College Policies

Few would argue that the budgets of most community colleges across the country are pinched to the limit today. The answer to overcrowded classrooms, long waitlists, and decrepit buildings seems obvious: pump more money into the system and then stand back to watch the benefits unfold. However, in a widely publicized construction scandal, the Los Angeles Community College District wasted millions of taxpayer dollars that were meant to improve campuses through poor planning, questionable contract awards, and construction blunders.

While many community colleges continue to face funding challenges, concerns about accountability and oversight remain relevant in 2026 as institutions across the country invest in new facilities and campus improvements. Students exploring higher education options may also want to consider the hidden benefits of starting at a community college.

How it Happened in L.A.

With billions raised through a series of bond measures that eventually totaled nearly $11 billion, the district was clearly poised to bring the community colleges of Los Angeles into the 21st century. According to the Los Angeles Times, the money was supposed to be spent to ease overcrowding in classrooms, improve seismic protections, and add new technology to the learning experience.

It sounded great to Los Angeles voters, which is why they agreed to the proposed bond issues that raised property taxes for decades. It sounded great to the many students who were ready to further their education and professional careers through coursework at community colleges throughout the district. For

It is not unusual in the least for college students to paint signs and march for a cause. Peaceful protests have long been a tradition in the world of higher education. However, recent protests in California over tuition hikes and other changes to campuses across the state have brought something new to the protest scene – Ramen noodles. As students demonstrate their concern over higher tuition rates and fewer available classes, Ramen has become the symbol of struggling college students trying to make ends meet.

Governor Brown's Tuition Hike

Governor Brown just took the California Governor's office a few short months ago, but already he is the target of ire from community college students across his state. The reason? In an effort to balance the budget without cutting additional community college courses and services, Governor Brown has proposed a tuition hike at community colleges throughout California. While the rate increase may not seem insurmountable, at just $10 a credit hour, the total amount of the increase over a year's time is $300. That is a considerable increase for many community college students that are barely making ends meet now.

In addition to the tuition increase, community college students are already grappling with larger class sizes, fewer classroom openings and cuts to services across campus. Some classrooms no longer have enough desks or chairs for all of the students that come in, forcing some to stand or sit on the floor during class. Others can't get

Small businesses and entrepreneurships have long been touted as the top growth factor in this nation's economy. In the interest of jumpstarting and sustaining economic growth at a time when the financial climate of the country has been sluggish at best, new programs are matching up entrepreneurs with community colleges to provide the infrastructure necessary to get these new business start-ups off the ground. The idea began as a local movement, but quickly went national as federal legislators and President Obama hopped onboard the entrepreneurship bandwagon. This article will explore the innovative new approach to economic stimulus that pairs business and community college in a synergistic relationship.

Humble Beginnings in Ohio

Lorain County Community College is teaming up with some new businesses in Ohio to provide innovation and jobs to a community in need. The Innovation Fund, started by this institution, offers grants to high-tech start-ups so they have the opportunity to test out their new technology and attract investors to their business.

According to a report on WhiteHouse.gov, one of the first companies to reap the benefits of this fund is ABS Materials. The company has produced an absorbent material dubbed "Osorb," which soaks up organic contaminants like a sponge to help clean up oil spills and polluted waterways. The company has begun generating revenue from their idea in just two short years, providing economic stimulus and jobs to this Ohio community along the way.

President Obama was so intrigued by the

Ever since tragedy hit Virginia Tech in 2007, college campuses have been examining ways to make their schools safer for students and faculty. The more recent shootings in Arizona have further illustrated the need for intervention with disturbed students who could pose a potential danger to themselves or others. However, identifying the problem and finding a reasonable solution are two very different things. We will take a look at how some colleges are learning lessons from the Arizona tragedy and using what they learned to enhance safety on their campuses.

About Jared Loughner

Jared Loughner was a student at Pima Community College in Tucson. The college became concerned about some of Loughner's erratic behavior and eventually suspended him from the school. A few months after Loughner's suspension, he opened fire on a shopping mall in Arizona, wounding 13 and killing six people, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

According to a report at Google News, officials at Pima Community College released 51 pages of police documents on Loughner, depicting him as "creepy," "very hostile," and "having difficulty understanding what he did wrong in the classroom."

When Loughner released a YouTube video that called the college a "scam" and associated it with genocide, school officials told Loughner and his parents that he was no longer able to return to his classes. He would also need to obtain a report from a psychiatrist attesting to his mental health before coming back to the school campus again.

Philosophy courses are designed to make students think, challenge their beliefs and help them arrive at theories and dogmas that will support them throughout life. One professor in Hawaii uses a rather colorful means of jumpstarting the process in his philosophy courses at Hawaii Community College. He throws a few expletives into his first few lectures to get students to sit up and take notice – and think for themselves. However, his out-of-the-box teaching style may have lost him his job.

About the Professor

According to a report at Inside Higher Ed, Daniel Petersen has been teaching philosophy courses at Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo for 21 years. He begins his classes with the phrase, "Shit happens," to introduce the idea of free will and determinism. Petersen says his approach grabs the student's attention in the first few moments of the class and tunes them into the subject matter so they engage more readily.

"I do what I do to wake students up," Petersen told the Star-Advertiser. "It makes them stand up and take notice. I know many of them are very religious. It makes them sit up and think a bit. But I've never sworn at a student." Petersen emphasizes that he has never directed his profanity directly at a student but has used a smattering of four-letter words in the context of his lectures for this precise purpose.

This video offers some ethical standards in