning the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement. Community colleges are not widely represented in the Elective Classification. In keeping with each state’s charge of workforce and economic development and training, community colleges focus on teaching as compared to four-year universities conducting research. Using thematic analysis, the study found four themes across the 26 colleges earning the prestigious designation from 2006-2024. The study documents the practices of institutionalized service-learning and community engagement at community colleges achieving the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement and interprets the findings through a conceptual framework of Institutional Logics focusing on Bureaucratic/State and Market Logics as key obstacles to expanded participation by the colleges. A much-needed future research agenda on service-learning and community engagement within the two-year college sector is proposed framed in Institutional Logics.

The authors present Sisters of the Academy's (SOTA) adaptation of the KEMET Academy model, an academic and cultural enrichment program for African American students attending underresourced schools, to strengthen the pipeline for community college students from undergraduate through professional school. The KEMET model was designed by SOTA members and affiliates at a Southern land-grant institution and implemented over a five-year period as a competency-based program to increase the numbers of secondary students who chose to enter undergraduate schools. The programmatic outcomes yielded the KEMET Competencies Associated with Success for Rural Youth (CASRY). The authors believe that the CASRY framework may be applied to efforts at levels beyond the K-12 to four-year college transition. The KEMET Model components, combined with SOTA 's conceptualization of socialization, presents a comprehensive, culturally competent, value specific, model that can be used to prepare and socialize African American community college students.Keywords: community college pipeline, outreach, competencies, SOTA, Black undergraduatesIntroductionTo a great extent, much of the discussion and research related to African American youth and young adults has been restricted to their portrayal as social problems. In the very same contexts where youth struggle with poor educational opportunities among other social challenges, there are African American youth displaying high levels of competence, cognitive productivity, and aspirations toward higher education. As a result of few investigations on these healthy and resilient young people, little knowledge has been developed related to their motivation(s), life trajectory planning, and attitude or aspiration formation. Limited research exists about these youth, who despite socioeconomic challenges, experience success, feelings of hope and self-worth, resilience and competence, and academic achievement. This is also the case as it relates to Black students and their successful transition from community college to four-year colleges and beyond.Many young African Americans begin their higher education matriculation at community colleges. Of Black undergraduates in the United States, 49% are community college enrollees (Mullins & Phillippe, 2013). This figure would suggest that there might be an equivalent undergraduate enrollment and moreover similar levels of baccalaureate degree attainment. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence suggests that students who would gain the most from accessing the benefits of postsecondary education are often directed to options other than community colleges, including newly burgeoning for-profit institutions which appear to heavily recruit among the populations upon which this article is focused. But even those who make it to community colleges, as the authors will discuss later in this article, face barriers to successfully traverse pathways between community colleges and senior colleges. This is particularly the case for marginalized Black students.The authors present Sisters of the Academy's (SOTA's) adaptation of the KEMET Academy as a model for strengthening the pipeline for community college students into undergraduate, graduate, and professional study (Davis et al., 2011). KEMET (Knowledge and Excellence in Mathematics, Equilibrium, and Technology) Academy was implemented as a competency-based program to increase the numbers of secondary students who choose to pursue undergraduate study. The programmatic outcomes yielded the development of the KEMET Competencies Associated with Success for Rural Youth (CASRY), a set of skills that benefit rural youth (and all young people) and aid in achieving goals that require adaptation and persistence. The authors contend that the KEMET model may be applied to efforts at levels beyond the K-12 to four-year college transition. This article presents the KEMET model as an organizational mechanism used for socializing African American students and is aimed at enhancing the community college and beyond pipeline. …

ABSTRACTIt is currently unknown how many Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) exist at community colleges. This study investigates the percentage of public and Tribal community colleges that have active IRBs. It also examines the potential relationships between states that allow community colleges to confer baccalaureate degrees, or that have articulation agreements, and community college IRBs. Data were drawn from the United States Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the American Association of Community Colleges and state department of education websites in order to create a national snapshot of active and deactivated IRBs at these institutions. It was most common for a state to have at least one IRB at public community colleges. Conversely, the majority of states with Tribal community colleges did not have IRBs. Further, while no association was found between states that allow community colleges to confer baccalaureate degrees, states with an articulation agreement were more likely to have an active IRB at their community colleges. Trends potentially unique to community college IRB implementation appeared evident, including one IRB to oversee a district or state of community colleges. Future research is needed to clarify the rationales behind these decisions. Creating an IRB is one way in which community colleges might claim a more active leadership role in being both subject and producer of scholarship in the literature.

The relationship between the mission of community colleges and the increasing teacher shortage has become more transparent as many community colleges have implemented teacher education programs to address community needs, the shortage of qualified teachers, and the lack of diversity among teachers. As the community college's teacher education role has increased, many community colleges have responded by adding associate of arts degrees and certificate programs specific to teacher education to tackle the shortage of teachers and the lack of diversity among teachers in the nation's classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of one community college's pre-service teacher education program in transferring minority students to a university teacher education program and the likelihood of the students graduating with both bachelor's degrees and teacher certification. This longitudinal ex post facto causal-comparative mixed methods case study involved tracking a cohort of minority students over a 6-year period. Data were gathered from existing teacher education program records for native and transfer students at one community college and two four-year institutions. Unstructured interviews were conducted with administrators over the community college's program. For data analysis, ?2 and Phi Coefficients were conducted to compare the minority students' university transfer and graduation rates to native university students' transfer and graduation rates. Results of the study demonstrated that the minority students were graduating at an observably higher rate than both the native to university students and their respective ethnic peers who began college at two-year colleges at the national level. This study's findings might help community college teacher education programs to increase enrollments of minority students and to address the needs of surrounding communities. The findings contributed to the relatively scarce literature regarding minority teacher preparation in community colleges. The study's findings might also be useful to community colleges looking toward or already implementing similar pre-service teacher education programs. Overall, the results indicated that pre-service teacher education programs at the community college level can be effective at producing transfer students who successfully graduate from four-year teacher education programs.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the educational experiences of Hispanic immigrant-English Language Learners (ELLs) who are graduates of the International High Schools and attended and graduated from a community college. The study focuses on the International High School experiences that seem to foster community college readiness. Moreover, the study focuses on supports and challenges experienced by these individuals, the implications of their second language abilities during their time at their community college, and the reason(s) many Hispanic immigrant-ELLs stop at the Associate’s degree and do not continue through to the bachelor’s degree. Twelve International High School graduates participated in the study. Qualitative methods were employed and data obtained through semi-structured interviews were analyzed using content analysis. The results showed that participants had a generally good experience at their International High School, and that they found helpful and supportive individuals such as teachers and classmates that helped them get through their high school education. In addition, International High Schools prepared participants for community college through academic and language learning related activities. Many participants communicated that the International High Schools provided them with a general preparation for college, including the opportunity to take college courses and participate in internships. Participants also communicated that while in community college, they received support and encouragement from academic programs as well as from faculty/professors. However, the most commonly identified challenge experienced by participants were negative interactions with professors and staff at their community college. Furthermore, the majority of International High School graduates communicated that their second language abilities were helpful/beneficial during their community college years because it helped them academically, and it also helped increase their social interactions with other Spanish-speaking students. Participants also shared their thoughts regarding the reason(s) many Hispanic immigrant-ELLs may stop at the Associate’s degree and do not continue through to a baccalaureate degree. The majority of participants felt that the main reasons many Hispanic immigrant-ELLs do not continue through to a baccalaureate degree is because of financial reasons, and because they have familial obligations that impede them from continuing their education further. In providing advice for other immigrant students whose native language is not English to help them get through community college, almost all of the participants provided general encouragement, as well as advice to make use of resources in their community college - including the importance of asking for help.

Objective: This study explores the relationship between online social network involvement and academic outcomes among community college students. Prior theory hypothesizes that socio-academic moments are especially important for the integration of students into community colleges and that integration is related to academic outcomes. Online social networks offer a forum for socio-academic contact and integration on 2-year campuses. Is involvement with online social networks positively related to academic outcomes? Method: This study draws on institutional and online network data. We qualitatively code text from the network ( N = 8,749) to examine the extent of socio-academic interaction. Using logistic and multiple regression, we examine the relationships between socio-academic exchanges, other forms of online network involvement, and student academic outcomes in a large sample of students ( N = 27,040). Results: Participation in socio-academic exchange is associated with higher grade point average. In addition, the prior academic outcomes of a student’s online friends are predictive of the student’s own outcomes after joining the network, suggesting the possibility of peer effects. Other network behaviors are not significantly related to the academic outcomes we study. Contributions: This study is the first to consider online social networks as a forum for socio-academic integration at a community college. Our study fills a gap in the research literature with respect to understanding the socio-academic integration of community college students and the potential of social media to foster integration. Through our findings, this study offers strategic ways for practitioners to think about implementing social media to benefit students academically.

In 2007, the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) launched a performance reporting and funding policy called the Student Achievement Initiative (SAI) both to improve public accountability by more accurately describing what students achieve from enrolling in community colleges and to provide incentives to colleges through financial rewards for increasing student success. This report presents findings from a three-year evaluation of the initiative that was designed to assess how and to what extent the SAI model of performance funding encourages colleges to track trends in student achievement and improve student outcomes. The quantitative component of the evaluation was an analysis of “achievement point” accumulation by colleges over the period 2007 to 2011. The qualitative component was based on a synthesis of approximately 250 interviews with faculty, staff, and administrators at 20 of Washington State’s 34 community and technical colleges that took place in spring 2012. Key broad findings include: • The SAI is viewed as one force among others pushing the colleges to improve student success. The funding is not a significant factor motivating the colleges, largely because the amount (less than one percent of the system’s total operating budget) is too small to have much impact. • On average, the colleges increased their point total by 31 percent between 2007 and 2011, with the relative positions of the colleges remaining stable. Although there was evidence of some gains in momentum (i.e., forward progress) for students who were already accumulating credits and making progress, overall student momentum does not seem to have changed much during the period in which the SAI has been in effect, even as aggregate achievement points have increased. • While larger colleges earn more awards than smaller colleges, there is little evidence that colleges serving more at-risk, low-income students are penalized by the SAI awards method. Consistent with the SAI’s goals, the basic skills metric appears to have encouraged enrollment from traditionally underserved groups. • The intermediate milestone framework is viewed as a helpful way to focus collective efforts on student progression and publicly account for college performance. In order to understand the impact of strategies for improving student outcomes, however, colleges have found they need to use longitudinal cohort data in conjunction with the cross-sectional SAI metrics. The funding mechanism has proved problematic and unpopular, as SAI funding has come from reallocated base funds rather than as additional funds as originally intended.