**The 21st-Century Community College:**

**A Strategic Guide to Maximizing Labor Market Responsiveness**

**Volume 2**

**Promising Practices and Lessons from the Field**

**September 2004**

Keith MacAllum

Karla Yoder

with

Anne Rogers Poliakoff

Academy for Educational Development

Prepared for the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), U.S.
Department of Education, by the Academy for Educational Development
(AED), Washington, D.C., and Westat, Rockville, Md.

This publication was produced under U.S. Department of Education
Contract No. MOBIS 6S-23-F-814414 from the Office of Vocational and
Adult Education (OVAE) to Westat and the Academy for Educational
Development (AED). Direction was provided by Burt Carlson, Acting Chief,
OVAE, Effective Practices Branch. Andrew Abrams served as the
contracting officer's technical representative (COR). The views
expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies
of the Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S.
Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or
enterprise mentioned in this publication is intended or should be
inferred.

**U.S. Department of Education**\
Rod Paige\
*Secretary*

**Office of Vocational and Adult Education**

Susan Sclafani

*Assistant Secretary*

September 2004

This publication is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it
in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this
publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, *The 21st-Century
Community College: A Strategic Guide to Maximizing Labor Market
Responsiveness, Volume 2 -- Promising Practices and Lessons From the
Field*, Washington, D.C., 2004.

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This publication is also available on the Department's Web site at:
www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae

**Volume 2**

**Promising Practices and Lessons From the Field**

**[Contents]{.smallcaps}**

Preface and How to Use This Guide 1

Leadership and Governance 4

Organizational Structure and Staffing 13

Organizational Culture 23

Resources and Funding 30

Data and Information 41

Relationship-Building 50

Partnerships 60

Concluding Remarks and Next Steps 70

Appendix: Profiles of the Participating Colleges 71

**List of Sample Resources and Practical Advice**

Resource: The Workforce Development Institute 12

Practical Advice: Steps to Becoming an Entrepreneurial College 22

Resource: The Workforce Initiative 29

Practical Advice: Economic Development Strategies 40

Resource: Responding to Changing Labor Market Conditions Through
Technology 49

Practical Advice: Approaches to Labor Market Responsiveness 59

**[Preface: The Community College Labor Market Responsiveness
Initiative]{.smallcaps}**

The Community College Labor Market Responsiveness (CCLMR) Initiative was
created to develop and disseminate information and tools enabling
community colleges, as a unique and critical component of America's
education and training system, to keep pace with the needs of a diverse
student body and a dynamic labor market. The U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) undertook
this initiative in the fall of 2002.

The main goals of the initiative are: 1) determine the characteristics
of a "market responsive" community college and identify the indicators
and measures by which market responsiveness can be judged; 2) identify
the policies and practices community colleges have put in place to
facilitate and support labor market responsiveness; 3) pinpoint the
steps colleges can take to improve labor market responsiveness and the
quality of customized programs they offer to students; and 4)
disseminate that knowledge to the field.

The conclusions presented by Westat and AED in this guidebook rely
heavily upon case study analysis of more than 30 colleges in 10 diverse
labor markets, especially hundreds of interviews and discussions
conducted with college leaders, employers, and economic development
professionals. To augment the case studies, we collected standardized
data across all colleges using surveys and document review, conducted
statistical analyses, reviewed the relevant literature, and consulted
with experts.

In addition to this guidebook, other useful products listed below have
emerged from the research component of this initiative. These are
available at [http://www.nccte.org/ and
at](http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/cclmr.html)
[http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/](http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/factsh/cclmr.doc).

-   *Documented Characteristics of Labor-Market-Responsive Community
    Colleges and a Review of Supporting Literature* (Westat and AED,
    2003)

-   *Research Appendices to [The 21^st^ Century Community
    College]{.underline}* (Westat, forthcoming)

**[How to Use This Guide]{.smallcaps}**

Volume 1 of this guidebook provides an overview of labor market
responsiveness and establishes common ground from which you, the
community college leadership, can address this important issue. We
encourage you and those at your college engaged in promoting labor
market responsiveness to read it through to better inform yourselves and
motivate others.

***Volume 2*** is the heart of the guidebook. Drawing from in-depth case
studies of more than 30 colleges, it presents a roadmap for action. Each
of Volume 2's seven modules explores a different facet of the community
college that contributes to labor market responsiveness. These facets,
which range from leadership and structure to resources and partnerships,
represent various aspects of an organic whole. As such they are not
mutually exclusive, but rather mutually reinforcing, and the user will
find considerable cross-referencing among the modules as the connections
and interrelationships are discussed.

While it is possible to read this volume in its entirety, the seven
modules are in fact designed to be used independently of one another and
referenced time and again as each college president and his or her team
progresses through processes of self-reflection and strategic planning.
Like a travel guide, this volume points out numerous paths leading to
the goal of labor market responsiveness. The starting point will depend
upon local conditions, immediate needs, and existing opportunities.

Although some community colleges may benefit from the lessons learned in
each module, most will likely discover that there are two or three
dimensions that need special attention. By using the self-assessment
tools in Volume 3, the college leaders and their teams will be able to
better determine which of the critical dimensions presented here need to
be prioritized for action.

In each module, broad findings and cross-cutting themes are explained in
great detail and specific examples from colleges are presented. Each
module closes with a brief summary of lessons learned. Questions are
embedded throughout the modules to provoke thoughtful reflection and
focus attention on practical action regarding current structures,
policies, procedures, and programs at each college. The outcomes of
discussions among the college president and his or her colleagues will
inform the college's strategic planning process.

The information and strategies appearing in the seven modules emerged
from our extensive study of over 30 community colleges. To promote
additional thinking, we have interspersed between these modules detailed
information on especially relevant resources and practical advice culled
from other sources. These supplementary materials point to opportunities
and strategies that have general applicability to labor market
responsiveness rather than applicability to any specific dimension of
it. **However, these are just examples, not an exhaustive list; there
are other materials that may be useful, including materials that are
still in the production stage, and we encourage each reader to seek them
out as they become available.**

**Practical Examples and Resources**

During the course of our study of community colleges across the nation,
we endeavored to identify practices that highlight the range and
creativity of their efforts. This guidebook showcases some of the most
innovative and promising of these practices. Many represent common
strategies that most colleges employ; others are unique. Some would
require major investments, while others could easily be emulated with
only minor reallocation of resources.

Because these illustrations are drawn from a wide cross-section of
community colleges, regardless of your college's location, student
demographics, or local economic conditions, you will find examples
applicable to its circumstances. In many cases, a community college
could adopt these strategies with only modest modifications to match its
circumstances.

A brief profile of each college participating in this project is
presented in the appendix to this volume. There you will be able to
quickly determine how your college compares to those sharing promising
practices here. We have also provided the main telephone number should
you wish to contact the college directly for additional information. For
additional information on colleges of particular interest, see *Research
Appendices to The 21st-Century Community College* forthcoming at
[http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/](http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/cclmr.html)

**[Seven Key Modules of This Guide]{.smallcaps}**

It is no coincidence that our in-depth exploration of the dimensions
associated with market responsiveness begins with leadership. Leadership
is critical to all aspects of a college's success, but to none more than
to shaping the very essence of the college's underlying mission and
creating a shared understanding of what it means to be
labor-market-responsive. Following this module and stemming directly
from leadership are discussions of the responsive college's internal
structure and culture. Acquiring resources and gathering data in order
to develop effective programs follow. The final two modules focus on the
interface between the college and its community: building relationships
and implementing partnerships.

Although these discussions are overlapping and mutually reinforcing, we
examine each dimension in turn. Each module presents information, guides
self-reflection, and offers practical examples for action. Taken
together, we hope these modules provide the key ingredients necessary
for community colleges to maximize their potential as
labor-market-responsive colleges.

[T]{.smallcaps}hroughout this guide we refer to "labor-market-responsive
colleges" or "responsive community colleges." All of the colleges
mentioned in this guide employ noteworthy and promising practices and
strategies, and these are highlighted throughout. Many of these
approaches are employed at multiple colleges. Others are unique, created
from local circumstances and inspiration. However, none of the colleges
visited incorporated all of these approaches simultaneously and not all
colleges portrayed uniform depth and complexity of implementation. When
we refer to "the labor-market-responsive college" in this guide, we are
describing an ideal toward which colleges can aspire rather than any
actual institution. The colleges cited in this guide point the way.

**[Leadership and Governance]{.smallcaps}**

The right leadership is essential to a labor-market-responsive community
college. Both research and common knowledge suggest this to be the case.
The case studies conducted for the development of this guide elevated
the importance of leadership. It is perhaps the key feature internal to
a college that improves its potential to meet and anticipate local
labor-market needs. The most responsive and effective colleges have
become so through their leadership. A senior administrator at Anne
Arundel Community College in Maryland noted that the leading "colleges
that come to mind in workforce development are who they are because of
the commitment of their CEO." The influence of leadership permeates
every aspect of the responsive community college and its efforts.

Entire books have been written about the complex and multifaceted
subject of leadership. This module limits its discussion to general
findings and guidance concerning effective leadership of the
market-responsive college. We highlight six particularly relevant
aspects of leadership: the locus of leadership; the priority placed on
the mission; a vision that extends beyond the traditional service area;
knowledge of economic and market trends; effectiveness in public
relations and resource acquisition; and such personal qualities as
entrepreneurship.

**Leadership Cannot Reside in One Person**

Although the president is the college's primary leader, he or she cannot
lead in isolation. Leadership that nurtures labor market responsiveness
also resides with the board of trustees. We observed that responsive
colleges had boards that were active in setting priorities and an
overarching mission that focuses the college on its local labor market,
and kept the college committed to the policy and program directions that
stem from that mission. Boards may even play a role in allocating
resources to workforce development. At Valencia Community College in
Florida, the board earmarks \$300,000 a year as start-up capital for
training for businesses that are relocating to Orlando, as part of an
initiative with the local economic development commission.

An important governing role of a college board includes the selection of
a new president. An abiding interest by the board in workforce
development will influence their search for a new CEO, since they will
choose a candidate who shares that commitment and passion. Additionally,
the president must have the full support of the college governing body
in leading the institution towards market responsiveness. Achieving
agreement on values and priorities related to labor market
responsiveness is an essential first step.

Although leadership starts at the top, it must also be diffused
throughout the organization. Senior administrators who participate in
decision-making and program management play important roles as part of
the leadership team at the effective colleges we visited. At some
colleges, faculty members as well as administrators were expected to
assume leadership roles and empowered to take initiative. Vernon
Crawley, the president of Moraine Valley Community College in the
Chicago area, expects staff to be risk-takers, self-starters, and able
to set a vision. Faculty and staff at that college have spoken up upon
seeing an opportunity or the solution to a challenge, or otherwise
seized the moment for action. Moraine Valley's training partnership with
Cisco Systems, in which the college functions nationally as a Cisco
Academy Training Center, is cited as an example of faculty leadership,
both in its initiation and its subsequent expansion. To sustain
institutional engagement in labor market responsiveness over the long
haul, colleges must place a consistent emphasis on leadership
development for administrators, board members, and faculty.

**Making Labor Market Responsiveness a Priority**

Exceptional leadership begins with recognizing the value of labor market
responsiveness. Before leaders can develop a strategic plan to achieve
labor market responsiveness, they must understand the role that the
community college can play in the local economy. Knowledge of the
national labor market enables leadership to envision how the college
could address those needs as well. This awareness translates into
commitment from the top of the organization to making labor market
responsiveness a college priority and to embracing that commitment
publicly. As personnel at Moraine Valley Community College observed,
success in responding to the labor market "starts with a leadership
commitment to making it happen." And they praise their board for its
"social conscience at the leadership level."

\[begin text quote\]

**What priority do you place on the mission of meeting local workforce
and economic development needs?**

\[end text quote\]

**The Importance of Mission and Vision**

\[begin separate text area\]

**Market Responsiveness Reflected in Mission Statements**

***Indian River Community College** (Florida)*: "In partnerships with
business, industry, educational institutions and the community, the
college is a leader in economic and workforce development and a center
for professional, personal, and cultural enrichment." *Indian River
Community College Web site:
www.ircc.cc.fl.us/atircc/welcome/missionstmt.html*

***Mountain Empire Community College** (Virginia)*: "MECC functions
within the educational community to assure that all individuals in its
service area are given a continuing opportunity for the development and
extension of their skills and knowledge through quality programs and
services that are financially and geographically accessible. MECC
provides leadership in determining and addressing both the needs of
individuals and the economic needs of the College\'s service area."
*Mountain Empire Community College Web site:
www.me.vccs.edu/mission.htm*

***Springfield Technical Community College** (Massachusetts)*: "STCC has
a strong and recognized commitment to the economic development of the
Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts, and the nation." *Springfield Technical
Community College Handbook, available online at:
[www.stcc.edu/services/handbook/stateanddisc.html](http://www.stcc.edu/services/handbook/stateanddisc.html)*

*\[end separate text area\]*

\[begin summary question\]

**To what extent is your college's commitment to labor market
responsiveness reflected in the mission statement and strategic plan?**

\[end question\]

All community college leaders have a vision for the future of their
institutions. For a growing number, this includes envisioning a more
significant role for their colleges in meeting labor market needs in
their communities and beyond. A vision encompassing labor market
responsiveness that has been internalized by college leadership and
staff will lead to numerous workforce and economic development
initiatives.

Leaders at labor-market-responsive colleges convey their commitment to
and vision of meeting local labor market needs publicly and widely
through the college's mission and strategic plan. Written goals
encourage action. Labor-market-responsive colleges have adopted a
mission statement that establishes workforce or economic development as
an institutional commitment. College personnel consistently refer to
these statements and plans when speaking of institutional activities and
direction on their campuses. Though most community colleges have long
been involved in market-responsive activities, the need to formalize
these commitments in official ways became clear from the colleges
studied. It was evident that the most effective colleges had honed their
written goals for some time, while others were infusing new impetus or a
more holistic approach to their activities by redrafting mission
statements or adding a new focus to strategic plans. In addition to
overarching goals, the strategic plans of responsive colleges
specifically target local labor market needs and spell out the college's
plan for fulfilling its local economic development role. As the boxed
examples demonstrate, written statements showcase a college's
willingness, and that of its leadership, to commit resources to
developing the workforce. These documents directly influence the culture
on campus, dictate its structure, and determine actions to be taken.

\[begin example of goals in mission statement\]

#### Strategic Planning for Economic Development

One initiative in the **Gaston College** (North Carolina) five-year
strategic plan is providing proactive leadership in economic
development. The five goals under this initiative clearly articulate the
mission and vision of its leadership:

-   Strengthen regional partnerships with business/industry, community
    agencies, and other educational institutions to enhance economic
    development;

-   Increase involvement of business/industry employers and economic
    development organizations in educational programs and course
    development;

-   Develop programs and services that fit the needs and requirements of
    external funding groups to better serve special populations such as
    displaced workers;

-   Provide opportunities for a renewed sense of entrepreneurship in the
    business community; and

-   Continually implement new curricula that respond to the emerging
    needs of the community.

*Vision for the Future: Gaston College Strategic Plan 2003-2008*

\[end example\]

The processes of establishing these statements, college representatives
confirm, are themselves key to securing the commitment of leadership and
staff to labor market responsiveness. When labor market responsiveness
is on the table during the information-gathering, self-evaluation, and
goal-setting processes that underlie mission-building and strategic
planning, it is more likely to take root in an organization as an idea
and a purpose. Not only is there opportunity to define the concept and
explore its implications for the campus, but staff members also have the
opportunity to air their concerns and even fears. Widespread campus
commitment to the new purpose is more likely to result from a process
that allows staff members to voice their apprehension about the
ramifications of what is a profound cultural shift from the academic
purposes of a traditional community college.

In addition, the leadership of community colleges that meet local labor
market needs maintains a broad outlook on economic and workforce trends.
It is a truism that we operate today in a global economy. Colleges fail
to prepare workers adequately if they attempt to define local employment
needs in isolation from other labor markets. Regional, national, and
global economies profoundly influence local labor markets. Understanding
these broader trends enables one to anticipate local shifts. Although
most college mission statements do not set forth a regional or national
agenda, it is evident from conversations on campus that the leadership
of many community colleges looks far beyond the local horizon of the
college district or traditional community.

\[begin example of broad focus\]

**Regional and National Vision**

Tony Zeiss, the president of **Central Piedmont Community College**
(CPCC) in North Carolina led the formation of the Charlotte Region
Workforce Development Partnership, which involves 10 community colleges
operating in 16 counties, the local school district and university,
chambers of commerce, economic development groups, and business. He
notes that recruiting new industry benefits the region, not just the
county where a particular business relocates. Reflecting on the
nationwide retirement of baby boomers, the president is thinking about
sources for replacement workers. If the labor pool increases through
immigration, the college could offer more ESL. The college could also
train seniors and functionally illiterate individuals, especially if
national security concerns restrict immigration. CPCC has rallied Rotary
clubs and volunteers to run literacy courses and works with a local
senior center to reach older workers.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Does your outlook extend beyond your college's traditional service
area?**

\[end question\]

As Dennis Merrell, the president of York Technical College in South
Carolina noted, with regard to economic and workforce trends, "If a
community college is only looking at their service area, they've got to
get their heads out of the sand. We're looking at the thing right in
front of us, but we miss the tsunami." Numerous college personnel
emphasized the importance of not limiting the vision to regional
concerns, but going national. Responsive colleges told us that national
visibility and connections help them in many ways --- from the political
to the strategic and financial. Colleges depend upon their leaders to
articulate this broad perspective and communicate its importance to
faculty and staff.

**The Public Relations Role of Leaders**

Presidents are regularly viewed as the face of the community college.
Through observing and listening to the president, community members
learn about the interests and activities of the institution. Enhancing
public respect for the college and recognition of its contributions
helps ensure that it is regarded as a key partner in local economic
development. Presidents share this public relations role with their
board members. These leaders educate opinion leaders and power brokers
about the institution, both to familiarize them with the college and to
secure new partnerships and resources. College leaders network with
leaders from other arenas --- corporate, political, government, even
sports and media --- to make connections that will further the college's
mission. They find ways, on campus and off, to showcase the college's
mission and accomplishments and reward friends of the institution. In
addition, effective presidents forge connections with the leaders of
other community colleges and create networks of education and training
providers.

\[begin question\]

**Do you capitalize on opportunities to lead by example in community
involvement? Are you outspoken in your public commitment to market
responsive goals?**

\[end question\]

"Cheerleader" is a term often used to describe the presidential role.
The community relations role of dynamic senior administrators and
program managers of continuing education and training divisions was
clearly important at the colleges we visited. However, in the most
responsive colleges, presidents and board members take on the majority
of high-level networking roles. The involvement of these leaders appears
particularly significant in securing large grants or the substantial
resources needed to begin a new program. Presidents occasionally act as
the key contact with important partners, in order to demonstrate to both
sides of the partnership the commitment that the college is making to
labor market responsiveness. Because one person can develop and maintain
only so many strong partnerships, the community college leader needs to
select strategically among relationships and events in which to take
part and delegate this responsibility to other college officials.

\[begin example of president as cheerleader\]

**President as Public Relations Vehicle**

"I am the cheerleader," said Zerrie D. Campbell, the president of
**Malcolm X College** in Chicago, "the major public relations vehicle."
She is not only visible in the local community and energetic in
encouraging its residents, but is also energetic and effective in
bringing powerful players to the campus. The president holds a gala in
the atrium of the main campus building each February, primarily for
corporate leaders. Her breakfast for legislators brings city and state
politicians to campus, "to see what we've accomplished and what we
need." The Jazz Café, also held in the atrium, is free to the community
but strategically draws people from business and industry. She ensures
that graduations are opportunities for awards to powerful friends of the
campus "to showcase those who've been responsive to us." All of these
campus events become opportunities to showcase the mission and
accomplishments of Malcolm X College.

\[end example\]

**Well-Informed Leaders Are Anticipatory**

Good leaders are well informed on the issues. Labor-market-responsive
presidents actively seek out information and data on the overall
economic picture. The leaders of responsive colleges understand the
evolving needs of local employers and familiarize themselves with local,
regional, and national labor market trends. This investment of time is
well spent, for such information forms the building blocks of plans to
anticipate and meet coming needs. Given the importance of this
information, the president and senior officers must drive the
institution's research agenda to ensure effective decision-making.
Information-gathering positions the college as anticipatory, looking
ahead and planning for the future.

Presidents and administrators at responsive colleges referred to
articles, reports, and data as a matter of course when discussing
national employment trends or the local industry shifts. Their sources
were many and varied. Examples of national information-gathering include
the high-growth industry profiles distributed by the Employment and
Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor and an article
on the coming job boom in *Business 2.0*. Constance Carroll, the
president of San Diego District's Mesa College, foresaw a training need
in chemtech, and subsequently developed a program to meet it, having
read in the newspaper about the large number of pharmaceutical companies
moving into San Diego.

\[begin example of anticipating market change\]

**Anticipating the Economic Future**

In the 1980s, **York Technical College** (South Carolina) became
involved in the maintenance of electric vehicles. College leaders,
familiar with national research, knew that many of these cars were being
built but that no one was anticipating the need for maintenance. As a
result, York Tech became a charter member of the National Alternative
Fuel Training Program Consortium and developed a training program
adopted nationwide for electrical vehicle maintenance. The first program
led to a focus on natural gas vehicles in the early 1990s, then fuel
cell vehicles, and now hybrids. Alternative energy is important to the
local community because auto pollution has caused air- and water-quality
problems that could hinder local economic growth. York Tech is now
moving into the field of energy efficiency and alternative energy for
the home. The college plans to educate the public and begin to train
plumbers and electricians in the new systems, rather than wait to be
asked to do so. "Part of our role is proactive, staring out towards
where the end of the headlights reach," says president Dennis Merrill.
"This is going to have an impact on our community. Are there things we
could start doing now to prepare for that?"

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Do you seek out reports or data to familiarize yourself with local,
regional, and national economic trends?**

\[end question\]

Economic information can be gathered from experts as well. To anticipate
how national economic trends might impact local workforce development
needs, and to prepare the community college to train that workforce,
Anthony Zeiss, the president of Central Piedmont Community College in
North Carolina, invited representatives from the U.S. Departments of
Education and Labor, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the American
Association of Community Colleges to a workforce summit in Charlotte
with local economic development officials, businesses, and community
colleges. As convener of the summit, the community college enhanced its
reputation as an institution capable of anticipating the opportunities
in and challenges facing its community.

In addition, leaders must keep current with the practices of other
community colleges that succeed in responding to their local markets,
analyze their applicability to the local environment, and implement
appropriate programs and strategies. Senior personnel at Gaston College
near Charlotte, N.C., reported that the president frequently asks them
what other colleges in the state are doing and intentionally uses those
colleges as benchmarks for measuring progress and assessing
possibilities.

Leaders gather important information and share it with the campus.
College personnel frequently report how much they gain from and
appreciate their leaders' participation in economic development meetings
and in relationships with powerful figures and key partners. Thanks to
the college leadership, faculty and staff become aware of new industry
prospects for recruitment and employer needs. At Valencia Community
College in Florida, President Sanford Shugart is credited with
pinpointing the fields that would need trained labor over the next three
to 10 years --- nursing and information technology.

In addition to sharing information, top leaders at responsive colleges
effectively communicate to staff and faculty the mandate that they
respect and embrace the workforce-centered mission wholeheartedly. These
messages must be accompanied by changes in college culture and structure
that emphasize the institutional vision. Leaders do not micromanage, but
leave staff with no doubt as to their responsibilities and the high
expectations placed on them.

**The Personal Qualities of a Proactive Leader**

It is often said that leaders are born, not made. Indeed, some innate
personality traits appear typical of the leaders of
labor-market-responsive colleges. Such characteristics include
anticipatory thinking and planning, innovation, and entrepreneurship. At
Dallas County Community College District's Richland College, an
administrator described the president as a risk-taker with "a bungee
cord attached," meaning that he makes difficult decisions with
sufficient information to know that an action will not harm either the
institution or its students. These leaders are also passionate about
workforce development and meeting community needs. Hiring faculty and
staff with similar qualities and attitudes further encourages a campus
culture that supports such "out-of-the-box" approaches. Staff and
faculty at effective colleges noted that they take calculated risks
without fear of failure, because the leaders encourage innovation and
entrepreneurship throughout the institution, and support them with
resources, information, professional development opportunities, and
administrative flexibility.

**Lessons Learned**

-   Leadership is visionary and instills that vision in others, both
    within and beyond the college.

-   Leaders of responsive colleges communicate and take seriously the
    institution's mission and strategic plan.

-   The college president and board of trustees are the most important
    figures in setting the direction for improving labor market
    responsiveness.

-   Leaders of labor-market-responsive institutions make themselves very
    visible in the larger community, where they are recognized as
    community leaders and partners in economic development, as well as
    educational leaders.

-   In most cases, the president and the college's board are the primary
    forces in obtaining the large-scale resources needed to develop
    exemplary programs. Rarely does anyone else at the college have the
    personal prestige and expertise to raise funds and establish
    consortia.

-   Effective leaders are well informed, driving the institution's
    research agenda to inform strategic thinking and planning. Leaders
    function as key conduits for information, enabling their staff to
    anticipate coming changes.

-   The personal characteristics of market responsive college leaders
    mirror those of successful businesspeople---entrepreneurial,
    anticipatory, innovative, and proactive. Leaders seek to develop
    these same characteristics in their boards, administrators, and
    staff.

> \[begin question\]
>
> **To what extent are your leaders characterized by passion,
> entrepreneurship, anticipatory thinking, and innovation?**
>
> \[end question\]

**RESOURCE: The Workforce Development Institute**

Community colleges face the daunting challenge of educating more
students with fewer resources. A demand-driven economy is changing the
world of our students as well as our communities. The annual Workforce
Development Institute (WDI) conference, sponsored by The American
Association of Community Colleges, is intended to better equip
professionals from community colleges and other organizations to advance
workforce training. The institute offers outstanding learning and
networking opportunities, bringing together experts from business,
education, and government to discuss innovative workforce training
techniques and applications.

The 2004 institute was arranged around four themes: customer service,
partnerships, national initiatives, and professional development. The
program focused on practical applications for improving community
college workforce services. Sessions allowed participants to interact
with presenters and each other.

WDI is the focal point of a grant funded by the U.S. Department of
Labor's Employment and Training Administration.  Designed as a
comprehensive program for community college-based workforce service
providers, including faculty and administrators, WDI provides
participants with the resources and training to meet the workforce
development needs of both employers and employees. WDI educates,
invigorates, and motivates those who are new to workforce development as
well as seasoned practitioners.

For additional information concerning past or upcoming WDI conferences,
contact Carolyn Teich at 202-728-0200 x 228 or e-mail
<wdi2004@aacc.nche.edu>/.

**American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)**

One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 410\
Washington, DC 20036\
(phone) 202-728-0200\
(fax) 202-833-2467

<http://www.aacc.nche.edu/>

**[Organizational Structure and Staffing]{.smallcaps}**

As any CEO will tell you, dynamic leadership and vision can take an
institution only as far as its internal structures will allow. College
leaders must identify the ways that the institution's organizational
structure limits its capacity for economic and workforce development and
then remove these organizational barriers to labor market initiatives.
Senior administrators at Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois
view this as a key responsibility: "to keep the streams clear so the
salmon can swim upstream;" that is, to ensure that the institution
places no barriers in the way of staff who take the initiative to make
things happen.

The leaders of labor-market-responsive colleges frequently reconfigure
organizational structures and charts. Because organizational structure
reflects college priorities, it is an important mechanism for conveying
the importance of the mission. Thus organizational structure and
organizational culture, addressed in the module that follows, are
without a doubt closely linked. However, as they can operate
independently and may need to be addressed separately, we have presented
them as two cross-referencing modules.

Although there is no "ideal" structure or organizational chart for the
labor-market-responsive college, leaders who have adopted this mission
re-think the organization of their workforce and economic development
services and, in particular, often-address the stature of noncredit or
continuing education programs and the traditional credit-noncredit
divide. Careful assessment may indicate whether the institution can
allocate resources more efficiently to meet student, community, and
business needs by increasing collaboration and reducing program
duplication.

\[begin example of re-thinking organizational structure\]

**Reconfiguring Organizational Structure**

The organizational structure of the **Moraine Valley Community College**
(Illinois) administration unites all programs directly related to
instruction and learning under the senior vice president for academic
affairs. Seven deans report to the senior vice president, with
responsibility for: career programs; enrichment programs and services;
liberal arts; workforce development and community services; science,
business and computer technologies; academic services; and academic
development and learning resources center. Senior staff members are
unanimous that "in the early stages, workforce development and training
was confined to a unit. As the college matured, it became everyone's
job---part of every administrator's job." The organizational move of
continuing education and workforce development from the division of
student services to the division of academic affairs was crucial to this
evolution. The move demonstrated the evolution of continuing education
from an activity marginal to the college's purpose to "the heart of
things." With all the deans reporting to one administrator, their
discussions tended to converge on a united purpose.

\[end example\]

**The Organizational Chart as Equalizer**

Community colleges traditionally pursue multiple missions that compete
for priority and resources. Historically, the academic and transfer
functions receive the most attention. Workforce development and
continuing education divisions have often had second-class status
compared to the academic and credit divisions. Several college personnel
in career-oriented divisions stated that their units were no longer the
"red-headed stepchild" on campus. As their institutions focused
increasingly on the business community's needs, their status improved.
One way to bring the status of these divisions into parity with the
academic divisions is through the reporting structure or organizational
chart. Some colleges create administrative positions dedicated entirely
to workforce and economic development. Seminole Community College in
Florida added several new deans---for business and technology, career
programs, and economic development---to increase flexibility and
institutional responsiveness to employers.

Responsive colleges ensure that administrators for workforce development
or continuing education have the same standing as those who head
academic divisions, giving them equal access to staff and resources.
Many different structures can accomplish this purpose. Walla Walla
Community College in Washington employs two vice presidents of
instruction, one for the academic side and one for the workforce side.
At Oakton Community College near Chicago, one vice president is
responsible for academic affairs and another for continuing education,
training, and workforce development: both report directly to the
president. At other colleges, a vice president for academic affairs or
instruction oversees the deans of the credit divisions as well as the
continuing education and workforce divisions. Various approaches
succeed; the challenge is to make the divisions equal partners.

Some community colleges elevated the status of their workforce division
and showcased their commitment to business by promoting its head to vice
president. The state of Virginia supported the establishment of deans of
workforce development at all community colleges to coordinate WIA
activities, in part to raise the stature of noncredit programs. The
leadership of Northern Virginia Community College promoted its dean of
workforce development to vice president in order to reflect the
institution's commitment to this goal and to coordinate cross-campus
integration of services. Some campus observers have since noted "a
growing 'oneness' between the credit and noncredit sides. We're all
beginning to see the importance of workforce development."

\[begin question\]

**Does the college's organizational chart reflect the equal importance
of for-credit and noncredit programs?**

\[end question\]

**The Value of Centralizing Market Responsive Services**

Labor-market-responsive activities take place all over the campus,
serving different clients. There is often a center that supports small
business, other offices that provide customized corporate training, and
many continuing education courses scattered across programs. Although
the program divisions house the technical expertise, the skills of
packaging curriculum for business audiences and cultivating
relationships with employer partners may reside elsewhere. A college may
offer similar content in a variety of formats---credit classes,
continuing education courses, and contract training, for example---in
order to meet the needs of different clients, setting the stage for
competition over students and resources.

Several colleges found that consolidating their workforce development
services enabled them to serve needs more efficiently and raise the
visibility of college offerings. Black Hawk Community College in
Illinois merged continuing education and the Business and Industry
Center to eliminate the confusion caused by their similar programming.
The college is using fewer resources to accomplish the same purposes and
meeting the needs of students and customers more easily. Indian River
Community College in Florida had traditionally offered continuing
education courses through the college's applied sciences divisions, the
locus of technical expertise on campus. With the growth of these
courses, however, administrators found that centralizing them in the
Business and Development Center improved coordination and management.

Taking a different approach, Springfield Technical Community College in
Massachusetts separated its Division of Economic and Business
Development (DEBD) from its Division of Continuing Education. With the
separation, the DEBD gained its own vice president and a focus within
the college's upper administration on workforce development and
entrepreneurship. Thus, this reorganization also strengthened the
college's focus on market responsiveness.

College leaders should consider whether or not to consolidate workforce
and economic development activities on campus. A specialized division
can also bring business attitudes and practices into the campus
workforce development activity, an approach to which industry partners
can relate.

\[begin example of centralizing economic development\]

**Centralizing Economic Development Activities**

**Seminole Community College** (Florida) took an important step by
reorganizing and consolidating economic development activities occurring
across campus under the newly created Office of Economic Development and
Employer Services. This new division allows the college to handle much
bigger projects competently, to present a unified face to economic
development activities, and to make it easier for clients to access
programs and services, thereby significantly improving interaction with
clients.

\[end example\]

**Bridging the Credit-Noncredit Divide**

Traditionally, community colleges have sharply divided the credit and
noncredit sides of the house, with the noncredit programs typically
marginalized. In part, this was a function of state funding formulas,
which, in most states, either do not fund noncredit programs at all or
do not fund them equally with credit programs. Outside of the few states
that fund credit and noncredit full-time equivalent students (FTEs) at
the same rate, complete integration of credit and noncredit divisions is
rare. Nevertheless, many labor-market-responsive community colleges
appear to invest great effort in blurring or at least collaborating
across these lines, regardless of state policy. Collaboration is
especially important in responding to labor market needs, because the
credit and noncredit sides offer complementary strengths and resources.
Responsive colleges remove bureaucratic hindrances to collaboration and
try to make the credit-noncredit distinction almost invisible to
students and employers.

Such collaboration often meets initial resistance from faculty, some of
whom view continuing education staff as competitors or worse. At these
schools, effective administrators demonstrated the advantages of working
together, sharing teaching or training responsibilities and facilities.
Over time, it became evident to all that the noncredit side can serve as
an entryway for additional credit students. Recasting traditional
faculty roles was the solution at Northern Virginia Community College.
Contracts with faculty now stipulate both credit and noncredit
responsibilities, which formalizes the philosophical stance emanating
from the president's office. The contracts officer stated that this
change "helps narrow the divide between credit and noncredit." A
cultural shift is required to ensure that all forms of learning, whether
in credit classes or not, are viewed as equally important.

\[begin example of a balance between credit and non-credit courses and
staff\]

**Connecting Credit and Noncredit Programming**

**Holyoke Community College** (Massachusetts) has formalized a
noncredit-to-credit career-ladder program in nursing. The college is
also working to incorporate the Division of Continuing Education's (DCE)
Microsoft Office® Specialist exams into credit word processing and
spreadsheet courses. Furthermore, faculty and administrators of
noncredit programming rely on their credit counterparts as resources for
developing curriculum. When DCE administrators applied for funding to
offer a preparatory course for the National Council Licensure
Examination (NCLEX-RN®), they relied on Nursing Department faculty to
understand the exam and its components.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**To what extent do credit and noncredit programs collaborate to develop
and deliver career-oriented training?**

\[end question\]

At many colleges that effectively meet labor market needs, faculty and
administrators engage in partnerships across credit-noncredit lines.
Academic faculty members teach noncredit courses or act as corporate
trainers for employers, in some cases receiving extra pay or stipends
for noncredit program management. Faculty teaching credit courses use
equipment purchased through partnerships on the noncredit side.
Noncredit courses transfer to credit programs. Administrators at
Kirkwood Community College in Iowa have learned to engage academic
faculty early on in noncredit program development, in order to develop
future avenues for integrating the new courses into credit programs.

\[begin example of credit and non-credit faculty roles\]

**Roles for Academic Faculty in Workforce Development**

Job descriptions for academic faculty have been rewritten at **Anne
Arundel Community College** (Maryland) to include workforce development
responsibilities in their teaching load. A teaching load could include
noncredit courses, for example. Although administrators at many colleges
noted the importance of using experienced professionals as instructors
in noncredit programs, others reported that businesses appreciate
academic faculty. They know that academic faculty are experienced
teachers and see the commitment of the college's human resources to a
project as an indication of the partnership's importance to the college.
As a result, there are many examples of academic faculty collaborating
on projects responsive to labor market needs. Faculty in the School of
Business, Computing and Technical Studies run the Cisco Training
Academy. Education faculty members train teachers in technology for the
school district. Faculty have taught at the National Security
Administration and developed distance education models for training
retail employees. Architecture faculty members advise the county on
environmentally friendly structures.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Would a closer working relationship between the credit and noncredit
sides improve your college's ability to provide market responsive
programs?**

\[end question\]

At these colleges, both credit and noncredit sides actively develop and
maintain off-campus partnerships with employers and other agencies.
Community outreach seems to be a barometer of credit-noncredit
integration. Colleges striving to maximize their responsiveness report
that it is everyone's responsibility to reach out to the community and
employers. On these campuses, academic faculty, deans, and
administrators view community involvement and marketing as part of their
jobs. At Northern Virginia Community College, administrators recognize
that committing to workforce development means giving up a certain
presence on campus, remarking, "You have to be out with business more,
and not as involved in campus life and politics."

One structural way to "blur the lines" between credit and noncredit is
the institute model. An institute is an organizational tool that brings
together faculty, staff, resources, equipment, and facilities to focus
on the same field or subject matter. For example, many colleges have
established institutes for information technology, healthcare, technical
careers, manufacturing, business management, or construction. The
institute houses credit as well as noncredit coursework and short-term
corporate and customized training services. It requires collaboration
and cross-training among these faculty members and instructors,
protecting credit faculty's authority over course development while
encouraging more sustained relationships with employers. Administrators
of colleges that adapted this model spoke of providing seamless delivery
based on a college-wide approach to meeting industry needs, and the
ability to better serve students and clients through a single point of
contact. The institute is a "one-stop shop" notion that appeals to
business and students alike. An individual or company seeking computer
training can approach an intake person at the information technology
institute and get assistance in determining whether a degree or
certificate, noncredit coursework, or customized training will best meet
the need.

\[begin example of the institute model\]

**The Institute as an Integration Model**

The Homer S. Gudelsky Institute for Technical Education at **Montgomery
College** (Maryland) offers credit and noncredit courses, programs, and
certifications, in addition to customized training. Prior to developing
the institute, college staff had difficulty responding effectively to
client requests, redirecting them to multiple programs managed by
different units of the college. Moreover, there were variations in
quality and curriculum across programs that affected the reputation of
the institution as a whole. Housed in its own building, the 10-year-old
institute operates on a single-point-of-contact model in which a
prospective student or client can be connected to the right offering
through one conversation. Once enrolled, credit and noncredit students
sit in some of the same classes. Positive outcomes include a 15-fold
increase in contract training over the last 10 years and a 55 percent
growth in total enrollments. With the success of the model established,
the IT Institute was established in 1998. A new facility is under
construction to accommodate the Health Sciences Institute, due to open
in 2004.

\[end example\]

**Integrated Versus Distinct Divisions**

On the other hand, leaders at a few colleges believed that the
independence of the division responsible for workforce development
ensured that administrators would give more attention to this mission.
In their opinion, merging the two divisions would cause the workforce
development mission to suffer due to the difficulty and time-consuming
nature of modifying credit programs and the need for separate staffing
mechanisms for academic and noncredit faculty. While the
compartmentalization of workforce programs at these institutions allows
them to remain customer-oriented, flexible, and free of bureaucratic
rules, it prevents the colleges from maximizing their labor market
responsiveness across all divisions and departments.

State funding differentials for credit and noncredit programs are
evidently a significant factor in choosing such a model, as are policies
that require structural differentiation between credit and noncredit
divisions. However, colleges without parity in funding have made
significant strides toward integrating the two sides of the house and
collaborating across credit-noncredit divisions.

Many assume that colleges that appear to have integrated for-credit and
workforce divisions are not unionized. Indeed, some colleges report that
restrictive union contracts can create difficulties in assigning
academic faculty to teach noncredit courses. The faculty is unionized at
Montgomery College in Maryland. Initially, the American Association of
University Professors (AAUP) agreement specified that only credit
courses counted toward the 30-hour teaching load they carried, posing a
barrier to the integration of credit and noncredit programs through the
institute model and a hindrance to noncredit staffing. The college
changed the AAUP agreement so that 16 credit hours, the majority of the
faculty's teaching load, could be taught in noncredit courses, thus also
incidentally raising the standing of noncredit classes. Unions and union
agreements differ, but are not inherently an insurmountable obstacle to
institutional integration.

Despite fiscal and policy constraints that prevent the complete
integration of the two sides of the house, it is important to recognize
that the benefits of close collaboration between credit and noncredit
programs go beyond workforce development programming. Indeed,
collaboration can have positive results for credit course offerings.
College personnel spoke of noncredit courses acting as harbingers of
credit programs. The flexibility of the noncredit division allows the
quick creation of new courses that respond to immediate needs;
enrollments can grow while credit programs and credentials are seeking
approval from individual academic departments of the college. In
addition, new subject matter first introduced for a specific training
course or customized program can influence the content of credit courses
in similar areas.

**Using the Right Staff to Play the Right Roles**

Responsive colleges are well staffed to fulfill their workforce
development missions. Noncredit instructors in career-oriented programs
at most community colleges are part-time with extensive professional
experience. Some colleges, such as Oakton in the Chicago area, employ
sales representatives experienced in consulting and training to network
and make cold calls to increase contract and customized training
opportunities. Regardless, the most effective institutions hire key
staff and administrators who bring experience in business as well as
education. Their attitudes toward the community are conducive to
partnering. They network off-campus and form relationships with
industry. They seek out entrepreneurial and innovative people in hiring
new staff and academic faculty and support them through open
communication and professional development.

With appropriate staffing, workforce development roles, including
program development and outreach to employers, are shared across the
administration and faculty. All vice presidents at Seminole Community
College in Florida are required to engage in economic development.
Although the vice president for workforce and economic development at
Shoreline Community College in Washington coordinates market-responsive
activities, senior administrators clearly convey the message that
involvement in workforce and economic development is everyone's
responsibility. As one way of expanding their roles, the vice president
encourages faculty from the academic divisions to accompany her to
meetings and conferences involving business and industry. Faculty at
Kirkwood Community College in Iowa are responsible for developing the
required resource and business plans for new noncredit programming,
determining the partners to be involved, and accurately demonstrating
the need to be addressed. The college expects staff to engage in
outreach and to always look for new opportunities.

In order to ensure that faculty members succeed in these roles,
responsive colleges sponsor professional development programs that place
academic faculty in contact with industry. Noncredit instructors and
administrators who are already well connected to industry meet with
business representatives regularly, but faculty are often more
comfortable remaining in an academic milieu and may not understand the
outcomes for which they are preparing students. At York Technical
College in South Carolina, the head of computer and electrical
engineering spent 10 weeks at Duke Power on a summer externship. English
department faculty and department managers spent time at the local
hospital and paper mill in order to understand the communications taking
place. All went back and revised credit curricula to make them more
relevant. New faculty joining Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland
participate in a one-year orientation called "The Learning College,"
which instills the value that credit and noncredit programs are equally
important in responding to community needs.

\[begin example of career-focused college faculty and staff\]

**Institutionalizing Professional Development**

**Kirkwood Community College** (Iowa) made professional development a
high priority, devoting a great deal of time and resources to it. One
staff member reporting to the executive vice president is in charge of
staff development campus-wide. The college provides resources for
further education for faculty and a large travel budget for staff to
examine best practices and bring new ideas back to the college. There
are even professional development performance expectations for
employees.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Are human resources at your college deployed in the most efficient
manner to meet labor-market-responsive goals?**

\[end question\]

**Lessons Learned**

-   Labor-market-responsive colleges create a reporting structure that
    places workforce development on an equal footing with academic
    programs, conveying the message internally and externally that
    workforce development is a priority.

-   Effective institutions often increase efficiency and customer
    service by consolidating or centralizing campus workforce and
    economic development efforts.

-   Collaboration across credit-noncredit divisions helps meet labor
    market needs. Divisions share resources and complement each other's
    strengths, making the college's offerings appear seamless to
    students and employers. Integration across divisions is easiest when
    supported by state funding policy, and unionization does not
    necessarily inhibit credit-noncredit collaboration.

-   Each college needs a structure that will accommodate both the
    development of new, large-scale, market responsive initiatives and
    the everyday activities of monitoring existing programs,
    implementing continuous improvements, and responding effectively to
    external demands.

-   Program development, outreach, and interaction with employers can be
    everyone's job. Institutions need to invest in professional
    development and support to help faculty succeed in these new roles.

**Practical Advice: Steps to Becoming an Entrepreneurial College**

Research shows that colleges follow various paths on the journey toward
maximizing labor market responsiveness. The steps suggested by Richard
Drury offer one such path.

The entrepreneurial college does not simply respond to needs, but
creates conditions that demand its services. It is nontraditional in its
offerings, and for the most part, these offerings are noncredit. It
relies on community-based programming. A coalition of interested
stakeholders is formed to undertake a cooperative process coordinated by
the community college that involves a series of steps to identify
community needs.

•        The college's vision, mission, philosophy, and goals need to be
critically examined or revisited, to assure their compatibility with
community-based programming.

•        Environmental "scanning" needs to be undertaken, carefully
noting opportunities and threats in the economic, social, political,
technological, and ecological environments.

•        All stakeholders in the collaboration process need to set
priorities among the opportunities and threats.

•        Stakeholders affected by the results of the scanning process
need to be identified, both those affected by the factors and those with
a vested interest in their resolution.

•        The community college assumes the leadership role as the
catalyst for the coalition of stakeholders.

•        Coalition members follow up with their respective constituents
to keep communications flowing.

It is through collaboration among the citizens of a community, its
leaders, community-based organizations, business and industry
representatives, and community college that the workforce and economic
development objectives of the community are achieved. In short, the
entrepreneurial college is a partner in bettering the local community.

**From:** Richard Drury, "The Entrepreneurial Community College,"
*Inquiry* 6 (Spring 2001).

**[Organizational Culture]{.smallcaps}**

The multiple missions of community colleges often create tensions on
campus that play themselves out culturally as well as organizationally.
For example, community colleges have historically played a significant
role in preparing students to attend four-year postsecondary
institutions. As higher education professionals, many community college
faculty and administrators embrace traditional academic values,
attitudes, and beliefs. As a result, community colleges often focus
narrowly on their transfer mission, placing greater priority on
academics and for-credit courses than on workforce development. Although
the transfer mission remains important in an economy that will continue
to demand graduates with four-year degrees, the realities of the work
world that are changing and require changing preparation of the
workforce as well. More than half of the fastest-growing occupations in
the United States require some postsecondary education but less than a
bachelor's degree.[^1] At a bare minimum, a high school diploma or its
equivalent is essential in today's labor market, and community colleges
are responding to this educational need. Uniquely positioned at the
forefront of workforce development, community colleges must maintain an
appropriate balance across their multiple missions. Fulfilling basic
education, transfer, and career-oriented missions requires academic
rigor and a focus on the quality of instruction.

Colleges that attempt to respond to local economic and labor market
conditions are at times hindered by a campus culture that devalues
career-oriented programming in favor of traditional academic priorities.
An official at one college said, "The credit faculty think that\'s what
they are here for, and that they don\'t have a role to play in workforce
development. They joined the faculty to teach English, history, science,
not to help develop workforce skills. But that's a narrow view. In \[our
state\], English, history, and science *are* workforce skills." Thus,
creating a truly labor-market-responsive college usually requires
cultural evolution on campus.

Cultural change is at best gradual and complex, encouraged by
leadership, informed by solid data, and supported by organizational
restructuring. Here we focus on the key mechanisms that campus leaders
may employ to bring about cultural change---language and organizational
structure.

**Cultural Evolution**

Traditional academic views of workforce development activity must change
if a community college is to embrace the mission of labor market
responsiveness. Many continuing education personnel, reflecting upon the
changes that had occurred on their campus, lauded the fact that the
workforce-development division was no longer relegated to second-class
status. Organizational structure can play a role in elevating the
stature of continuing education, but a corresponding shift in values,
expectations, incentives, and attitudes must occur as well. Leaders are
responsible for introducing and instilling new values and attitudes and
for ensuring that responsive practices and engagement in
workforce-development activities are recognized and rewarded among
faculty and staff. A college leader's visible commitment to the culture
of market responsiveness is essential for such evolution to occur.

What does a labor-market-responsive culture look like? On campuses
striving to maximize responsiveness, workforce development and lifelong
learning are key institutional values. Conversations on campus reflect
these values daily. Staff members bring academic excellence and
credentials, as well as characteristics like risk-taking,
entrepreneurship, innovation, flexibility, and empowerment. As one
individual at Scott Community College in Iowa explained, "New ideas are
valued. We have an atmosphere of not just being talkers but doers."
Collaboration is a hallmark---across internal divisions and with
external organizations. College personnel exercise their networking
skills and spend time building relationships on and off-campus. They
engage business and industry partners in program, course, and curriculum
development. They constantly seek ways to improve.

\[begin example of cultural evolution\]

**Fostering Cultural Change**

**Moraine Valley Community College** (Illinois) spent academic year
2000-03 creating or expanding programs to serve a new learner-centered
focus and to address objectives covering five areas: (1) underprepared
students, (2) learning outcomes, (3) selecting and developing staff, (4)
learning technology, and (5) organizational culture. What MVCC
participants discovered through the process was that as they worked on
the first four areas, the fifth---organizational culture---"put itself
together." As a senior administrator observed, "You can't just impose
'organizational culture' by talking about it." One result today is that
conversations with MVCC staff members are peppered with
language---"seamlessness," "web of inclusiveness" ----that both
describes and signals the existence of an organizational culture
characterized by collaboration and learner-centeredness. One
administrator noted: "The people here talk like that. We live it. You're
either on board or you go away."

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**What adjectives would you use to describe the climate and culture of
your campus?**

\[end question\]

**Language as a Tool for Cultural Change**

One key mechanism that campus leaders use to promote cultural change is
language, in its simplest form a motto or mantra that is repeated across
campus. College leaders introduce the motto to signal concisely what the
leadership values and expects of staff. At Central Piedmont Community
College in North Carolina, President Zeiss, when he took the helm 11
years ago, asked staff to consider two questions in decision- making. He
still advises his staff to guide program development with those
questions: "Is this good for our students? Is this good for our
community?" As the questions imply, what is good for students and the
community is good for the college. The Anne Arundel Community College
(Maryland) mantra is codified in numerous institutional documents and
frequently heard on campus, "Learning is learning is learning." This
mantra emphasizes the structural and cultural shift towards a
one-college model in which academics, career-oriented courses, and
corporate training are all considered learning and given equal priority.

Shared values and attitudes are summed up in other formats, both written
and oral. Virtually all the staff, faculty, and administrators at York
Technical College in South Carolina with whom we spoke, including those
not directly associated with technical career preparation, spoke of the
importance of having manufacturing in their community and its capacity
for creating wealth through associated service jobs. This common belief
clearly originated in the president's office to focus the staff on the
college's niche in improving manufacturing productivity. President
Crawley of Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) near Chicago
summarized in an open letter the attitudes and behaviors expected of
staff. These expectations also inform the hiring process, as staff
search for people whose portfolios include the attitudes and values that
harmonize with the MVCC mission of community and economic development.

\[begin question\]

**Is there a college motto or frequently repeated theme that ensures a
focus on workforce development?**

\[end question\]

**Organizational Structure Communicates Institutional Values**

Organizational structures that allow colleges to be more responsive to
labor market conditions are discussed in the preceding module.
Structural change can minimize bureaucratic hindrances to
responsiveness---streamlining processes and increasing access to
resources. Structural change can also advance key messages on campus,
such as the importance of collaboration across traditional
credit-noncredit lines and the equality in status of academics and
workforce development. The leadership of Shoreline Community College in
Washington State wanted to move the campus beyond the notion that
professional/technical programs do not have the stature of academic
coursework. The dean of academic affairs now oversees all 52
professional-technical programs. This organizational structure prevents
institutional separation of professional-technical from transfer
programs and promotes an atmosphere conducive to blending workforce
development goals with academic objectives. Green River Community
College in Washington State found that creating a new position of vice
president for economic development raised the stature of workforce
development at the college by giving it a key place in senior college
leadership. Hiring the former executive dean of instruction to fill the
new position also sent messages about the integration of traditional
academics and career-oriented training and the importance of
collaboration between the two. Structural change can also communicate
institutional values like flexibility and partnership and instill in all
staff an awareness of their role in outreach.

\[begin example of structural change leading to cultural change\]

**Structural Change Brings Cultural Change**

President Martha Smith of **Anne Arundel Community College** (Maryland)
determined that the college would respond to community needs, including
those of business. One dean noted, "With the culture before President
Smith, it was a different college. \[Credit and noncredit\] were
distinct with no integration. Now there is a 'one college'
concept---they all develop human resources in a collaborative fashion."
It became clear to administrators that to meet an increasing demand for
lifelong learning opportunities not tied to traditional, credit-driven
modalities, they needed to value all instructional programs and services
equally. One step in this direction was to reorganize the senior
administration. The positions of vice president for academic affairs and
vice president for continuing education and workforce development were
merged into that of vice president for learning. It is important to note
that the new vice president for learning was recruited from the
Workforce Development Division, sending a clear signal throughout the
campus about the integration of academic and vocational education.

\[end example\]

**A Campus That Embraces Community Cultures**

One way in which the culture of a community college can reflect
responsiveness to the local labor market is in its willingness to adapt
to changes in its demographic or community context. Dallas County
Community College District's Richland College is a member of the Asian,
Hispanic, and African American Chambers. While senior administrators at
Malcolm X College, one of the seven City Colleges of Chicago, remain
attuned to the African American community that the college has
historically served, they are keenly aware of the shift in student
demographics in West Chicago, where the campus is located. They seek to
engage students of other ethnic backgrounds, Hispanic students in
particular. The college made great efforts to be classified as a Title V
school and belongs to HACU (the Hispanic Association of Colleges and
Universities). On campus, these changes are reflected through artwork
and banners that represent a variety of cultures, and in cultural events
throughout the year to recognize and encourage student and community
pride.

Staff at many colleges where we interviewed spoke of growing populations
of new immigrants in describing the changing demographics of their
service areas. In most parts of the country, the need for English as a
second language courses is increasing, and community colleges are at the
forefront of offering workplace Spanish courses for supervisors. English
has become the most fundamental job skill for many populations.
Responsive colleges creatively refine their own cultures to remain in
tune with the changing needs of the community. Community college leaders
should consider whether the culture and climate of their college
encourages immigrant and other nontraditional populations to enroll and
feel comfortable and whether staff are flexible and open-minded enough
to adapt institutional culture to meet the needs of new segments of the
community.

\[begin example of college culture reflecting community culture\]

**Campus Culture Reflects Community Culture**

Margaret Lee, the president of **Oakton Community College** (Illinois)
has communicated the message that the changing demographics of the
college district, including burgeoning Asian and Eastern European
populations, should be celebrated, not merely tolerated. The leadership
has sought to educate its faculty. A recent professional development
activity was a bus tour of the district, which included stops at a
social services center, a church that serves African Americans, and a
very diverse high school. Many of the new immigrants are well-educated
people in need of employment, whose difficulties with English were
misinterpreted by some faculty as ignorance. The college offers an
afternoon class for faculty, taught in different languages, to make them
more sensitive to the difficulties non-English speakers face in
communicating.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Do your workforce development strategies reflect the cultures in the
surrounding community?**

\[end question\]

**A New Culture for Curriculum Development**

Another opportunity to observe cultural evolution on campus is in the
process of curriculum and course development. Although all occupational
programs have advisory committees that oversee curriculum development to
some degree, the extent to which they are actually involved in the
development, delivery, and alignment of coursework across the campus
says much about the cultural context. Traditionally, the culture of
higher education has asserted that faculty members are the most
knowledgeable about course design and development. At the
labor-market-responsive colleges, faculty still play a key role, but
business and industry representatives are brought in at the beginning
and the courses that result reflect their contributions as well.

The changing needs of business and industry have led some colleges to
develop modularized programs. Rather than a semester- or yearlong
curriculum that covers a topic thoroughly, modules allow employers to
pick and chose exactly the components they want to see in a customized
course of study, a concept new to the teaching world. Scott Community
College in eastern Iowa is developing a logistics program based on
employer needs and plans to survey local companies and invite them to
help develop the curriculum. Administrators expect that much of what the
firms will identify already exists at the college. Thus, to create a
customized program would require simply assembling modules.

In addition, employers are increasingly looking for soft skills, such as
problem-solving and teamwork, in those they hire and often expect the
community college to train in these areas as well as in technical
skills. Designing courses to teach soft skills, in addition to academic
or technical knowledge, and finding ways to assess and document their
development, usually requires a cultural shift among faculty members
previously focused on academic knowledge transfer.

\[begin example of college modeling both soft and hard skills\]

**Competency-Based Curricula**

**York Technical College** (South Carolina) considers itself
competency-based and uses the DACUM (Develop A Curriculum) process for
curriculum development. This involves bringing employees of industry to
campus for a day, picking their brains about the jobs for which students
are being educated, noting the competencies identified, and looking at
coursework to ensure that it covers those competencies. The college
focuses on lifelong learning and responds to employer needs for soft
skill development by incorporating competency modules into all its
classes. Doing so required the development of a portfolio system to
document these soft skills, as well as changes in the way college
faculty teach and assess learning.

\[end example\]

**Lessons Learned**

-   Community colleges must balance multiple and sometimes competing
    missions. Cultural beliefs, values, and expectations on campus will
    determine the relative priority assigned to those missions and which
    ones are successfully accomplished.

-   Responsive colleges have established cultures that support workforce
    development and value the personal traits of entrepreneurship,
    innovation, flexibility, and risk-taking.

-   Structural changes alone will not successfully engage faculty in the
    process of market responsiveness. A corresponding cultural shift is
    also required.

-   Those charged with fulfilling workforce development goals at the
    community college must operate with appropriate incentives in a
    culture that maximizes their flexibility.

-   Responsive colleges empower staff with the freedom to explore
    partnerships and take risks. Leaders recognize and reward their
    staff for work related to labor market responsiveness.

-   Language is critical in creating and changing cultural orientations.
    Mottos and widely disseminated documents help create strongly held
    common values and beliefs.

-   Colleges need to forge connections with the surrounding cultural
    communities in order to meet their workforce needs.

-   Responding to employers' needs and engaging them in curriculum
    development requires new ways of thinking.

**RESOURCE:** The Workforce Initiative

The League for Innovation in the Community College's interest in the
corporate relationships of community colleges stems from a seminal
meeting in 1990, when the Business and Industry Services Network
(BISNET) was formed to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and
information among member institutions. It soon became clear that more
formal mechanisms were needed to coordinate information, facilitate
communication, disseminate information, and assist in organizing
collaborative projects. The idea of an alliance of community colleges
with business and industry arose, and with encouragement from several
corporate leaders, the League sponsored a Community College Business and
Industry Forum in Dallas, Texas, in early 1992. At this meeting,
attended by representatives of 23 corporations, the league was urged to
develop a national effort to coordinate information, activities, and
collaborative projects that would assist community colleges in serving
the training needs of business, industry, government, and labor.

Further, it became clear that much more information was needed about the
activities of community colleges in the corporate arena. In 1992, the
league embarked on a comprehensive national investigation of the scope
of community college involvement in workforce training. More than 725
colleges responded to the league survey, which revealed that 96 percent
of community colleges provided workforce training for employees of
business, industry, government, and labor. As a result of these
findings, and with the public support of corporate and educational
partners, the league advanced an ambitious 10-point agenda to promote
the expansion and improvement of community college workforce development
programs. This agenda, expressed in a white paper titled ***The
Workforce Training Imperative: Meeting the Training Needs of the
Nation*** formed the core of what has become a major strategic focus of
the league, the Workforce Initiative.

The Workforce Initiative serves as an umbrella for a wide-ranging set of
projects and activities. It serves as a topic stream in "Innovations,"
the league\'s annual international conference on innovation in the
community college. The "innovations" stream on workforce development is
designed to help community colleges understand and address the
tremendous issues involved in ensuring that the nation\'s workforce is
competitive in the global marketplace. 

Working continuously with key [corporate
partners](http://www.league.org/league/partners/partners_main.htm), the
league is involved in a variety of efforts to assist community colleges,
including: sponsoring conferences, workshops, seminars, training, and
showcases for innovative workforce development activities; disseminating
information about model programs and practices in community colleges
through [publications](http://www.league.org/publication/pub_main.htm)
such as newsletters, monographs, and special reports; and conducting
focused special projects that develop, demonstrate, or evaluate
innovative workforce development activities in community colleges. 

**League for Innovation in the Community College**

4505 East Chandler Boulevard, Suite 250, Phoenix, AZ 85048

Voice: (480) 705-8200

[www.league.org](http://www.league.org/)

**[Resources and Funding]{.smallcaps}**

Adequate resources are, of course, necessary for a community college to
become more responsive to its labor market. Most community colleges have
historically acquired the largest proportion of their funding from the
state, through formulas based on student enrollments or apportionments.
Some state systems have also provided workforce development monies to
individual colleges to meet particular industry needs.

State funding environments differ substantially across the nation. Fewer
than half provide any funds for noncredit students at community
colleges, and only three fund credit and noncredit students equally.[^2]
College administrators frequently observe how different their
institutions would look with parity in state funding, because they would
move so many programs from credit to noncredit status in order to
provide greater flexibility and quicker response times in customizing
them for clients. Community colleges in the three states that allocate
equal funding for credit and noncredit programs lobbied very hard for
parity.

Regardless of state policies, resources for education are notoriously
limited and shrinking. Some argue that community colleges are facing a
fiscal crisis. A recent survey by the Education Commission of the States
found that 33 out of 40 state oversight agencies cited funding as one of
their main challenges.[^3] Many colleges have had to lay off employees,
cut programs and courses, and reduce operating expenses. At the same
time, because many colleges face growing enrollments, they have fewer
resources per student. In times of fiscal austerity, administrators at
Montgomery College in Maryland note, "Business is a good advocate when
you need to go to the state for more money. They are extremely valuable
politically in telling the governor that community colleges are
important." For employers to advocate effectively for community colleges
in the political arena, institutions must first demonstrate their value
to such partners.

Although individual community colleges have little control over state
funding policies or annual apportionments, through partnership with
employers, economic development agencies, and other colleges, they may
be better positioned to seek increased state support. In addition,
responsive colleges have found ways to innovate and expand programs
despite fiscal constraints. They look beyond the state to new sources of
funding. The local economy may also limit its immediate resources, but
responsive institutions are not hindered by this constraint either.
Effective colleges find new ways to raise money, whether through
legislative initiatives or marketing expertise on a fee-for-service
basis. They maximize local funding from county and bond initiatives.
College leadership, particularly the president and board of trustees,
play a crucial role in securing new funds. Internal allocation of
resources, for professional development for example, reflects labor
market priorities. Specialized facilities may become important assets in
labor market responsiveness.

**Looking Beyond the State**

Colleges tend to be resource-savvy, but differ in the ways they go about
obtaining resources. Community colleges that effectively meet labor
market demands access a wide variety of funding sources beyond the
state. Common sources of revenue include federal funds to states (such
as *Perkins Act* funds authorized under the 1998 statute), other grants,
partnerships, contracts, training, state initiatives, in-kind donations,
and self-supporting programs. Not surprisingly, community colleges with
higher revenue dollars tend to have more formal programs in place to
address specific employer needs, while those with fewer revenue dollars
have more programs linked to state initiatives. Tapping into a wide
variety of funding requires an investment of human resources on the part
of the college. College personnel actively scan the horizon for funding
sources, write grants and proposals, and build relationships with
potential funders and partners.

*Grants:* Workforce investment boards, corporate foundations, unions and
professional associations, community-based organizations, states, and
federal government agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF)
all provide grants to colleges. Several community colleges participating
in this study received NSF Advanced Technological Education grants.
Springfield Technical Community College in Massachusetts has received
numerous NSF grants, one of which established the National Center for
Telecommunications Technologies, tasked with developing a national model
curriculum. Regional collaboration with other community colleges is a
strategic way to compete for larger grants and acquire more political
leverage for a proposal to a federal agency. A collaborative approach
answered Coca- Cola's need for employee training throughout the state of
Texas. The Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development and El
Centro Community College of the Dallas County district are collaborating
with 10 community colleges in northern Texas to determine how to offer
the training, with the state providing part of the funding.

\[begin example of grant funding\]

**Diverse Funding for Small Business Assistance**

In 1996, administrators and faculty at ***Green River Community
College*** (Washington State) determined a need for assisting emerging
local entrepreneurs. The college received a \$30,000 grant from the Herb
B. Jones Foundation and started a Small Business Assistance Center
(SBAC) staffed with a part-time counselor. After its first year, the
SBAC received state funding and was able to hire an additional full-time
counselor. The SBAC is currently receiving funding from the cities of
Auburn and Enumclaw in the form of federal block grants.

\[end example\]

*Partnerships:* Partnerships with employers and industry can bring in
donations, contracts, and equipment. Start-up funds, donations of
equipment or machinery, investment in new facilities, and space for
clinical experiences are common benefits. College administrators advise
that alignment with business is key to securing corporate funding for
programs. In several instances, business partners have entirely
transferred their internal training functions to the local community
college.

*In-kind donations:* Responsive colleges tap their industry and employer
partners to obtain costly equipment and update technology. Manufacturers
have donated or loaned such heavy equipment as tractors, automobiles and
trucks, forklifts, manufacturing equipment, motorcycles, printing and
flexography equipment, and heating and air conditioning equipment.
Although some colleges noted the drawback of receiving outdated
equipment, more supportive partnerships provide the up-to-date
technology essential to train a skilled workforce. York Technical
College in South Carolina holds two warehouse spaces in downtown Rock
Hill, a few miles from campus, to store supplies and equipment donated
by companies closing down or going through buy-outs.

*Federal and state initiatives:* Federal initiatives that provide funds
directly to community colleges include Developing Hispanic Institutions
grants, Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology, and Tech-Prep
Demonstration Grants.[^4] State funds include training initiatives for
specific industries or companies, grants, and other allocations.
Responsive colleges aggressively ferret out these opportunities. Walla
Walla Community College in Washington State -- which, according to one
college official, "never lets a state-level initiative go by without
pursuing it," -- has secured two Washington State "Title II" grants. The
Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development in the Dallas County
Community College District received a \$1 million grant from the state
to train people to work in call centers being established in Texas. When
Texas Instruments (TI) needed literacy training, the institute obtained
\$1 million from the state to train its workers. According to one
institute administrator, most employers contribute at least 25 percent
more than the grant provides.

\[begin example of college training for corporate employees\]

**Colleges as Corporate Training Departments**

Okuma America, a leading machine tool manufacturer with its Western
hemisphere headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., outsourced its training
division to **York Technical College**'s Institute for Manufacturing
Productivity (South Carolina). The company provides new equipment for
the facility on the college's campus and its trainers are now college
employees.

Federal-Mogul Sealing Systems, a manufacturing company with 1,600
employees, outsourced all employee training to **Oakton Community
College** near Chicago, most of which is conducted on company property,
and provides office space at the company for a training manager and an
assistant.

\[end example\]

*Self-supporting programs:* Some occupational or workforce development
programs operate on a self-supporting basis through tuition and fees.
This support is common among business and technology courses. Some
colleges, seeking to depend less on limited state funding, have offered
credit occupational classes on a self-supporting basis. For example,
North Carolina funds summer semester credit students at just 10 percent
of what they provide for the spring and fall semesters. Therefore,
Central Piedmont Community College, which is located in Charlotte, N.C.,
offers summer credit courses on a self-supporting basis rather than
remit tuition to the state.

*Contract training:* Contract training is a special example of a
self-supporting program. Because contract training operates in an
entrepreneurial environment, these programs can become an actual source
of profits if enough businesses employ the college on a fee-for-service
basis. Colleges operating in states that have historically subsidized
corporate training through economic development funds or noncredit
enrollment reimbursements find it more difficult to convince employers
to pay the actual and reasonable costs of customized training. Although
some colleges did not cite contract training as a significant source of
revenue, more responsive institutions typically pursue new training
relationships aggressively.[^5] Community college presidents in a recent
study noted that, in addition to new income, equipment, and services,
contract training generates important political benefits, strengthening
the college's support from local and state constituencies and its public
visibility.[^6]

\[begin corporate training example\]

***Employers invest nearly \$30 billion annually in employee training.
Community colleges can provide training more cost effectively than many
other public- and private- sector organizations because most have the
capacity to provide technical training already or can develop it at a
lower cost.*** *Richard Drury^5^*

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**What sources of income beyond the state does your college pursue to
fund your workforce development programs? Have you explored the widest
range of possible options?** \[end question\]

**Creativity in Generating New Resources**

Responsive colleges go beyond ensuring that they access a variety of
time-tested sources for revenue. Colleges focused on this mission
regularly develop creative ways to generate funds. College leaders
encourage their staff members to think outside of the box in seeking new
ways to raise resources, including entrepreneurial enterprises and
legislative efforts.

*Entrepreneurship:* Entrepreneurial efforts---typically marketing
college services and expertise on a fee-for-service or consulting
basis---are a source of new funds for some campuses. The programs
themselves generate revenue, but other colleges also contract out their
institutional research services, marketing and learner services
departments, or curriculum development and educational technology
expertise. Some colleges and districts, such as Central Piedmont and San
Diego, have created stand-alone not-for-profit organizations to house
entrepreneurial enterprises. One advantage of this method is to gain
more control in allocating revenue from these services. At Walla Walla
Community College in Washington State, many programs have an enterprise
component and substantial income-generating capacity. The college owns
and operates a vineyard in order to teach viticulture (wine making) and
sells the wine that students produce. The automotive program generates
revenue by refurbishing and selling classic cars. Students handle all
aspects of production, marketing, distribution, and sales.

\[begin example of entrepreneurial college\]

**Using College Services as a Fundraising Mechanism**

***Central Piedmont Community College***'s (North Carolina)
institutional effectiveness office conducted a study on economic and
workforce trends and business needs in the region in partnership with
the local chamber of commerce. This office, now marketing its ability to
conduct such studies to all the chambers in the United States, generated
more money than any other unit of the college in a recent quarter.

\[end example\]

*Legislation:* Colleges have also secured funds through legislative
avenues. These can support one employer's training needs or provide new
funding for all community colleges statewide. The president of Central
Piedmont Community College has been active in efforts to benefit North
Carolina's community colleges. He assembled a state coalition that
successfully pushed the legislature to allocate unused unemployment
insurance funds to community colleges to purchase equipment, expected to
generate \$2 million. The president also advocated for the state to
underwrite the tuition and fees for students who enroll in high-demand
occupations facing a shortage of skilled workers.

\[begin example of legislative funding\]

**Legislative Funding for Employer Partnerships**

The Chicagoland Regional College Program (CRCP) is a partnership among
***Moraine Valley Community College***, Chicago State University, and
United Parcel Service (UPS) designed to meet workforce needs and provide
financial and other support to individuals who might not otherwise enter
college. The program is costly, providing full tuition, fees, books, a
\$2,000 transportation allowance, a \$4,000 housing subsidy, health
benefits, and support services, including mentors, to UPS employees
working at least 16 hours a week on difficult-to-staff shifts. To obtain
the funding needed, the partnership and UPS worked closely with the
state legislature, securing a \$2.2 million line item to support the
first year of operation. They attribute their success to the leverage of
the partners and the economically depressed status of southwest Cook
County.

\[end example\]

Other examples of creative funding include: actively pursuing large
donations through naming opportunities for buildings; selecting business
leaders to become "President's Associates" who donate \$5,000 per year
and act as an advisory board member; and creating a venture-capital
model in which program start-up funds are a loan, based on a solid
business plan, and expected to generate long-term revenue.

\[begin venture capital example\]

**Venture Capital as a Funding Mechanism**

Most workforce-development efforts require substantial investments of
start-up money. At ***Northern Virginia Community College***, programs
are treated like businesses. The Workforce Development Office requests a
loan from the college, and must present a solid plan for creating income
in the long-term and a return on investment. "Resources are always a
concern, but this program generates its own revenue," stated one
director of continuing education. "Our president makes venture capital
available. You give him a business plan, and if he likes it, he\'ll give
you the seed money to develop the program."

\[end venture capital example\]

\[begin question\]

**Have you developed innovative methods to raise funds for high-demand
programs?**

\[end question\]

**Local Funding Is Key**

Many community colleges receive local or county funding but effective
colleges seem to place a special premium on this source of funds. Local
revenues came in two forms: county support and bond initiatives. Strong
community relationships are essential to securing or increasing funds
from both.

In communities where citizens value the college, bond measures are very
effective in raising funds to construct new facilities. Central Piedmont
Community College in Charlotte, N.C., added five campuses in seven
years, because each time they were on the ballot for bond funds, they
received overwhelming support.

Increasing county financial support appeared to be a hallmark of
responsive colleges. College personnel consistently noted that the
percentage of local or county funds in the total college budget was
positively associated with their responsiveness. The county is one
avenue through which colleges have made up for state shortfalls. Despite
a general economic slowdown, many colleges spoke of increasing county
support, often 5 to 6 percent a year. Among community colleges studied,
the highest levels of local funding reached 30 to 40 percent of general
fund revenue or even more. Many reported receiving levels of local
support above the average of other community colleges in their state.
Administrators at York Technical College reported that York County,
South Carolina, stands out in the state for its high level of support to
the technical college. They noted that this support is based on the
college's productivity and the fact that 93 percent of its graduates
remain in the county. The college has clearly communicated to local
officials that funding York Tech is the equivalent of investing in the
county's economic development. College leaders should consider whether
they have sufficiently demonstrated their institution's worth and
contributions to their counties and citizens.

\[begin question\]

**Could college funding from local sources increase?**

\[end question\]

**Responsibility for Fundraising**

There were many answers to the question as to who on the community
college campus is responsible for pursuing grants and other funding
opportunities. Many responsive colleges spoke of the success of their
foundations in fundraising to help develop and run programs. These
colleges capitalize on partnerships the foundation forms, and the board
of the foundation acts as a link with business and industry in the
community. College personnel whose specific role is fundraising or grant
management appear to be important to accessing the variety of resources
necessary in the current climate. As state resources in most states flow
to credit programs, the continuing education division often needs to be
focused on resource development. Building a large new partnership or
finding resources for program creation requires presidential or board
leadership. Charlene Nunley, president of Montgomery College in
Maryland, secured \$1 million from the Marriott Foundation (the Marriott
Corporation is headquartered in Montgomery County, Md.) for a
hospitality management program at the college. She candidly noted that
her personal contact with the CEO of Marriott Corporation was
instrumental in securing the funds.

\[begin question\]

**Have you invested enough time in developing large-scale partnerships
that fund new college programs?**

\[end question\]

\[begin example of faculty support of fund-raising\]

**Staff Dedicated to Fundraising**

At ***Walla Walla Community College*** (Washington State), the Workforce
Division contains the Workforce Effectiveness Center that is solely
responsible for bringing in alternative (nonstate) revenue. The center
has a full-time staff of four and serves as a clearinghouse for grants
and other contracts. Center staff are also responsible for seeking out
every state and federal training grant that the college could
potentially secure.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Are there sufficient staff dedicated to obtaining resources that
support responsive programs?**

\[end question\]

**Resource Allocation Mirrors College Priorities**

Allocation of college resources, whatever their total, provides an
accurate portrayal of a college leadership's priorities.
Labor-market-responsive colleges put funds behind workforce and economic
development. Leadership, of course, plays a key role in this resource
allocation. At stake are issues of funding equity between credit and
noncredit programs. In addition, colleges we visited emphasized the
importance of human resources. Sufficient personnel must be devoted to
new resource acquisition for workforce development and sufficient
resources are required for faculty professional development. Even in
hard economic times, colleges advised, professional development monies
should not be cut. To maintain a responsive college, faculty must have
the time and resources to remain up-to-date in their professional
fields, travel to conferences to learn more and make connections, and
retrain themselves or spend time in industry when necessary. Part of an
institution's commitment to labor market responsiveness is thus a
commitment to ensuring that everyone remains informed on workforce
needs.

\[begin question\]

**How are discretionary resources allocated between academic and
occupationally oriented programs? Are you investing sufficient resources
in professional development?**

\[end question\]

**New Facilities Can Enhance Labor Market Responsiveness**

We found numerous examples of colleges undertaking large-scale
construction projects to become more labor-market-responsive.
Appropriate and unique physical facilities can be an important asset in
meeting community and workforce needs. Responsive colleges allocate
resources and raise funds to construct the facilities they need to house
programs geared toward the labor market, training partnerships, or
continuing education. Many of these facilities serve multiple uses and
off-campus constituencies. Colleges have constructed continuing
education facilities that function as conference centers as a way to
meet business needs while bringing corporate leaders to campus, thus
marketing college services. For other schools, the most important
facilities were those that made the college more accessible to the
community and local business, such as satellite campuses or special
off-site centers.

\[begin example of facility building to stimulate labor market
responsiveness\]

**A New Facility Meets Growing Training Needs**

In partnership with the Mills Corporation and the college foundation,
***Anne Arundel Community College*** in Maryland is building a 65,000
square foot, four-story educational facility at Arundel Mills, a retail
zone. The new facility is expected to foster the burgeoning growth in
this region by continuing to develop programs serving businesses and
county residents. It builds on the college's successful Retail Skills
Center already located in the mall. "The location offers easy access,
uses the existing infrastructure, and draws on the Mills' amenities,"
said Anne Arundel College President Smith. The estimated cost of the
project is \$10 million. Through an agreement with the college, the
foundation will serve as the facility's developer and provide
construction financing, allowing the college to avoid assuming capital
debt for the facility. The foundation intends to finance the project
with tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Would the addition or enhancement of physical facilities significantly
improve the campus' ability to respond to local labor market needs? Have
you explored all the possible avenues for new construction funds?**

\[end question\]

Colleges differed in how they raised funds for these facilities, from
using private partnerships and corporate or foundation donations to
local bond initiatives and state funds. The Homer S. Gudelsky Institute
for Technical Education at Montgomery College in Maryland was the first
community college building in the United States to be built with private
funding. Over 10 years ago, administrators believed they could maximize
college-business collaboration by constructing a high-profile facility.
The college raised \$3.8 million from private sources and the county
matched the other half.

**Lessons Learned**

-   It is difficult to be a truly labor-market-responsive institution
    while relying on traditional sources of community college funding.
    Labor-market-responsive programs tend to be expensive because of
    specialized equipment requirements. Institutions must access a wide
    range of funding sources and be creative in their fundraising
    strategies.

-   Many colleges will need to figure out creative ways to reach beyond
    their communities to tap regional, state, and federal income
    sources.

-   The college president and board play key roles in developing
    resources for new large-scale workforce initiatives and
    partnerships.

-   Maximizing local funding through the county or bond initiatives is
    important.

-   Public-private partnerships are a leverage point for significant new
    college resources.

-   A commitment to labor market responsiveness requires more resources,
    but can also lead to more resources.

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-   Leaders of effective community colleges invest financial and human
    resources in labor market responsiveness. Sufficient personnel are
    needed to locate and access new resources, and faculty professional
    development enhances the institution's ability to meet community
    needs.

##  {#section .unnumbered}

**Practical Advice: Economic Development Strategies**

Community colleges can connect to economic development efforts by
engaging in dialogue with key stakeholders, such as the following:

-   Local, regional, and state economic development agencies

-   County and municipal planning agencies

-   State and regional economic development organizations

-   Employers

-   Employer groups, chambers of commerce, small business development
    associations, and industry associations

-   Labor unions

-   Other community or technical colleges in the region

-   University economic and political science departments

-   Community development corporations

-   Community-based organizations, such as neighborhood associations,
    nonprofit service organizations, and faith-based charities

Assets that community colleges bring to economic development
partnerships include the range of programs and services that support
business development, from the growing number of community college
business and industry centers to employee training for new or relocating
companies, to certificates of entrepreneurship for individuals who want
to launch their own businesses. Here are some examples of economic
development activities at community colleges today:

-   Helping entrepreneurs start businesses

-   Providing import-export training

-   Providing public-private procurement services

-   Assisting small businesses with needs identification and service
    referrals

-   Providing general business, sales, and marketing training

-   Providing business-related research support

-   Establishing a user-friendly Web page for entrepreneurs

-   Developing a business incubator program and facility

From: "Community, Economic and Workforce Development," in *Leadership
Strategies for Community College Executives*, eds. Gunder Myram, George
A. Baker III, Beverly Simone, and Tony Zeiss (Washington, D.C.:
Community College Press, American Association of Community Colleges,
2003).

##  Information and Data

Leaders of community colleges that engage in economic and workforce
development need a great deal of information in order to be responsive;
they first need to understand the local, regional, and national
economies, including occupational, employment, and other economic
trends. Specifically, they need to know about local workforce needs that
are unmet. In addition, they want to know how well the education and
training provided by the college prepares graduates for their
occupations. They would like to know the wage and career progression
that their graduates achieve. They would like to assess the match
between their occupational training programs and labor market trends,
and to evaluate the cost effectiveness of their offerings. Finally, they
would like to evaluate the college's services to businesses and other
organizations, according to outcomes achieved as well as the
satisfaction of partners.

Various kinds of information gathering and data analyses can provide
some answers. First, all responsive colleges stressed that the most
useful information about local conditions is best gathered through
face-to-face personal contact with employers and community leaders.
Community college administrators also use published data from the U.S.
Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources to inform
decision-making. And colleges use their institutional research offices
to collect their own data on their graduates and information on local
needs by fielding surveys, running focus groups, hiring consultants to
perform evaluations, and drawing upon studies conducted by state
education boards and others.

Responsive community colleges use this information and data---from
partners, published sources, and their own studies---to inform and guide
their efforts to respond to labor market concerns. Such information is
the basis of strategic planning to better anticipate local labor market
needs and helps to nurture a culture of continuous improvement. Colleges
draw upon data to establish new programs and to improve or eliminate
current programs. Lastly, data are important for a truly objective
evaluation of labor market responsiveness on campus. Community college
leaders should consider whether they have gathered sufficient
information on local and regional business needs and effectively
measured the impact of their programs.

**Information Gathering Through Personal Contacts**

Valuable as economic analyses and labor reports may be, up-to-the-minute
and localized information about workforce, economic, and community
trends comes from the individuals and organizations engaged in the work.
Access to networks of well-positioned people supplies the information
that enables a college to anticipate labor market conditions and trends.
Established relationships with key organizations and individuals in the
community are critical sources of information for market-responsive
colleges. By virtue of their ability to open doors, senior
administrators are key gatherers of this local information, and program
advisory committees add value through their substantive knowledge of
specific industries.

The president and senior administrators of the labor-market-responsive
community college play a cornerstone role in the institution's
information- gathering activity. Senior college management can enter and
move in influential circles that offer insider information, which other
administrators and faculty from the college usually could not enter, at
least as peers. Independently, or in concert with the board of trustees
or a college foundation, college leaders connect with players at upper
levels in business, government, community life, education, and even the
media. A president committed to the mission of workforce and community
development is accustomed to listening for information, resources, or
new developments that would further that mission, whether by informing
current activity or suggesting new directions or partnerships. Because
senior leaders know the institution's strategic priorities, and are
thoroughly briefed on its workforce and community activities, they are
alert to what is most promising or most significant about the
intelligence gathered in these circles.

Opportunities for direct and personal contact occur at many levels
within a complex institution like the community college. Members of
advisory committees, described by administrators as the "front line
people," are viewed as one of the best sources for information about
labor market trends and developments in specific occupations. The
businesses and clinical sites with which a college already partners are
an immediate source of information about occupations, industries, and
training trends. So too are college students, many of whom also work at
local firms and observe needs firsthand. Students working in clinical
placements may learn much that could be useful to their faculty advisers
and program administrators. Faculty members, by attending conferences
and simply keeping current in their fields, identify emerging growth
areas in knowledge and training.

Insider information is one of the fruits of direct personal contact.
Insider information is likely to be available in advance, before
published sources, and even more up-to-date than industry reports. It is
likely to be richer, more specific, and more localized -- more
informative with respect to a particular company or industry or
location. Having such information enables a college to sharpen its
responsiveness, to step up quickly to address new trends and
developments.

\[begin example of college presidents accessing insider information to
keep learning focused on business needs\]

**Presidential Information Gathering**

Jean Floten, president of **Bellevue Community College** (Washington
State) is intensely involved in finding out what the college can do to
respond to the business community.  As often as she can, the president
conducts what she calls a "CEO tour," during which she visits CEOs and
business leaders in the region to find out what their needs are.  She
then brings her findings back to the college, where a rapid response
team quickly assembles to address the needs. The president notes that
the CEO tour produces candid, one-on-one conversations with employers,
which yield information that might not be shared at an open meeting, and
enables her to truly understand needs that the college can respond to.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**What data collection methods does your college employ to gather
knowledge on local and regional labor market needs?**

\[end question\]

### Understanding the Local and Regional Economy

While community colleges rely on extensive networks of contacts to learn
about local, regional, and national labor market needs, market
responsive ones also make strategic use of formal data collection to
improve their knowledge. This includes analysis and review of data from
external sources. Valencia Community College uses labor statistics from
the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, which include the number of
individuals employed by occupation and industry, projected occupational
and industry needs, the top 100 fastest-growing and -changing
occupations, and occupational earnings, at state, regional, and county
levels. In order to stay abreast of changing market needs, Holyoke
Community College relies on MassStats data from the Massachusetts
Division of Employment and Training. In addition, the college utilizes
data from the Massachusetts Institute for Social and Economic Research
(MISER) and takes full advantage of regional economic reports produced
by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to determine which employers
to approach when seeking new opportunities.

A few campuses also work with economic development agencies to share and
standardize data categories. The San Diego Workforce Partnership and
other area economic-development entities have established industry
"clusters," which they use not only to collect and analyze data but also
to develop programs and initiatives. The community college district has
adopted this framework, relying heavily on information issued by the
partnership to align their programs and course offerings with what the
community needs.

Other colleges conduct surveys and focus groups to collect data on local
employment needs and trends, often in partnership with economic
development organizations or chambers of commerce. Seminole Community
College has used surveys to collect labor market information from
employers in conjunction with the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. In
2001, the college gathered information through a Web site from 100
companies in Seminole County concerning the number of employees they
anticipated hiring and the skills they would require.

Responsive colleges collect sufficient local economic and employment
information to understand business needs and develop effective programs
to address them. Hard data on these needs is an important first step in
attracting the resources required to meet them. Kirkwood Community
College in Iowa conducted a face-to-face survey with employers in 1998
and spent two to three months analyzing the data to understand
employers' training needs. From the data, they developed customer
contact training and two supervisor management programs, and began or
expanded about 10 credit programs. They received money from the state
for the new programs because they effectively demonstrated the need
through their data collection and analysis.

\[begin example of college using formal data collection methods to
respond to employer needs\]

**Using Data to Monitor Training Needs**

***Dallas County Community College District*** studies trends in local
training needs through internal data collection and analysis. They track
the number of employers that have worked with the college to develop
courses and contracted with the college to provide training, as well as
the number of students taking these courses. This information is
collected, by campus, both for credit-bearing contract training and for
continuing education. The data are presented monthly by employer, type
of training, and funding to the district's board.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Do you have the information or data that you need to understand local
labor market needs?**

\[end question\]

**Program and Internal Review**

Most community colleges assess their labor market responsiveness
primarily through periodic program reviews. Review committees generally
include administrators and staff, but at responsive colleges these
results also reach the senior administrators who see the overall picture
and hold departments accountable for proposed changes. Advisory
committees are key players in program review. Every program is usually
reviewed at least once every five years. More frequent attention is
given to programs where student (or employer) demand is unusually high
or low. Such reviews usually investigate graduate employment and student
satisfaction at the program level, in addition to analyzing standard
enrollment and completion data, often collected for state reporting or
accreditation bodies.

\[begin example of periodic college reviews of programs\]

**Strategic Program Redevelopment**

Four years ago, the water-wastewater program at ***Mountain Empire
Community College*** (Virginia) was on the verge of extinction. On
conducting some research, the college discovered that it has the only
associate-level program of this kind in the state, and that there are a
large number of job openings at water plants. The college revived the
program, offering it via the Internet, and created an innovative "lab in
a box" kit to allow students to complete their lab work on the job. With
grant support from the Virginia Department of Health and the Slemp
Foundation, the program serves incumbent workers interested in promotion
to lab supervision and trains new operators to staff local plants.

\[end example\]

The primary "market signals" that many colleges use to alter resource
allocations appear to be shifts in student course selection and in the
types of training that employers are willing to purchase. Many community
colleges hold that their students are savvy and well-informed on local
employment needs, and thus enrollments signal the relevance of programs
and coursework. However, some colleges noted that having independent
information about local demand for a given occupation or set of skills
was important, because such data at times indicate a mismatch between
courses popular with students and courses that teach the skills needed
by local employers. A hallmark of market-responsive colleges is their
refusal to cut course offerings automatically when faced with low
student interest. Instead, they proactively cultivate student interest
in programs that have low enrollments but high demand from local
employers for graduates. Responsive colleges also pay attention to
programs in which student interest exceeds the institution's capacity to
meet it. Information on the level of demand for a program and the
employment opportunities available can prepare a college to obtain the
resources to expand it.

Colleges have also used data collection to evaluate the operations of
their occupational and other labor-market-responsive programs in terms
of efficiency, productivity, and cost effectiveness, from an
institutional point of view. There may be some resistance from faculty
and board members when the results lead to recommendations to eliminate
programs, courses, and even faculty positions. However, improvements in
efficiency are clearly beneficial to sustaining programs in the long
term.

\[begin example of a college's efficiency review \]

**Efficiency Review Improves Scheduling**

***Palomar College*** (California), historically a "morning" college,
has conducted efficiency reviews of its classes, attempting to measure
whether classes were utilizing their space effectively. The study found
most classes operating at 72 percent capacity. Staff looked at
alternative scheduling, and the college began offering afternoon,
evening, and even weekend classes. Efficiency rose to 93 percent.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**How does your college assess the range and value of its programming
and services?**

\[end question\]

# Evaluating and Measuring the College's Labor Market Services

Few community colleges routinely produce quantitative impact assessments
of college programs on local economies and employer groups, but some do
hire consultants to perform one-time assessments. Colleges that wish to
strengthen their labor market responsiveness find various ways to
evaluate the impact of their efforts and the satisfaction of their
clients and partners. Many ask the businesses they partner with to
evaluate their training or other services. Others assess employer
satisfaction with former students of the college.

\[begin example of employer satisfaction survey\]

**Measuring Employer Satisfaction**

***Indian River Community College*** (Florida) conducts an annual
employer satisfaction survey on the prior year's graduates, which they
distribute to employers in person, obtaining a 40 -- 50 percent response
rate. The survey asks a series of questions related to the "SCANS
competencies." The college tabulates responses and reports them to the
college board. The results indicate areas of strength and areas for
improvement. A few years ago the survey reported a decrease in
satisfaction with the math skills of graduates. The college responded by
offering more remediation in math, and employer satisfaction improved.

\[end example\]

Evaluation of labor-market responsiveness outcomes among students may be
possible using internal data. Standard data on enrollment, completion,
and awarding of degrees and certificates is the backbone of most college
information systems. These data, if broken down by field of study,
change over time and age of students, and provide useful information
about labor-market-responsiveness outcomes and the allocation of
resources across a college's various missions---academic, vocational,
basic education, and adult education.

\[begin question\]

**In what ways does your college evaluate the impact of its efforts to
meet labor market needs?**

\[end question\]

# Tracking Community College Students and Their Employment

Perhaps the best indicators of labor market responsiveness come from
determining the extent to which coursework helps students get hired at
jobs and perform well after being hired. Many colleges have found this
information helpful for their internal planning purposes as well as for
promoting the success of their programs among state and local government
officials, business and industry leaders, and potential students.

The primary sources of this information are matching of enrollment data
with state wage-record and data surveys of former students and
employers. There are strengths and shortcomings in both approaches ---
data-matching and surveys --- as indicated by the experiences of the
colleges we visited.

About half of the colleges we studied have comprehensive survey-based
information about the activities of former students. However, many found
the usefulness of these surveys to be limited by low response rates and
lack of coverage of all relevant groups. Surveys of graduates (students
obtaining degrees or certificates) were most common at these
institutions. Less common were surveys of other former students. Even
less common were surveys of employers that hire former students. Thus,
while colleges may be able to obtain detailed information about student
and employer satisfaction and program strengths and shortcomings from
surveys, they are generally expensive and, with low response rates, not
representative of all students and employers.

In contrast, many colleges obtain employment and earnings information
from linkages of wage records to school attendance data. In almost all
cases, these data are obtained from state-level education organizations
in states with centralized accountability systems. Employment results
are available to the public at the institutional level. In addition,
information that is linked from student wage records is available to
colleges for their own internal analyses. College leaders in states
where state-level accountability systems are not currently in place can
seek the help of state employment agencies, perhaps in conjunction with
researchers at universities, to establish an ongoing process of matching
school enrollment data with employment and wage data.

The advantage of using administrative rather than survey data is that it
is relatively less expensive to collect and more accurate at the
individual student level. The primary disadvantages of administrative
data relative to survey data are the lack of detail on the match between
training and employment, the lack of information on the satisfaction of
former students with programs offered at the school, and the inability
to track former students who leave the state. To overcome these
disadvantages, some colleges find it useful to perform limited
satisfaction surveys of former students to supplement what they learn
from the employment and wage data.

Several other data sources permit analysis of outcomes for former
students. One is licensure and certification records available at the
state level. Another is the use of state and federal information about
transfers to other postsecondary institutions. The latter is of
particular use to colleges in states that also provide information to
match wage records with college course-taking.

\[begin question\]

**Do you gather data on the post-enrollment outcomes of your students?**

\[end question\]

# Information- and Data-Driven Strategic Planning

Labor-market-responsive colleges not only gather information about the
local economy, student outcomes, employers, and so forth; they also rely
upon it for strategic planning to improve their workforce and economic
development efforts and to meet local needs more effectively. It drives
decision-making, as colleges initiate, improve, or terminate programs.
At Scott Community College in eastern Iowa, staff members assess the
cost, the job demand, and entry-level wages, among other factors, before
deciding whether or not to implement a new program. The college surveys
employers in the industry in order to obtain a clearer idea of the
proposed program's value.

Responsive colleges also use data to measure their own effectiveness at
responding to the labor market and to determine how they can improve. A
broader institutional review can examine more than local economic data
and program outcomes. It can collect information on and analyze internal
structures and resource allocation as well as the external political and
policy contexts. Through the process of strategic thinking, data and
information are brought to bear for a variety of purposes---planning,
problem-solving, vision development, and continuous improvement. Such a
process can act as a lever for cultural change on campus, leading to a
rethinking of a college's mission and goals to enhance alignment with
community needs.

\[Begin example of college review process \]

**Institutional Review Process**

***Green River Community College*** (Washington State) engages in a
three-year cycle of major institutional review, which includes an
environmental scan, a review of mission and goals, and a refinement of
the college's vision. When conducting an environmental scan, the college
analyzes both its internal and external environments, including an
assessment of college strengths and weaknesses, a review of
demographics, economic and political trends, and state legislative
mandates.

\[End example\]

**Lessons Learned**

-   Labor-market-responsive colleges use information and data to
    understand their environment and evaluate their effectiveness in
    meeting local employment needs.

-   Personal contacts, particularly through the president and program
    advisory committees, are an irreplaceable source of up-to-the-minute
    data on local employer needs and economic shifts.

-   Responsive colleges regularly use published data to learn more about
    labor market trends. They capitalize on opportunities to partner
    with others and survey local employers.

-   Responsive colleges improve by evaluating their services to
    employers.

-   Responsive colleges do not rely solely on student enrollment as a
    measure of employer demand. They independently assess this demand
    and find ways to boost enrollment in courses for which there are
    high wages and employer demand but low student interest.

-   The best indicators of labor market responsiveness come from
    determining the extent to which coursework helps students get hired
    at jobs and perform well after being hired. The primary sources of
    this information are surveys of former students and employers and
    matching of enrollment data with state wage data.

-   Strategic planning at responsive colleges is driven by data and
    information, and resources are invested to collect and analyze the
    necessary information.

**Resource: Responding to Changing Labor Market Conditions Through
Technology**

In 2000, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)
commissioned the creation of an economic impact model to accurately
measure the returns to the public from local community colleges.  With
studies completed at more than 400 colleges in more than a dozen states,
the data show that community colleges provide high rates of return on
public dollars invested in most cases, returning more dollars to the
public than the colleges receive.  Based on this model, a tool was
developed to assist colleges in determining the future industries and
occupations in their service regions, the future demand for courses, and
the accommodations necessary for specific courses as industries move
into or out of the area. 

The Community College Strategic Planner (CCSP), available for a fee
through CCBenefits, Inc., is designed to help colleges measure and
respond to labor market forces. The CCSP provides the following three
components:

***1. Occupation and Program Forecaster***. This module projects jobs by
industry, occupation, and course demand by CIP code (Classification of
Instructional Programs) at the county level. To show industry forecasts
in the college service area, the CCSP projects county-level industry
data to the forecast year using data from the U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and U.S. Census. All told,
the projections draw upon 24 major data sources. To forecast
occupational demand at the county level, BLS data are regionalized and
adjusted for emerging technological changes, the age of workers by
occupation, and other factors affecting occupational demand.  Simply by
clicking on the forecast year and counties, subscribing colleges obtain
the projections for new and replacement jobs by occupation. The CCSP
then merges current course offerings with occupation projections to
develop a picture of the specific demands for coursework in the future,
reported in detail to the four-digit CIP code categories.  The CCSP
projects the future demand for courses currently offered and the
opportunities for new course offerings for any year 15 years into the
future.

***2. Curricula Impact Analyst***. Embedded in every CCSP is a regional
economic impact input-output (IO) model covering the counties of the
college service area.  IO models are used to estimate the direct and
indirect effects of user-specified changes in the direct economic
activity in the region (for example, the startup of a new or the closing
of an old industry in the region). To model an industry relocating into
the region, a user simply selects the industry from a drop-down menu and
enters the estimated number of direct new jobs in the box provided. The
CCSP then projects the change in: a) industry outputs, b) occupations,
and most importantly, c) the courses (by CIP code) to offer to
accommodate the changes.

***3. Student Profile Projector Forecaster***.  The CCSP forecasts the
future size, age, gender, and ethnicity of the population in the region
for any year 15 years into the future.

More information on CCSP can be found at
[www.ccbenefits.com](http://www.ccbenefits.com/) or through
[www.acct.org](http://www.acct.org/).

**[Relationship-Building]{.smallcaps}**

The community college committed to labor market responsiveness is
equally committed to relationship-building. Without ongoing
relationships with relevant constituencies, colleges are limited in
their knowledge of the community's current needs and the opportunities
that exist to meet them. Without the requisite intelligence gained
through active and ongoing relationships in the public and private
sectors, colleges cannot form the types of strategic alliances and
partnerships discussed in the following module. Responsive colleges
recognize that relationships with other organizations also allow them to
market their ability to meet local needs. More importantly, they
position themselves also as leaders and partners in economic
development.

Responsive colleges understand that success in meeting workforce needs
often requires the additional resources of a consortium of education and
training providers, and that such a consortium can assist colleges in
their search for new resources. Labor-market-responsive colleges put
into practice new strategies for outreach, networking, and
relationship-building. They invest sufficient financial and human
resources into the relationship-building process and understand that it
is an ongoing task.

All community colleges have relationships with chambers of commerce,
workforce development, social service, civic, or educational groups. The
hallmark of the most labor-market-responsive colleges is the expanded
constituencies with which they build relationships, reflected in a
greater number and diversity of partner organizations. Correspondingly,
such colleges are more involved in regional and statewide collaborations
that position the institution to gather information and leverage
resources more effectively. For these reasons and more, building
networks with other community colleges is important.

Although the president, board of trustees, senior administrators, and
the workforce development or continuing education division normally lead
these efforts, relationship-building is everyone's job at a responsive
college. New relationships are formed through strategic outreach.
Colleges develop new avenues for marketing their career-oriented
services and refine the messages that they deliver, portraying the
institution as a responsive and flexible partner in economic
development. Mission and vision statements, strategic plans, and top
college personnel are important vehicles for these messages.

**Expanded Relationships Based on Location**

The location of a community college will determine in part the most
promising places to network, and colleges need to aggressively research
these possibilities. For a community college to become a vibrant actor
in economic and workforce development requires that its leaders and
staff become engaged with others in those circles. Business
organizations, such as chambers of commerce, Rotary clubs, and tech
councils, are obvious places to build relationships with employers and
business leaders. Other entities include community and regional economic
development councils as well as other planning, economic, or workforce
development organizations. Major corporate headquarters and small
business networks are also important places to begin to establish a
presence. College leaders should examine whether they have fully
explored larger regional development efforts as well.

\[begin example of college-business relationships\]

**New Relationships Enhance College's Reach**

**Green River Community College** (Washington State) has built upon its
relationship with the Auburn Chamber of Commerce to enhance the
college's access to city resources. The two collaborated to open the
Regional Enterprise Center in downtown Auburn, a one-stop provider for
economic development, community resources, and educational services.
Housed in the center are the chamber of commerce and the college's Small
Business Assistance Center, as well as a visitors center, economic
development and business leadership programs, and meeting space for
community events. The college also recently collaborated with the city
of Kent on the Kent Station. Set for a 2005 opening, Kent Station is a
\$100 million, 470,000 square-foot retail, education, entertainment and
residential project. Green River plans to move its SkillStream
continuing education and business training services into the center.

\[end example\]

Every locale has a unique set of organizations and networks oriented
toward broader community concerns. These resources are useful to the
college as entrees to new populations and as routes to building new
collaborations. In the neighborhoods served by Malcolm X College on the
west side of Chicago, for example, the ministers and their churches are
powerful forces in the community and deeply connected to the needs of
its residents. The dean of continuing education serves on the board and
the education committee of the Westside Ministers Coalition. The
personal relationships that she and others have developed with church
leaders provide the college with a way to reach people in the community
and to market educational opportunities at the college\'s West Side
Learning Center. The college has brought programs into the community as
a result of these connections and become part of collaborations like
that which led to the West Side Consortium Training Institute for Family
Child Care Home Providers.

In other communities, college representatives reach out to ethnic
organizations, labor unions, and nonprofit organizations representing
various interests. If the college has identified underserved populations
in its district as part of its labor market responsiveness mission,
staff should explore whether there are formal groups or even informal
gatherings that would provide access to these populations.

Building strong networks requires that the college do its homework. "You
have to know your community," stated the dean of the IT Institute at
Northern Virginia Community College. "We needed the names of interested
companies and specific people in those companies to be successful.
Knowing the environment is critical. You can't wait for people to come
to you. You must go to them and build relationships."

Other educational institutions should not be overlooked. Many community
colleges have existing relationships with high schools, a traditional
source of college students. Responsive colleges market their
career-oriented offerings to the K--12 system in creative ways.
Relationships with local schools are important recruitment avenues for
career-oriented programs at community colleges.

Building relationships or forming consortia with other community
colleges, training providers, and four-year institutions is a way to
leverage increased resources. From the platform of a strong working
relationship, Springfield Technical Community College and Holyoke
Community College in Massachusetts jointly applied for and were awarded
the Nurse Career Ladder Initiative (NUCLI) grant by the Regional
Employment Board of Hampden County, in response to the desperate need
for nurses in the region. Plans are to increase enrollments in both
colleges' nursing education programs.

Community colleges can also address employer training needs throughout a
state or region through a collaborative and coordinated response.
Consortia provide a framework for these responses. Scott Community
College is part of One Source, a collaboration among all 15 Iowa
community colleges that allows companies with a statewide presence to go
to one source to negotiate training. Responsive colleges recognize the
resource that other community colleges provide in meeting regional
industry needs in a seamless fashion. Advocacy at the state level on
community college funding and policy, and marketing at the local level
are also important benefits of partnering with other colleges. Holyoke
Community College's president joined the presidents of three other
community colleges in the region for a presentation to the Holyoke
Economic and Industrial Corporation on the value of community colleges
to the local economy.

\[begin example of a relationship between regional colleges and
business\]

**Regional Community College Cooperation**

Both ***Palomar College*** and the ***San Diego Community College
District*** are part of the San Diego and Imperial County Community
College Association (SDICCCA), made up of nine community colleges and
ex-officio representatives of local universities and the county Office
of Education. Presidents and vocational deans meet in separate groups
monthly, allowing the colleges to collaborate and share programs, and
the association has workforce development committees focused on specific
areas such as biotech. SDICCCA received a regional grant for a customer
service training academy, and the colleges still engage in this
cooperative venture even though the grant is over.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**With which additional groups or organizations could your college build
strategic relationships?**

\[end question\]

\[begin question\]

**Does the college take a leadership role in building strategic
relationships?**

\[end question\]

**Relationship-Building Is Everyone's Job**

Most community colleges have each established an office of college
relations or community and public relations to promote the college's
image and provide information about its programs and services to the
public. The president and trustees play crucial roles as advocates for
the college in circles of power and influence in business and
government. However, at responsive colleges, it is not only the top
leaders or those in a particular office who hold responsibility for
relationship-building and communicating the college's messages about its
labor market responsiveness. This task is shared and embraced not only
by those directly involved in a workforce development division but by
all college staff.

\[begin example of presidential networking\]

**Presidential Networking**

President Carroll of **Mesa College** in the San Diego district sits on
the opera board, serves on the board of San Diego Youth and Community
Services, and sat on the Super Bowl host committee to connect with those
who could help advance the college's mission.

President Nunley of **Montgomery College** is a board member of the Tech
Council of Maryland and co-chair of the Montgomery County Network, High
Technology Council of Maryland, and other networks that connect her with
business leaders.

\[end example\]

The president and other senior administrators set the example for the
creative pursuit of relationship-building. They welcome and seek out
appointments to boards and councils, pursuing avenues that will
introduce them into networks that strategically position the college.
From among many organizations, they choose to participate in those that
hold the most promise for achieving the college's priorities and goals.
Organizations devoted to economic, business, or workforce
development---chambers of commerce, rotary clubs, government-industry
tech councils, economic development corporations, banks---are especially
promising as sources of information, contacts, and possible partnerships
for labor-market-responsive colleges. Every region will have a different
mix of professional, trade, business, nonprofit, and civic organizations
with which the college might judiciously seek involvement at the
leadership level. College leaders who succeed in proactive
relationship-building literally integrate themselves into the economic
aspects of the community in ways that were not typical of a previous
generation of college leaders.

Usually, a labor-market-responsive college will have a specialized
division, typically named "workforce development and community
services," "corporate training and continuing education," or "business
and industry services." While this division manages programs and
services, it also plays a key role in building relationships and in
marketing the college to potential partners and clients. The division
staff may engage in direct marketing, offering PowerPoint presentations
or informal talks to chamber of commerce meetings, rotary clubs,
corporate gatherings, community groups, and major businesses. Some
colleges retain sales or marketing employees in the workforce or
training divisions whose sole job is to bring in new business and retain
existing training relationships. In either case, by working directly on
a day-to-day basis with businesses and other community partners, staff
develop personal relationships with people in these organizations.
Through these relationships, they gather information about industry
trends and needs, while monitoring and assessing the satisfaction of
their clients. The staff members who work on a daily basis with clients,
as the most visible representatives of the college's labor market
responsiveness, function as "advertisements" of the quality of its
services in the way that they carry out their work.

Many community colleges sustain an economic or workforce development
mission based almost entirely on the work of the president and the
division dedicated to that mission. The rest of the college --
administrators and faculty -- go about their jobs as these are typically
defined at a traditional college. At a few community colleges, however,
the mission of labor market responsiveness has so permeated the
organization that everyone on staff feels responsible for making it
happen. And it seems that the more labor-market-responsive a community
college is, the more likely this is to be the case.

New expectations of staff, indeed new organizational cultures, are in
place or evolving at these institutions. Such a fundamental shift can
occur only if upper management directly and unequivocally communicates
these new expectations. As President Nunley of Montgomery College in
Maryland observed, "I tell all of our administrators and try to extend
it to the whole workforce. They must be active in the community. They're
involved to be known, to be visible, to be leaders, and to bring ideas."
Beyond the setting of expectations from the top, it is important that
the network of senior administrators and department heads buy into these
expectations and model the fact that relationship-building and marketing
labor market responsiveness are part of everyone's job. Administrators
and faculty members in relationships with external
organizations---whether advisory committees or clinical or internship
sites or others---understand that what they say and do conveys messages
about the community college and its interest in cooperating with other
organizations.

**Vehicles to Carry the College's Message**

In order to build relationships, a college must communicate its core
mission to the public. The college's formal statements of
purpose---mission statement, vision, and strategic plan---begin setting
forth this message. When labor market responsiveness is truly integrated
into the core mission rather than being simply an auxiliary service,
these formal statements reflect that stance. Beyond serving as the
college's internal guiding principles, these statements become the
bedrock of the college's presentation of itself to the world, both on
campus and off. The college's labor-market-responsive mission should be
broadly and intentionally communicated. It should be prominently placed
in college publications and on the Web site.

Communicating the college's goals and its ability to meet workforce
development needs cannot be confined to paper, however, but must enter
into the common vernacular of college personnel. The board, president,
and key administrators are all important messengers. President Lee of
Oakton Community College near Chicago identified the Oakton Community
College Educational Foundation, a 23-member volunteer board consisting
of business and industry CEOs, as a key resource for "spreading the good
word" about Oakton to other employers.

\[begin question\]

**Do the trustees and president communicate the college's mission of
labor market responsiveness in the public eye and in circles of
influence?**

\[end question\]

The college president's presence in circles of influence is itself a
form of communication. The president's public appearances---where he or
she appears and with whom---communicate as powerfully as words the
mission of the college and its interest in being engaged in partnerships
that further economic, workforce, and community development. The
president is the college's "logo," Margaret Lee, president of Oakton
Community College, observed, attributing the insight to David Riesman,
the author of "Lonely Crowd" and an acknowledged expert on social
behavior in the United States. The president's choices about where to be
active and where to be seen will be interpreted as messages, not only
about the president's priorities, but those of the college as well.

Like the president, the dean or vice president heading the workforce or
continuing education division circulates in the community. This senior
administrator usually secures appointments to boards and committees that
spotlight the college's expertise in economic or workforce development.
The vice president of continuing education at Oakton Community College
in Illinois is president-elect of the Skokie Chamber of Commerce, for
example, while the continuing education dean at Gaston College in North
Carolina chairs the chamber's Education-Workforce Development Committee.
College leadership in these roles communicates labor-market-responsive
priorities. The dean of continuing education for Malcolm X College in
Chicago is constantly out in the neighborhoods, serving on boards and
attending meetings. "My goal," she observed humorously, "is never to be
in my office."

## New Avenues for Marketing Labor Market Responsiveness

As the labor-market-responsive college looks to develop new
relationships, marketing is one important mode of communication. The
larger networks within which community college representatives circulate
may offer important new opportunities for marketing to a wider audience.
Colleges within urban or district systems may find the central office an
important resource, not only of direct referrals, but also of networking
and communication---through meetings, studies, committee work,
publications, and Web sites. The seven City Colleges of Chicago, of
which Malcolm X is one, present themselves as a collective solution to
Chicagoland's economic development needs. The central office of City
Colleges plays a significant role in marshalling the response to
employer requests and coordinating with workforce development boards.

By connecting with economic development agencies, local planning
districts, regional, city or county agencies, and business
organizations, colleges and their services become part of the
promotional efforts of these entities. Mountain Empire Community
College's services are marketed through the Virginia Coalfield Economic
Development Authority's initiative, the Southwest Virginia Promise,
which promotes the region---including the college---to businesses
seeking a new home or expansion site. The Eastside Cities' Training
Consortium, composed of 31 municipalities in Washington State,
collaborates with Bellevue Community College in Seattle to promote the
college's professional development programs to area businesses. And the
Internet creates new opportunities limited only by the imagination of
its users. York Technical College in South Carolina has created a
training exchange on its Web site, where it posts a list of employers
engaged in contract training with the college or other private firms.
The site plays both a brokering role, as companies can see the range and
type of training options offered, and a marketing one, as companies that
observe the training offered by the college are enticed to become
clients.

\[begin question\]

**Has the college sought out new ways to market itself, regionally and
even nationally?**

\[end question\]

\[begin example of marketing college to public school students\]

**Marketing to K--12 Students**

The **Springfield Technical Community College** (STCC) Entrepreneurial
Institute offers credit courses in all aspects of entrepreneurship
education, ranging from a two-year associate degree to K--8 elementary
entrepreneur programs.   In addition to offering programs to K--12
educators interested in teaching entrepreneurship, the Institute runs
the YES! (Young Entrepreneurial Scholars) program for high schools in
the region and the college's Community Foundation of Western
Massachusetts Student Business Incubator. According to administrators,
the institute has been very instrumental in marketing STCC's noncredit
program offerings to prospective students at a young age.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Does your marketing activity encourage others to approach the college
as a potential partner?**

\[end question\]

**The Messages That Marketing Communicates**

In addition to finding new avenues for marketing, responsive colleges
are careful to craft the messages that they want to communicate.
Convincing prospective clients of the value and integrity of what the
community college has to offer is the fundamental message. Is the
community college's essential product, education and training, of the
highest quality? Is the college leadership on top of current industry
trends? Do college graduates find gainful employment? Whether the field
is information technology or nursing or integrated systems technology,
does the college offer training that is up-to-date, and rigorous, and
meets requirements for certification? Are those managing and teaching in
the occupational programs experts who are current in their professional
fields?

Many kinds of evidence discussed earlier can be useful in answering
these questions: graduate and customer satisfaction surveys, evidence of
program recognition and faculty achievement, and recommendations from
businesses and other partners of the college who are pleased with the
services they received. What matters is that the message of excellence
be conveyed. Thus an additional benefit of collecting outcome and impact
data on career-oriented programs is its usefulness for marketing the
college's strengths and successes in meeting local workforce needs.

Another fundamental message to convey to potential partners and clients
is that the college's approach is proactive and focused on solving
problems. The responsive college does not provide canned knowledge, but
solutions to real-world problems. During the relationship-building
phase, college staff members communicate to potential partners their
intention to help identify challenges, devise responses, and sustain and
refine this process over time.

Closely related to problem-solving is flexibility. The stereotype of the
traditional college is the opposite of flexible: classes taught with the
same curriculum in the same room by the same instructors, year after
year. Many people outside of higher education still view colleges
through this lens. The labor-market-responsive college conveys its
willingness and ability to adjust traditional structures---course and
program scheduling, admission and prerequisites, staffing, credit,
curriculum, and location---to address the concerns and needs of
partners. It is no longer news that a traditional on-campus,
semester-long, three days a week, mid-morning class is unlikely to
appeal to employees or the industries that employ them. But how far will
a community college go to serve its customers, without compromising the
quality of its programs? The community college that wants to become more
labor-market-responsive has assessed itself on these issues, and lets
the public and partners know where it stands.

**Communication Is a Two-Way Street**

Communication is fundamental to all relationships. In addition to
information-sharing and consensus-building, it builds rapport. Active
listening is an important skill in gathering crucial information on
local needs. At colleges that are responsive to the labor market, all
these functions are important. Responsive colleges undertake a new and
expanded communication and marketing function: communicating with a
larger audience, emphasizing two-way communication, and
establishing---as the ultimate goal of communications---new
relationships and partnerships.

Every act of communication is understood as (at least) a two-way
exchange. In the rush to get the right message out to the right
audience, the importance of listening may sometimes be overlooked.
Listening is fundamental to the communications process of a
labor-market-responsive college. The very term "responsive" implies that
the college has "heard" and is determined to act upon information
communicated to its representatives.

Not only do conversations between college administrators and business
leaders at the chamber of commerce offer significant information. More
importantly, they begin the process of building relationships. What is
most valued within these relationships is the personal and direct
contact that they afford. Through such relationships, employers and
community and corporate leaders begin to think of the college as a
player in workforce and economic affairs and to share with its
representatives the kind of information, issues, and problems that may
ultimately lead to partnerships.

\[begin question\]

**Do college leaders and staff recognize that listening is a key
component of communications and marketing?**

\[end question\]

**Lessons Learned**

-   Responsive colleges develop a wide variety of nontraditional
    relationships and deepen existing relationships with economic and
    workforce development groups, business and industry, community
    leaders, community-based organizations, other education and training
    providers, powerful figures, and diverse constituencies.

-   Relationship-building is everyone's job. While the board, president,
    and workforce development division have important roles to play,
    staff and faculty members across the organization accept
    responsibility for building relationships through which to
    communicate the college's interest in partnerships and community
    service.

-   The college's formal statements of purpose (vision, mission,
    strategic plan) are core vehicles for broadly communicating the
    college's market responsiveness on campus and off. The president and
    board are key players in communicating the college's interests and
    building relationships, particularly within leadership circles.
    Personal and direct contact is the most effective form of
    communication.

-   The messages that are communicated emphasize not only the quality of
    the college's work, but its flexibility and commitment to bringing
    to the table what the partners need.

**Practical Advice: Approaches to Labor Market Responsiveness**

Community colleges vary in their approach to labor market
responsiveness. In no particular order, here's a short list of
strategies and approaches, gathered through our case studies, that
responsive colleges take:

-   Remain current on the skills most in demand by local employers.

-   Offer courses that address the training needs of employers.

-   Develop increased ability to rapidly respond to these needs.

-   Thoughtfully recruit and increase "non-credit" enrollment.

-   Offer more targeted and contract training courses, beyond those
    listed in the catalog, to benefit employers and others seeking to
    upgrade their skills.

-   Focus on becoming increasingly adept at curriculum development and
    modification to meet the changing needs of students and employers.

-   Integrate non-credit training into for-credit programs, and visa
    versa.

-   Continuously expand and refine for-credit offerings to address many
    of the workforce needs of the local economy.

-   Develop close collaborative partnerships with local businesses,
    trade associations, labor organizations, chambers of commerce,
    economic development agencies, community- based organizations, and
    municipal governments.

-   Provide entrepreneurial assistance to small businesses, including
    start-ups.

-   Launch aggressive outreach programs targeted to local and regional
    businesses, both to offer training services and to solicit feedback
    about course content.

-   Use technology and distance learning to expand capacity to deliver
    credit and noncredit training.

-   Recruit adjunct faculty from among local experts in targeted fields
    to provide training.

-   Demonstrate the ability to use resources efficiently and deliver
    effective training at a lower cost than for-profit or internal
    training providers.

-   Enlist progressive and responsive leaders who promote market
    responsiveness.

-   Collect relevant data, maintain good information management systems,
    and ensure that decisions are data driven.

-   Establish and maintain strong links to the local secondary school
    system (Tech Prep, Dual Enrollment, School-to-Work).

-   Engage local business and community leaders to help the college
    develop market-responsive strategies.

**[Partnerships]{.smallcaps}**

In their efforts to be labor-market-responsive, colleges inevitably need
to partner with local business and industry. Indeed, the programs and
services that result in labor market responsiveness are most often
implemented as a partnership. Partnerships with employers, trade
associations, economic development agencies, and other educational
institutions enable a college to reach beyond the student populations
they have traditionally served and build its capacity in emerging
occupational and training areas. Through outreach, marketing, and
relationship-building, described in the previous module, the community
college opens doors to new contacts and opportunities to demonstrate its
leadership, knowledge, and interests to strategic partners.
Relationships build upon each other, bringing together groups and
individuals with overlapping goals and different mixes of resources and
need. Out of these rich networks, colleges form partnerships with one,
two, or many employers and associations.

Without question, the community college brings to the table many
resources. Depending on the campus, these are likely to include
substantive and instructional expertise, classroom and lab space,
technical equipment, an infrastructure for program delivery, and the
capacity to leverage financing. Importantly, they supply brainpower to
organize, develop, and execute educational and training programs. But
the community college is also likely to be lacking in some areas: access
to new populations of students, cutting-edge technical knowledge and
equipment, in-depth and current knowledge of occupations and industries,
and adequate financing for new programs, to name a few. As senior
officials told us time and time again, labor market responsiveness can
be achieved only through thoughtful and intentional partnership.

Partnering is strategic, based on solid relationships and information
gathered about local employers, community needs, and economic trends.
Successful colleges partner with business and industry leaders---large
and growing firms and innovative industries. Presidents and boards of
trustees play key roles in connecting with these leaders and initiating
partnerships. Entrepreneurial staff members follow up, developing and
sustaining smaller partnerships. Common features of successful
partnerships discussed in this module include: win-win-win situations;
leveraging for the future rather than for short-term gain; flexibility
in meeting needs; lasting for the long term; and visibility that leads
to new partnerships.

## Setting Strategic Priorities

Once the network of relationships described in the previous module has
been established, the college is poised to develop strategic
partnerships that will achieve the workforce and economic development
goals of the community. In focusing on partnerships to enhance labor
market responsiveness, each community college needs to set tactical
priorities. Considered thinking about where to focus time and energy is
part of the standard "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats"
(SWOT) analysis that goes into sound strategic planning. Where are the
college's strengths and where are the opportunities in the community?
Which industries and companies are most important economically? Which
are expanding? Are there other employers, such as government agencies or
school systems, for which the college would be an appropriate partner?
As presented in earlier modules, identifying opportunities for strategic
alliances requires information-gathering and research: looking at data
concerning labor market and economic development trends, networking with
representatives from the chamber, businesses and other community
organizations, fielding surveys, and perhaps conducting a systematic
needs analysis.

\[begin example of strategic partnering\]

**Determining the Needs for Strategic Partnering**

**Scott Community College** (Iowa) conducted a survey to determine the
training and employment needs of area employers and discovered that
manufacturers were worried about the skills of their current employees
and foresaw a need for nearly 60,000 new and replacement hires by the
year 2000. In response, the college partnered with five manufacturers to
build the Manufacturing Technology Center to address these skill needs.
Ten local manufacturing employers helped develop the curriculum and
marketing plan, went to high schools to recruit students, and provided
the college with 20 percent of the center's operating costs. The state
provided \$1.5 million to build the center. The college is now building
another manufacturing center in a nearby county with nine employers and
state funds.

\[end example\]

The mutual processes of institutional self-evaluation and community
assessment -- the matching of strengths and opportunities -- lead to
reasoned decisions by the college leaders about where to focus their
efforts. They can then identify and pursue the specific companies and
people with whom to partner. They may target particular industries,
occupations, or specific corporations. Through extensive networking and
needs analysis, the leaders of Anne Arundel Community College in
Maryland, for example, identified information technology as a priority
area for the college in the business environment and the National
Security Agency as a key employer.

\[begin example of college re-prioritizing\]

**Identifying Economic Opportunity**

**Valencia Community College** seeks to be a major player in its
region's economic development. Central Florida is a high- employment but
relatively low- wage economy. By far the largest employment sector is
the hospitality industry, which offers low wages. The college and the
community developed a "conscience economy strategy," deciding no longer
to pursue low- wage jobs, but rather to focus on identifying clusters of
opportunity for economic development, building on their strengths in
healthcare, financial software, and dynamic media fields.

\[end example\]

Identifying opportunities and setting priorities also means seriously
reflecting on the meaning of "community." Many community college
administrators mentioned that as they explored how to be more
responsive, they found their service area expanding. "This region is
very interdependent," observed Robert Templin, the president of Northern
Virginia Community College. "Economies know no boundaries, but politics
do. We have to think beyond political boundaries."

Modern community colleges must weigh economic and labor market concerns
that go beyond the traditional interests of the college or the immediate
needs of local employers. When partnering with economic development
organizations, community colleges can contribute to the demand side of
the labor market by developing local industry and attracting new
business. Through such partnerships, they can address the loss of
manufacturing jobs, economic downturns, and the dislocation of workers.
These concerns almost always play themselves out on a regional level.

Moreover, the global economy may have implications for even the most
geographically isolated college. Information technology is only one
example of a growth industry not tied to geographic location. This
suggests that the search for strategic partners should not be limited to
the usual suspects within the bounds of the local community or county.
Many responsive colleges have sought to establish partnerships with
companies and other employers on a regional basis, sometimes crossing
state lines.

\[begin example of partnering with regional employers\]

**Partnering with Regional Employers**

Developed in 1996, the **Springfield Technical Community College**
(STCC) Technology Park, located in a renovated mill on a 15.3-acre site,
provides lease space for technology-based and light manufacturing
companies. Adjacent to Springfield's downtown central business district,
the park houses 15 companies with approximately 950 employees. The
Verizon New England Next Step program, a partnership between Verizon and
one of its unions, is located in the park. This \$8 million, 11 college
program trains Verizon employees throughout New England in
telecommunications technologies. STCC is the lead college in the
program.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Does the college engage in sustained, successful partnerships that are
responsive to the labor market**?

\[end question\]

\[begin question\]

**Do the partnerships in which your college takes part anticipate local
economic development and growth?**

\[end question\]

# 

#  

# Partner With Leaders

Leaders of community colleges with successful partnerships advise that
in setting strategic priorities colleges establish partnerships with
large employers and innovative industries on the one hand, and those
undergoing dramatic change, growth, or retrenchment on the other. The
reasons for this approach are many. In the first scenario, the more
substantial the business or industry, the greater the need for large
numbers of well-trained workers. The more successful the enterprise, the
more likely leaders are to be interested in growth and expansion. The
more visionary the leaders, the more likely the firm is to be
enthusiastic and willing to take risks in the interest of creating new
enterprises and partnerships. As a representative of Central Piedmont
Community College in North Carolina recommends: "Be partners with
leaders."

Partnering with national or international corporations is likely to
provide a higher level of resources and greater recognition for the
college. In addition, regional or national connections are a good
leverage point for future partnerships. While not all community colleges
are adjacent to national or international corporations, national
professional associations and unions can also be leaders in their
fields. South Piedmont Community College in rural North Carolina
developed its metallurgical engineering technology program by partnering
with the ASM Materials Information Society, an association for materials
engineers and scientists.

\[begin example of partnering with national corporations\]

**Partnering with National Leaders**

In 1995, the National Science Foundation designated and funded the
National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (NWCET) at
**Bellevue Community College** (Washington State) as a National Center
of Excellence in Advanced Technological Education.  The center was
created to advance IT education and improve the quality of the IT
workforce in the state of Washington and nationally.  With the support
of major donors such as the Boeing Company and Microsoft Corporation, as
well as 13 partners in business, education, and industry, the NWCET
develops IT skills standards and identifies the needs of IT employers
and prospective IT students.  The Educator-to-Educator IT Institute
(E2E) located at the center provides IT training for teachers and links
the NWCET with industry leaders in IT instruction. Through E2E, the
NWCET is a national Microsoft IT Academy Program provider, and
McGraw-Hill sponsored the 2003 Working Connections IT Faculty
Development Institutes.

\[end example\]

In the second scenario, firms undergoing dramatic change are likely to
be in the most need of retooling and retraining. Employees are more
likely to seek additional training to stay contemporary and competitive.
Dislocated employees will need to be retrained for new positions. Small
firms that can't afford individual training programs will need special
assistance. Indian River Community College in Florida went out of its
way to organize small businesses, creating avenues for training that
none of them could individually afford.

Direct brokering by community college presidents has resulted in
numerous partnerships of great benefit to institutions and their
partners. The personal involvement of Montgomery College's president in
establishing relationships with Marriott's CEO resulted in a \$1 million
gift from that company that even senior administrators would have found
next to impossible to secure. The president of Malcolm X College in
Chicago negotiated an arrangement with the United Center, a sports arena
situated next door to the campus, which will bring \$1.6 million to the
college for scholarships and athletic programs in 2004. The president's
strategic leadership sets the stage for other administrators and staff
to pursue promising relationships with the purpose of developing
partnerships.

A college's board of trustees and its foundation board should be
composed of business and community leaders. As influential people with
broad networks of their own, they often play key roles in developing
partnerships for the college. Kirkwood Community College in Iowa
partners with Aegon USA, one of the largest insurance companies in the
world, with operations in Cedar Rapids. Aegon's CEO is the president of
the college's foundation board. In 1998, Aegon built its corporate data
center on the college's campus and in exchange built the college an
information technology center.

\[begin question\]

**Are you partnering with the right organizations?**

\[end question\]

**Partnerships Extend the Education and Workforce Development Pipeline**

Community colleges sit at the nexus of educational institutions
supporting workforce development. Secondary schools serve as primary
feeders to many community colleges, while four-year institutions receive
many transfers from community college. Together, they form the
educational pipeline preparing individuals for productive employment.
Only through partnerships can the various levels of education work as a
system.

Most community colleges have articulation agreements or other
relationships with K--12 institutions. Responsive colleges have
transformed these relationships into innovative partnerships. San Diego
City College hosts a "middle college high school" (a co-located high
school) on campus, of which 300 out of 700 students are dually enrolled
in high school and the college. Gaston College in North Carolina views
dual enrollment programs as a way of recruiting more high school
students into the college's technical programs.

\[begin example of college-grade school partnerships\]

**Career-Focused K--12 Partnerships**

In 1999, **Kirkwood Community College** (Iowa) launched career academies
in engineering technology, local area networks, IT fields, health
sciences, and graphic design. Each represents a joint venture between
local school districts and the college. High school teachers teach
college-level courses the last two years of high school, which transfer
for college credit and allow high school students to more effectively
pursue viable career options. Nearly 1,000 students participate each
year and enrollments are growing.

\[end example\]

Other K--12 partnerships focus on increasing career awareness and
interest in important technical fields. Montgomery College in Maryland
sponsors summer camps to introduce middle school students and their
teachers to careers in biotech, a countywide workforce training need
that the college is addressing. The science department within Bellevue
Community College (BCC) in Washington State has an ongoing partnership
with a local elementary school in which BCC science instructors share
their knowledge of science with the students.  Each year BCC and the
elementary school host a "Young Science Celebration" which features
group projects and hands-on demonstrations.  College officials believe
such partnerships build an early and abiding interest in science
careers. Developing interest and enrollment in high-demand career areas
is a critical step toward meeting local labor-force needs.

Partnerships with other community colleges can also result in important
outcomes. Scott Community College in Iowa maintains a reciprocity
agreement with Black Hawk College, enabling students from each college
to enroll in career-oriented programs the other does not offer. Through
distance education inter-collegiate partnerships provide another
innovative approach to labor market responsiveness. Northern Virginia
Community College brought together other colleges from across the
country---Dallas, Miami, New York, and Washington---to design a degree
program combining distance education with in-person classes to train
workers in conference planning and facilitation. An administrator
explained that while the design and development of the online curricula
came out of the consortium of colleges, the push came from employers.

In many technical fields, bachelor's degrees are a necessity for
entering the labor market. Articulation agreements developed through
partnering with four-year institutions ensure that community college
students pursuing technical careers lose no time through imperfect
alignment with local university requirements in those fields. City
College in the San Diego District offers a degree in industrial
technology, but San Diego State had terminated the corresponding
bachelor's degree program. Not wanting a dead-end degree, the college
partnered with Fresno State University, hundreds of miles to the north,
to provide the additional units in the field needed for a bachelor's
degree, with some courses taught at the community college and some
online. Local employers had a strong interest in keeping students in San
Diego County for their education, in the hopes that they would enter the
San Diego workforce upon graduation. At Montgomery College in Maryland,
students can complete a bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland
University College in 10 majors without leaving the community college's
campus. Thus partnerships with other higher education providers enable
community colleges to be at the forefront of local workforce
development.

## Entrepreneurial Staff Maintain and Enhance Partnerships

College staff interface daily with partners and play a key role in the
success and growth of those partnerships. Staff members who are
effective in playing this role tend to be entrepreneurial and customer
oriented. They often have private-sector experience---in business or in
health for example, to name two high-growth sectors---which gives them
credibility with their business partners and a leg up in understanding
the needs, customs, and challenges facing an organization. As the
primary point of contact on a daily basis, they monitor client
satisfaction with the services the college is providing, seek to address
the real issues the client faces, and look for ways to improve upon and,
ultimately, expand the partnership. To the degree that college staff
members succeed, their clients are likely to spread the word to others
in their networks, further enhancing and communicating the college's
reputation.

Another characteristic of college staff attuned to partnerships is their
commitment to the principle of continual improvement. "We can always get
better," is a common sentiment among staff at responsive colleges. They
thrive in an organizational culture that rewards staff for pursuing
change and taking risks in the service of improvement. By communicating
this ideology to their partners and potential partners, these colleges
demonstrate their willingness and ability to be responsive.

\[begin example of college personnel responding to needs of city
government staff\]

**College Staff Ensure the Success of Partnerships**

**Oakton Community College** (Illinois) has partnered with the City of
Park Ridge to provide training to its managerial and supervisory staff
for about five years. Asked to describe the partnership's advantages,
the city's human resources director noted that a previous provider had
served up "canned" training and offered consultants unable to relate
well to the city's staff. In contrast, "Oakton deals with the real
issues, and they work hard to make the training fit. They've also worked
hard with our budget issues, and the loss of grant funds. One
facilitator really clicked---I have employees who e-mail her for advice
on how to coach a staff member."

\[end example\]

Leadership removes the obstacles so common in a large organization,
which can easily interfere with creative efforts to successfully operate
partnerships and new programs. These include scheduling, compensation,
competition, and "good old-fashioned bureaucracy," to name a few.
Leaders ensure, from the initial hiring of employees through their
orientation, training, and subsequent performance evaluations, that they
consistently seek and reward initiative for the activities that lead to
productive partnerships. They seek to hire people with the right
attitudes as well as the right experience and skills.

Colleges that seek to become labor-market-responsive have devised a
number of ways to encourage staff to play their parts and reward those
who do. Staff members may receive stipends beyond their regular salaries
to manage or teach in new programs. The college may underwrite training
for staff members to enable them to lead the college's advancement into
new or rapidly changing fields, most obviously in information
technology. Colleges may sponsor staff recognition programs that
showcase and reward faculty members and administrators---at all
levels---who assume leadership roles in partnering activities.

## 

\[begin question\]

**To what extent does the college encourage and reward its staff for
entrepreneurial activities?**

\[end question\]

##   {#section-4 .unnumbered}

## 

## Common Features of Successful Partnerships

At colleges with a history of successful partnerships, experienced staff
members have identified the features of this success. At the top of
their list is that all partners must view the arrangement as mutually
beneficial. This ensures effective and harmonious working relationships.
It is perhaps obvious that a successful partnership represents a
win-win-win situation. Successful labor-market-responsive programs
benefit students or workers enrolled in the program, the business or
industry that the program targets, and the community itself, thanks to
the economic development and workforce enhancement that result. Senior
administrators at responsive community colleges focus foremost on what
the college brings to the partnership, examining the "value-added" of
their contribution. For example, the question President Nunley of
Montgomery College, Maryland, asks of her partners is, "What can
Montgomery College do for you that we're not doing?" The speed with
which the college is able to respond to requests is important in
demonstrating its value to business and industry partners.

Leverage rather than simple profit is the long-term measure of a
partnership's value. Colleges in partnerships do indeed realize new
funds, students, and donations of valuable equipment. Yet senior
administrators advise that neither the college nor its partners will
benefit as much if either is simply trying to sell a product or service
for a flat fee. In fact, "given the political nature of college
financing, it is misleading to focus on the direct costs and revenues
associated with specific programs," according to a study completed by
the Community College Research Center.[^7] The authors report that "an
activity---even one that loses money---can have political benefits that
generate revenue and resources, and result in a stronger financial
position for the college as a whole."

Moraine Valley Community College (Illinois) staff explain that in their
partnership with Cisco, the corporation is building a customer base
through training rather than by trying to profit from the price set for
the training, as other companies do. The college, on the other hand,
continues to enhance its collective expertise and reputation in an
important subfield of information technology, a capability that has
continually expanded the partnership with Cisco and led to other IT
partnerships as well. Other colleges noted the need for business
partners to put something on the table (scholarships, equipment,
technology, start-up funds) and invest in a program in order to start
the partnership out on the right foot.

Successful partnerships provide fertile soil for further partnerships.
Other companies hear about the college's training and services by word
of mouth. Visible collaborations attract attention from others in the
area. Thus partnerships themselves are a powerful way to market the
college's partnering abilities. The Wiremold Company, a Hartford-based
manufacturer of plastics, asked Asnuntuck Community College in
Connecticut to develop a skills upgrade program for its workforce.
Asnuntuck agreed to train their employees and has increased its
partnerships with other local employers due to publicity about the
college's relationship with Wiremold.

\[begin example of successful partnerships creating new partnerships\]

**Successful Partnerships Lead to New Ones**

As a result of **Kirkwood Community College**'s (Iowa) creative
partnership with Aegon, Diamond Mills, another local company, approached
the college about its need for a nutrition research center. Since the
college needed a new veterinary technology facility, the two partnered
to build a facility that would address both their needs. Diamond Mills
paid about 75 percent of the cost in exchange for the college
maintaining the grounds and parking lots. The college has a similar
partnership with Ruffalo Cody and Associates, a fundraising enterprise.
Ruffalo Cody is building its facility on the college campus and hires
students. In addition, Ruffalo Cody will do market research for the
college.

\[end example\]

Another feature of successful partnerships is a college's willingness to
be flexible and responsive to its partners, rather than simply doing
things as it always has. A community college may locate its programs
off-site, away from the campus, within an employment setting or a
community location. Enrollees of the Malcolm X Family Care training
program study in their own neighborhood at the West Side Learning
Center. Students enrolled in the Moraine Valley-University of Chicago
Hospitals Academy nursing program never set foot on campus. They
complete all their studies, even the application process, at the
hospital. Such arrangements are more convenient for employees and
employers, and provide access to the clinical sites essential for allied
health training. They require college faculty and administrators to move
far beyond traditional thinking about the location of education.
Similarly, colleges offer creative scheduling of classes and training to
meet the preferences of students and employers.

Successful partnerships are for the long term. Effort is put into
sustaining and expanding partnerships so long as there are needs to
meet. Colleges are proactive in helping their corporate or employer
partners determine additional needs that the institution could help them
address.

\[begin example of long-term partnership\]

**Building Partnerships Over the Long Term**

***Palomar College***'s relationship with the San Diego Water Authority
reaches back almost 30 years. It began when the authority was looking
for a partner to facilitate professional development for its employees.
As the program has matured, it has become not only a mechanism for
current water authority employees to upgrade their skills and
certifications, but a primary source of new employees. The partnership
includes 23 water districts and cities and averages about 200 students a
semester.

\[end example\]

\[begin question\]

**Are partnerships assessed on their ability to leverage long-term
opportunities?**

\[end question\]

Finally, building successful partnerships is often a prerequisite for
receiving other sources of funding. Green River Community College in
Washington State noted that receipt of state and federal workforce
development funds and federal grants requires the college to demonstrate
a responsive training plan. This is impossible without strong
partnerships with the business community. Thus, leveraging resources
leads to additional resources. Community colleges, regardless of their
quality or expertise, cannot fulfill the mission of workforce or
economic development in isolation. Only through partnership can the
college become truly labor-market-responsive.

**Lessons Learned**

-   Partnerships are essential to ensure that colleges address the needs
    most important to the economic vitality of their communities.

-   Forming strategic partnerships is essential to the development of
    market-responsive programs because such programs tend to be
    expensive. Traditional sources of college funding are not sufficient
    to fund such programs, and business and civic groups often lack the
    resources to build them without assistance.

-   The labor-market-responsive college selects strategic priorities for
    its partnerships after thoughtful assessment and research.

```{=html}
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```
-   College staff members take an entrepreneurial, proactive, and
    creative stance toward operating partnerships.

-   College leaders recognize and reward employees for their partnering
    activities.

-   Partnerships are assessed, not simply by their bottom line, but
    rather by their potential for providing immediate benefits to the
    community and long-term opportunities for leveraging.

-   Labor-market-responsive colleges embrace a continuous improvement
    philosophy and convey that commitment to partners and to the
    community.

-   Enlightened self-interest is at the heart of successful
    partnerships---with the ideal being to identify win-win-win
    arrangements that benefit students, businesses, and the community at
    large.

**[Concluding Remarks and Next Steps]{.smallcaps}**

The value of being a labor-market-responsive college extends beyond the
college itself to the community and region it serves. For the past
decade, forward-thinking leaders in education, business, and economic
development have become increasingly aware of the untapped potential of
community colleges to improve the economic vitality of their
communities. Although America's network of community colleges has made
enormous contributions to workforce and economic development in response
to dramatic shifts in the economy, the well-being of every community is
more than ever tied to the quality of its community college's programs.

This guidebook was designed to help your college maximize its potential
to be effective and responsive so it may contribute to the economic
growth and vitality of its community. From the preceding modules and
findings, you should now see more clearly that in order for a college to
be labor-market-responsive it must first understand the area it services
and how that area is evolving. It must also have an internal structure
and culture that promote the pursuit of opportunities that lead to
partnerships, long-term agreements, and a deeper integration into the
local economic area. This requires both strong and visionary leaders and
organizational structures that promote entrepreneurial thinking and
action. Community colleges that embrace workforce development as an
equal part of their educational mission allocate resources to promote
the development and delivery of workforce-related instruction, engage
employers in the development and delivery process, aggressively pursue
training opportunities, and ensure that the programs meet the demands of
the industries they target. They also establish themselves as willing
and able partners with local employers and community leaders to help
improve and support the economic vitality of the region.

To be fully effective, a community college has to know what its own
strengths are with respect to addressing changing demands on the part of
students and employers and where it needs to improve to be fully able to
serve the community. If you have not done so already, we encourage you
and your colleagues to use the self-assessment tools in Volume 3 of this
guidebook. They will help your team discover the conditions and policies
that exist on and around your campus that promote or inhibit your
college's responsiveness. Your team will also benefit from accessing the
numerous resources and organizations presented in Volume 3 that can
further guide and support your efforts. Using these tools and resources,
in conjunction with engaging in a college-wide strategic planning
process, will provide you with a clearer understanding of your college's
market-responsive potential and what steps you need to take to realize
that potential.

**APPENDIX**

**[Profiles of the Participating Colleges]{.smallcaps}**

For additional information on colleges of particular interest, see
*Research Appendices* [to this guide]{.underline} forthcoming at
[www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/](http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/cclmr.html)

+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| **N   | **Loc   | **Contact     | **D | **         | **En | **    |
| ame** | ation** | Information** | ate | Urbanicity | roll | Total |
|       |         |               | E   | (          | ment | Re    |
|       |         |               | sta | Integrated | (cr  | venue |
|       |         |               | bli | Pos        | edit | (20   |
|       |         |               | she | tsecondary | and  | 00-01 |
|       |         |               | d** | Education  | n    | in    |
|       |         |               |     | Data       | oncr | m     |
|       |         |               |     | System     | edit | illio |
|       |         |               |     | classif    | h    | ns)** |
|       |         |               |     | ication)** | eadc |       |
|       |         |               |     |            | ount |       |
|       |         |               |     |            | s)** |       |
+=======+=========+===============+=====+============+======+=======+
| Anne  | Arnold, | http:         | 1   | Urban      | 52   | \$    |
| Ar    | Md.     | //www.aacc.ed | 961 | fringe of  | ,067 | 65.5  |
| undel |         | u/default.cfm |     | large city |      |       |
|       |         |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(410\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 647-7100      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Asnu  | E       | [http         | 1   | Urban      | 2    | \$    |
| ntuck | nfield, | ://www.acc.co | 972 | fringe of  | ,714 | 9.5   |
|       | Conn.   | mmnet.edu](ht |     | midsize    | (cr  |       |
|       |         | tp://www.acc. |     | city       | edit |       |
|       |         | commnet.edu/) |     |            | o    |       |
|       |         |               |     |            | nly) |       |
|       |         | \(860\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 253-3000      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Bel   | Be      | http://ww     | 1   | Midsize    | 36   | \$    |
| levue | llevue, | w.bcc.ctc.edu | 966 | city       | ,320 | 61.8  |
|       | Wash.   |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(425\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 564-1000      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Black | Moline, | http:         | 1   | Midsize    | 17   | \$    |
| Hawk  | Ill.    | //www.bhc.edu | 961 | city       | ,786 | 31.8  |
|       |         |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(309\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 796-5000      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Ce    | Cha     | <http://ww    | 1   | Large city | 32   | \$    |
| ntral | rlotte, | w1.cpcc.edu/> | 963 |            | ,809 | 74.8  |
| Pie   | N.C.    |               |     |            | (cr  |       |
| dmont |         | \(704\)       |     |            | edit |       |
|       |         | 330-2722      |     |            | o    |       |
|       |         |               |     |            | nly) |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| D     | Dallas, | http://       | 1   | Large city | 60   | \$    |
| allas | Texas   | www.dcccd.edu | 965 |            | ,646 | 92.9  |
| C     |         |               |     |            |      |       |
| ounty |         | \(972\)       |     |            |      |       |
| Di    |         | 669-6600      |     |            |      |       |
| stric |         |               |     |            |      |       |
| t[^8] |         |               |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| G     | Dallas, | http://www.ga | 1   | Urban      | 21   | \$    |
| aston | N.C.    | ston.cc.nc.us | 964 | fringe of  | ,052 | 22.4  |
|       |         |               |     | large city |      |       |
|       |         | \(704\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 922-6200      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Green | Auburn, | http://www.g  | 1   | Urban      | 10   | \$    |
| River | Wash.   | reenriver.edu | 964 | fringe of  | ,608 | 41.2  |
|       |         |               |     | large city | (cr  |       |
|       |         | \(253\)       |     |            | edit |       |
|       |         | 924-0180      |     |            | o    |       |
|       |         |               |     |            | nly) |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Ho    | H       | http://www    | 1   | Midsize    | 3    | \$    |
| lyoke | olyoke, | .hcc.mass.edu | 946 | city       | ,105 | 37.4  |
|       | Mass.   |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(413\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 538-7000      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| I     | Fort    | http://www.   | 1   | Urban      | 53   | \$    |
| ndian | Pierce, | ircc.cc.fl.us | 963 | fringe of  | ,489 | 60.8  |
| River | Fla.    |               |     | midsize    |      |       |
|       |         | \(561\)       |     | city       |      |       |
|       |         | 462-4700      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Kir   | Cedar   | ht            | 1   | Midsize    | 62   | \$    |
| kwood | Rapids, | tp://www.kirk | 966 | city       | ,573 | 52.0  |
|       | Iowa    | wood.cc.ia.us |     |            |      |       |
|       |         |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(319\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 398-5588      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Ma    | C       | http://mal    | 1   | Large city | 28   | \$    |
| lcolm | hicago, | colmx.ccc.edu | 911 |            | ,361 | 28.1  |
| X     | Ill.    |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(312\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 850-7000      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Montg | Mon     | http:/        | 1   | Urban      | 46   | \$    |
| omery | tgomery | /www.montgome | 946 | fringe of  | ,418 | 157.8 |
|       | County, | rycollege.edu |     | large city |      |       |
|       | Md.     |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(301\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 279-5000      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Mo    | Palos   | ht            | 1   | Urban      | 16   | \$    |
| raine | Hills,  | tp://www.mora | 967 | fringe of  | ,297 | 64.6  |
| V     | Ill.    | inevalley.edu |     | large city |      |       |
| alley |         |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(708\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 974-4300      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Mou   | Big     | http://ww     | 1   | Small town | 7    | \$    |
| ntain | Stone   | w.me.cc.va.us | 970 |            | ,986 | 16.9  |
| E     | Gap,    |               |     |            |      |       |
| mpire | Va.     | \(272\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 523-2400      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Nor   | 4       | http://ww     | 1   | Urban      | 58   | \$    |
| thern | c       | w.nv.cc.va.us | 964 | fringe of  | ,557 | 125.1 |
| Vir   | ounties |               |     | large city |      |       |
| ginia | in      | \(703\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       | N       | 323-3000      |     |            |      |       |
|       | orthern |               |     |            |      |       |
|       | V       |               |     |            |      |       |
|       | irginia |               |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| O     | Des     | http://w      | 1   | Urban      | 47   | \$    |
| akton | P       | ww.oakton.edu | 969 | fringe of  | ,500 | 58.2  |
|       | laines, |               |     | large city |      |       |
|       | Ill.    | \(847\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 635-1400      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Pa    | San     | http://ww     | 1   | Urban      | 28   | \$    |
| lomar | Marcos, | w.palomar.edu | 946 | fringe of  | ,915 | 82.6  |
|       | Calif.  |               |     | large city |      |       |
|       |         | \(760\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 744-1150      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| San   | San     | http://       | 1   | Large city | 116  | \$    |
| Diego | Diego,  | www.sdccd.net | 914 |            | ,206 | 212.8 |
| Di    | Calif.  |               |     |            | (cr  |       |
| stric |         | \(619\)       |     |            | edit |       |
| t[^9] |         | 388-6500      |     |            | o    |       |
|       |         |               |     |            | nly) |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Scott | Bett    | http://www    | 1   | Urban      | 36   | \$ 30 |
|       | endorf, | .eicc.edu/scc | 966 | fringe of  | ,300 |       |
|       | Iowa    |               |     | midsize    |      |       |
|       |         | \(563\)       |     | city       |      |       |
|       |         | 441-4001      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Sem   | S       | http://w      | 1   | Urban      | 40   | \$    |
| inole | anford, | ww.scc-fl.edu | 965 | fringe of  | ,666 | 44.5  |
|       | Fla.    |               |     | midsize    |      |       |
|       |         | \(407\)       |     | city       |      |       |
|       |         | 328-4722      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Shor  | Sho     | http://w      | 1   | Large city | 11   | \$    |
| eline | reline, | ww.shore.ctc. | 964 |            | ,170 | 42.2  |
|       | Wash.   | edu/shoreline |     |            | (cr  |       |
|       |         |               |     |            | edit |       |
|       |         | \(206\)       |     |            | o    |       |
|       |         | 546-4101      |     |            | nly) |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| South | P       | ht            | 1   | Rural      | 2    | \$    |
| Pie   | olkton, | tp://www.sout | 962 |            | ,596 | 11.0  |
| dmont | N.C.    | hpiedmont.org |     |            | (cr  |       |
|       |         |               |     |            | edit |       |
|       |         | \(704\)       |     |            | o    |       |
|       |         | 289-8588      |     |            | nly) |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| S     | Sprin   | http:/        | 1   | Midsize    | 9    | \$ 51 |
| pring | gfield, | /www.stcc.edu | 967 | city       | ,573 |       |
| field | Mass.   |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(413\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 781-7822      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Val   | O       | http://vale   | 1   | Urban      | 55   | \$    |
| encia | rlando, | ncia.cc.fl.us | 967 | fringe of  | ,230 | 97.2  |
|       | Fla.    |               |     | large city |      |       |
|       |         | \(407\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 299-5000      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| Walla | Walla   | http://www.   | 1   | Large town | 9    | \$    |
| Walla | Walla,  | wallawalla.cc | 967 |            | ,233 | 27.1  |
|       | Wash.   |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(509\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 522-2500      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+
| York  | Rock    | http://www    | 1   | Midsize    | 18   | \$    |
| Tech  | Hill,   | .yorktech.com | 964 | city       | ,181 | 24.2  |
|       | S.C.    |               |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | \(803\)       |     |            |      |       |
|       |         | 981-7114      |     |            |      |       |
+-------+---------+---------------+-----+------------+------+-------+

Photo credits:

Main cover photo: courtesy of Springfield Technical Community College.

Additional photos:

Cover (top to bottom)--- courtesy of Miami-Dade Community College,
Springfield Technical Community College, and Miami-Dade Community
College..

[^1]: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment Projections
    (2000).

[^2]: , Laurence Warford, "Funding Lifelong Learning: A National
    Priority," *Community College Journal* 72 (3), December 2001/January
    2002, pp. 15-18, 23.

[^3]: Davis Jenkins and Katherine Boswell, *State Policies on Community
    College Workforce Development: Findings from a National Survey*
    (Denver, Colo.: Education Commission of the States, 2002).

[^4]: For more information on federal resources for community colleges,
    see *Community Colleges: Federal Resources Supporting Local
    Opportunities* (U.S. Department of Education, 2004) available at
    http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/CCLO/brochure.doc.

[^5]: "The Entrepreneurial Community College: Bringing Workforce,
    Economic and Community Development to Virginia Communities,"
    Virginia Community College System, *Inquiry 6* (Spring 2001).

[^6]: Thomas Bailey and Vanessa Smith Morest, *The Organizational
    Efficiency of Multiple Missions for Community Colleges,* Community
    College Research Center Brief Number 19 (New York: Columbia
    University, September 2003).

[^7]: Thomas Bailey and Vanessa Smith Morest, *The Organizational
    Efficiency of Multiple Missions for Community Colleges,* Community
    College Research Center Brief Number 19, (New York: Columbia
    University, September 2003).

[^8]: Dallas County Community College District figures include the seven
    community colleges, the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic
    Development, and the R. Jan LeCroy Center for Educational
    Telecommunications.

[^9]: San Diego District figures include three colleges.