According to the American Association of Community Colleges, the nation has about 1,200 community colleges—accredited institutions that primarily offer the associate, or 2-year degree, as the highest degree. Community colleges offer a wide array of educational programs that encompass traditional academic coursework as well as career and technical training. (See table 1.) In addition, career and technical education programs are offered on both a for-credit basis and a noncredit basis. An advantage of noncredit courses is that colleges can add or delete them more quickly than for-credit courses, thereby allowing colleges to respond to local training needs in a more responsive way. Community colleges also serve a diverse student body. With generally low tuition and unrestrictive admissions policies that emphasize open enrollment, these colleges serve individuals ranging from those earning their first educational credential to midcareer professionals seeking to upgrade their skills or reenter the workforce. In general, community college students are more likely to be from a minority group, older, and socioeconomically disadvantaged than those at 4-year baccalaureate institutions. They also are more likely to be enrolled in career and technical education programs—about half of all community college students are enrolled in these programs—and attending less than full time, in part, because some of these students are already employed. While community colleges serve individuals’ education and training needs, they also work directly with employers to provide training to their employees under a contract. Such training can be short term or it can lead to a credential. Workforce Investment Act While individuals and companies access workforce education and training programs that are available at community colleges on their own, the federal government provides employment and training services that the public and employers may also use. In 1998, WIA created a new, comprehensive workforce investment system designed to change the way that federally funded employment and training services were delivered. The act’s goal was to unify a fragmented employment and training system to better serve both job seekers and employers. WIA replaced the Job Training Partnership Act with three new programs—Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth—and required that these and other employment and training programs be delivered through a single service system, known as the one-stop system. Sixteen categories of programs funded through 4 separate agencies—deemed mandatory partners—must provide services through this system. (See table 2.) Under WIA, almost $27 billion in grants have been provided to states for Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs since fiscal year 2000, as shown in figure 1. Between fiscal years 2000 and 2007, however, WIA funding declined by about 12 percent. The amount of money that is allocated to the states and local workforce areas depends on a specific formula that takes into account certain factors, such as local unemployment and the number of low-income individuals in the local population. In addition, WIA also allows discretionary funds to be set aside at the federal and state levels. At the state level, this funding can be used to help dislocated workers—workers affected by layoffs and plant closings—through rapid response services that provide information about financial and educational options and other statewide activities. WIA provides for state and local WIBs to govern the WIA one-stop system. A state WIB is responsible for developing statewide policies and overseeing various activities carried out by the one-stop system. Local WIBs, in turn, are responsible for developing local workforce policies and overseeing the operations of the one-stop centers in their designated workforce area. A variety of state and local agencies, as well as community colleges, can be selected by the local board to assume responsibility for the administrative and financial operation of the one- stop center. WIA allows flexibility in the way that the mandatory partners provide services through the one-stop system, allowing colocation, whereby staff from different programs are physically located at the same location; electronic linkages; or referrals. While WIA requires these mandatory partners to provide services through the one-stop system, it does not provide additional funds to operate one-stop centers and support one-stop partnerships. Mandatory partners are expected to share the costs of developing and operating one-stop centers. In addition to mandatory partners, local WIBs have the flexibility to include other programs in the one-stop system, including community colleges, to better meet specific state and local workforce development needs. Community colleges can play important roles in the federal workforce programs under WIA. One potential role is to serve on the state and local WIBs responsible for the WIA system. Governors and the chief local officials select the representatives to their respective boards following the membership criteria prescribed by WIA and its implementing regulations. While WIA specifies that membership of the WIBs is to include representatives of various types of entities, the regulations make clear that community college representatives should be given special consideration for membership. Another possible role for community colleges is to become a one-stop operator. Community colleges may apply to a WIB to become the operator of the one-stop center, overseeing its daily operation and services. In addition, as a key provider of both education and career and technical training programs in their communities, community colleges can meet the education and training needs of one-stop clients by working closely with their local one-stop centers to understand these needs and meeting WIA requirements to become eligible training providers. For example, community college staff at the one-stop can provide information on the variety of classes available at the college, such as General Equivalency Diploma (GED), English as a Second Language (ESL), or adult basic education classes; conduct formal screenings or assessments of clients to determine literacy levels; or determine eligibility for financial aid options through the college. Individuals who are found eligible for training under WIA receive vouchers—called Individual Training Accounts (ITA)—to pay for training. ITAs can be used at the training provider of their choice, which can include community colleges. While community colleges are primarily state-funded, they may also receive federal funding from the Department of Education. Through funds provided under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins Act), states and community colleges can develop a variety of courses or programs that assist students, including one-stop clients, with their education and training programs. One program funded through the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act is the Adult Education Basic Grants to States program. Funds from this program help community colleges provide adult education, English literacy, GED preparation, and other basic skills. Approximately $564 million was provided in fiscal year 2007 to support 3,200 programs delivering instruction through public schools, community colleges, libraries, and community-based organizations. Through the Perkins Act, Education provides grants to states to support academic, vocational, and technical education in high schools, community colleges, and regional technical centers. Approximately $1.1 billion in Perkins Act funding was distributed in fiscal year 2007. The Perkins Act authorizes grants to develop Tech Prep programs—a sequenced course of study in a technical field that begins in high school, extends through 2 years of postsecondary occupational education, and culminates in an associate degree or certificate. Funded at $105 million in fiscal year 2007, the Tech Prep program provides assistance to states to provide career and technical education leading to an associate degree or a 2-year certificate and strengthens pathways for students between secondary and postsecondary schools. In addition, Education funds student grant and loan programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, to individuals pursuing higher education. One example of such programs is the Pell Grant for low-income students. In fiscal year 2007, Education awarded approximately $14 billion in Pell Grants to about 5 million recipients. However, while one-stops and community colleges can help qualifying low-income students apply for Pell Grants or other types of financial aid funded by Education, students enrolled in noncredit education programs are usually not eligible for federal financial aid. To meet businesses’ current and future workforce needs, the community colleges that we visited keep their career and technical education programs up to date through a variety of data collection and outreach efforts. They also provide training directly to local employers through contract or customized training programs; work with small businesses; and offer programs to help specific groups of students and workers, such as those receiving TANF. To help ensure that their programs are demand-driven, the community colleges that we visited use a variety of methods to continually gather and analyze labor market information and conditions. Community colleges in all six states that we visited cited labor market analysis as an important way to identify local needs and trends. In Iowa, for example, a state agency has produced refined analyses of the education levels and training needs of manufacturing workers in a particular local area and shares these analyses with various workforce entities, including community colleges. In Oregon and Washington, labor market data are provided by state analysts who work in the field, where they can provide timely, customized analyses—such as projected growth occupations over a specific time period—in response to requests from community colleges and others. However, in some instances, like Kirkwood Community College in Iowa, schools develop their own labor market analysis. Officials from Wake Tech Community College in North Carolina told us that they worked with 13 local economic development agencies to collect labor market data to identify the region’s growth occupations for which the college could potentially develop and provide training. Many of the community colleges that we visited relied on feedback from employers, which provided the feedback through committees internal or external to the colleges to help them ensure that their programs reflect current workforce trends and provide training that will meet specific job competencies. Advisory committees, which are internal to each college, comprise local business men and women who meet periodically to give input to the colleges about their career and technical education programs.