Full Description
For more than thirty years, The American Community College has been the go-to reference for faculty, administrators, trustees, state-level officials, and researchers concerned with the role of community colleges in the American educational system, the services they provide, and their effects on students and surrounding communities.
Now in its sixth edition, The American Community College includes a new chapter on student outcomes and accountability; a case for reconceptualizing general education around critical thinking, civic engagement, and sustainable development; and an appendix examining the ascendant for-profit sector. The sixth edition also incorporates expanded analyses of recent trends within the community colleges, including vertical expansion; cross-sector collaboration; student and faculty characteristics; enrollment patterns; revenue generation and state allocation patterns, including performance-based funding; distance learning; and statewide efforts to improve transfer and articulation. In addition, the authors include a response to contemporary criticisms of the institution.
Comprehensive in scope, the sixth edition of The American Community College is designed for anyone concerned with the role and purpose of community institutions in American higher education. The descriptions and analyses of each of the institution's functions can be used by administrators who want to learn about practices that have proven successful at other colleges, curriculum planners involved in program revisions, faculty members seeking ideas for modifying their courses, students preparing for careers in community colleges, and trustees and officials concerned with college policies and student progress and outcomes. Each chapter of the book includes guiding questions for reflection and discussion.
Contents
Preface v
The Authors xv
1. Background: Evolving Priorities and Expectations of the Community College 1
2. Students: Diverse Backgrounds and Purposes 45
3. Faculty: Building a Professional Identity 79
4. Organization, Governance, and Administration: Managing the Contemporary College 109
5. Finances: Generating, Sustaining, and Allocating Resources 151
6. Instruction: Methods, Media, and Effects 177
7. Student Services: Supporting Educational Objectives 209
8. Developmental Education: Enhancing Literacy and Basic Skills 235
9. Liberal Arts and Transfer Education: Preparation for the University 265
10. Integrative Education: Modifying General Education 289
11. Occupational Education: Growth and Change in Workforce Preparation 303
12. Community Education: Extending College Services and Training 333
13. Scholarship and Commentary: Perspectives of the Community College 359
14. Student Progress and Outcomes: A New Age of Accountability 391
15. Toward the Future: Trends, Challenges, and Obligations 435
Appendix: For-Profit Institutions 471
References 487
Name Index 541
Subject Index 549
