Redesigning America’s Community Colleges

Redesigning America’s Community Colleges
Author: Thomas R. Bailey
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2015-04-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0674368282

In the United States, 1,200 community colleges enroll over ten million students each year—nearly half of the nation’s undergraduates. Yet fewer than 40 percent of entrants complete an undergraduate degree within six years. This fact has put pressure on community colleges to improve academic outcomes for their students. Redesigning America’s Community Colleges is a concise, evidence-based guide for educational leaders whose institutions typically receive short shrift in academic and policy discussions. It makes a compelling case that two-year colleges can substantially increase their rates of student success, if they are willing to rethink the ways in which they organize programs of study, support services, and instruction. Community colleges were originally designed to expand college enrollments at low cost, not to maximize completion of high-quality programs of study. The result was a cafeteria-style model in which students pick courses from a bewildering array of choices, with little guidance. The authors urge administrators and faculty to reject this traditional model in favor of “guided pathways”—clearer, more educationally coherent programs of study that simplify students’ choices without limiting their options and that enable them to complete credentials and advance to further education and the labor market more quickly and at less cost. Distilling a wealth of data amassed from the Community College Research Center (Teachers College, Columbia University), Redesigning America’s Community Colleges offers a fundamental redesign of the way two-year colleges operate, stressing the integration of services and instruction into more clearly structured programs of study that support every student’s goals.

Enhancing Community Colleges Through Professional Development

Enhancing Community Colleges Through Professional Development
Author: Gordon E. Watts
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2002
Genre: Education
ISBN:

Community college professional development programs can be dynamic forces in helping community colleges address significant issues, create solutions for change, and create opportunities for renewal. This issue examines the challenges and rewards of creating an effective professional development program. Editor Gordon E. Watts, professor of higher education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, brings together the research and findings of scholars in the fields of higher education and economics as well as the perspectives of professionals in staff and organizational development at community colleges and community based organizations. Beginning with an overview of the ongoing need for professional development in the community college, its current status, its struggles to become institutionalized as a function in the community college, the issue offers a much needed perspective on professional development's expanding role and that challenges that it continues to face. Chapter authors illustrate how their institutions have addressed issues through professional development, created institutional change, developed new delivery systems for professional development, reached beyond development just for faculty, and found new uses for traditional development activities. Faculty development programs examined include orientation programs for new faculty members and programs that address the specific needs of part-time faculty. An analysis of an innovative online faculty development delivery system for both new and part-time faculty is presented along with positive outcomes of the program's implementation at two separate institutions. Another chapter explores the emergence of teaching and learning centers as catalysts for effective faculty development and institutional change. Addressing campus development needs beyond faculty, other chapters examine staff development programs that include administration and classified staff as well as comprehensive programs that address professional development across the campus. The highly successful "great teacher" model for faculty development is revisited with descriptions of how the Great Teachers Seminars model can be taken a step further and successfully applied to classified, administration, and organizational development initiatives. As senior staff and faculty move toward retirement in greater numbers, potential shortages in leadership create the need for effective professional development at leadership levels. Evolution of the Presidents Academy, an innovative professional development program for newly appointed presidents, is examined in detail. Also explored is the need and importance of a renewed focus on leadership development overall and how leadership development strategies can be strengthened to ensure a continuous supply of well-trained community college leaders.

Reinvention

Reinvention
Author: Cheryl L. Hyman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781682531921

Reinvention chronicles an unprecedentedly comprehensive approach to community college reform and the leadership challenges encountered along the way. As chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago, Cheryl L. Hyman implemented an ambitious program of systemwide reform called Reinvention. The program's impressive achievements included doubled graduation rates, improved transfer rates, and streamlined connections between college and careers. Informed by leading research on effective community college programs, Reinvention emphasized a shift in focus from access to outcomes, putting the priority on student success. Hyman offers a wake-up call for community college leaders and those concerned with student success, arguing that a significant cultural and operational shift will be required for community colleges to fulfill this mission. The story of Reinvention--its failures as well as its nascent successes--offers an inspiration and a roadmap for those seeking to make change in higher education. "Hyman's fascinating book forces us to contemplate the possible speed of college change. What emerges are valuable lessons, deeply rooted in the author's fierce determination to promote social mobility. It's a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the essential relationships among college leadership, campus culture, and the critical goal of dramatically improving community college student success." --Joshua Wyner, founder and executive director, Aspen Institute College Excellence Program "Cheryl Hyman took the job of chancellor of Chicago City Colleges with a deep idealistic commitment to serving the low-income students striving to improve their lives. This book describes her vision, efforts, and the ways she transformed the system. Her efforts are inspiring and instructive to all who want to improve educational opportunity in the United States." --James Rosenbaum, professor of sociology, education and social policy, Northwestern University Cheryl L. Hyman is the former chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago. Davis Jenkins is a senior research scholar at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Introduction to Russian Federation

Introduction to Russian Federation
Author: Gilad James, PhD
Publisher: Gilad James Mystery School
Total Pages: 77
Release:
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1475811039

The Russian Federation, commonly known as Russia, is the largest country in the world in terms of land area. It is located in northern Eurasia, spanning across two continents, Asia and Europe. The country is bordered by Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, and Ukraine. The capital of Russia is Moscow, and the official language is Russian. The country has a population of over 145 million people, and its economy is the 11th largest in the world. Russia is a federal semi-presidential republic, with a constitution that was adopted in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then, Russia has undergone significant political, social, and economic changes. In 2000, Vladimir Putin became the president of Russia and has remained in power for over two decades. The current president, as of 2021, is Dmitry Medvedev. Russia is known for its rich history, unique culture, and natural resources, including oil, gas, and minerals. However, the country has also faced international criticism for issues related to human rights, corruption, and political repression.

The American Community College

The American Community College
Author: Arthur M. Cohen
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 496
Release: 1989-09-25
Genre: Education
ISBN:

This monograph provides a comprehensive overview of community college education in the United States, emphasizing trends affecting two-year colleges within the past decade. Chapter 1 identifies the social forces that contributed to the development and expansion of community colleges and the continuing changes in institutional purposes. Chapter 2 examines the shifting patterns of student characteristics and goals, the reasons for the predominance of part-time attendance, participation and achievement among minority students, attrition issues, and recent moves toward student assessment. Chapter 3 draws on national data to illustrate the differences between full- and part-time faculty and discusses issues related to tenure, salary, workload, faculty evaluation, moonlighting, burnout, and job satisfaction. Chapter 4 reviews the changes that have taken place in college management as a result of changes in institutional size, the advent of collective bargaining, reductions in available funds, and changes in governance and control. Chapter 5 describes various funding patterns and their relationship to organizational shifts. Chapter 6 discusses the rise of learning resource centers and the maintenance of stability in instructional forms in spite of the introduction of a host of reproducible instructional media. Chapter 7 considers student personnel functions, including counseling, guidance, recruitment, retention, orientation, and extracurricular activities. Chapter 8 traces the rise of occupational education, as it has moved from a peripheral to a central position in the curriculum. Chapter 9 focuses on remedial and developmental programs and addresses the controversies surrounding student assessment and placement. Chapter 10 deals with adult and continuing education, lifelong learning, and community services. Chapters 11 and 12 examine curricular trends in the liberal arts and general education, highlighting problems and proposing solutions. Chapter 13 addresses the philosophical and practical questions that have been raised about the transfer function and the community college's role in enhancing student progress toward higher degrees. Finally, chapter 14 offers projections based on current trends in student and faculty demographics, college organization, curriculum, instruction, and student services. (JMC)

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 587
Release: 2015-07-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309324882

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Enhancing Performance

Enhancing Performance
Author: Sandra J. Balkema
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2021-06-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475858345

Enhancing Performance: A Best Practices Guide for Innovations in Community Colleges is a collection of essays from community college leaders across the country addressing challenges facing today’s community colleges and providing practical, successful solutions their institutions have implemented. Some of the essays address foundational issues, including the role of innovation, strategic enrollment management, and campus safety strategies on the future of community colleges. In the essays, leaders suggest ways campuses can create opportunities for intentional student-faculty connections, provide revitalized advising services, and support the needs of marginalized student populations. The essays also address the role of community colleges in promoting civic engagement, responding to community crises, and addressing critical need. Each essay challenges us to delve deeper into the issues and find workable solutions. The essay authors are community college leaders who are alumni, faculty, or advisory board members in the doctoral program in Community College Leadership (DCCL Program) at Ferris State University (Michigan).

Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation in the 21st Century

Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation in the 21st Century
Author: Dimitra Smith
Publisher: Information Science Reference
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2020-09
Genre: Career education
ISBN: 9781799841234

"This book covers the essential role of community colleges in developing a skilled workforce via varying educational opportunities that include, degree completion, workforce development, and skill enhancement"--

Community College Faculty

Community College Faculty
Author: J. Levin
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2006-01-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1403984646

John S. Levin, Susan T. Kater, and Richard L. Wagoner collectively argue that as community colleges organize themselves to respond to economic needs and employer demands, and as they rely more heavily upon workplace efficiencies such as part-time labor, they turn themselves into businesses or corporations and threaten their social and educational mission.

Experiences and Research on Enhanced Professional Development Through Faculty Learning Communities

Experiences and Research on Enhanced Professional Development Through Faculty Learning Communities
Author: Blankenship, Rebecca J.
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2022-06-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1668453339

Faculty learning communities are a fairly new ideology that is gaining traction among educators and institutions. These communities have numerous benefits on professional development such as enhancing educator preparedness and learning. The possibilities of these communities are endless; however, further study is required to understand how these learning communities work and the best practices and challenges they face. Experiences and Research on Enhanced Professional Development Through Faculty Learning Communities shares the experiences and research related to the enhanced professional development received by university faculty and staff participating in a series of collaborative faculty learning communities. The book, using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies, considers educator experiences as participants in the faculty learning communities, what they learned, and how they applied and implemented best practices in their courses. Covering topics such as curricula, course design, and rubrics, this reference book is ideal for administrators, higher education professionals, program developers, program directors, researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.