Re-visioning Community Colleges

Debbie L. Sydow is the president of Richard Bland College.Richard Alfred is professor emeritus of higher education in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan.

Sydow (president, Richard Bland Coll.) and Alfred (education, emeritus, Univ. of Michigan) analyze the role of community colleges in higher education. Their rapid growth in the 20th century improved access to higher learning. In the 21st century, access is no longer sufficient; completion and accountability are needed. Reduced resources have forced community colleges to restructure through a lens of growth and reduction, abundance and scarcity, continuity and change, access and success. Here the authors present models of restructuring that have been successful; for instance, one case study shows a community college using 'reaccreditation as a catalyst for systematically reinventing itself'— a part of the college’s strategic plan to improve management and the institution as a whole, including its enrollment, use of physical space, budget development, and programming. Most valuable are the sections with concrete illustrations of innovations at community colleges around the country and reports from foundations and education associations calling for specific changes. The authors address the challenges facing community colleges through a combination of theory and case studies, historical perspective, an explanation of institutional stagnation, and potential paths to revival. VERDICT This title is best suited for the professional educator.

• ForewordAcknowledgmentsChaptersPrologue: On the Threshold of RestructuringBreaking Barriers, Boundaries and BeliefsParadox of the PresentOrganizing for InnovationShape of the FutureEpilogue: Perspective and a Change in FocusAbout the Authors