In the America that is emerging, the special challenge will be to overcome the separations that restrict the quality of education and diminish prospects of civic health. The community college has a further obligation to help students succeed in higher education. Members of minorities who complete high school are more likely that white students to attend community colleges. In developing school mission, vision, and value statements, with their accompanying strategic and operational plans, educational leaders must place the learner at the center. To move to a learning paradigm means that such statements should not describe what the school is or does, but rather what role it strives to play to impact learning and the learner.
Campuses are no longer a collection of buildings, desks, chairs and books.
The new business building is wired so students can plug their laptop computers in the Internet while in classrooms or the study carrel that line the hallways. There are many less-apparent costs as well. One that is often overlooked involves the faculty. Additional faculty must be hired to take up the teaching-load slack. In the past decade, universities have been forced to keep pace with the march of technology.