Community College News

Community Colleges Nationwide Recognized for Outstanding Community Service

The annual President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is out for 2012, and a number of community colleges made the list this year. This honor roll was originally created to highlight institutions of higher education that make significant contributions to their communities through the efforts of students and staff. The schools that made the grade have proven track records for giving back to the areas where they are located.

About the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

The website for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) explains that the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll was first launched in 2006 to showcase the “role colleges and universities play in solving community problems” and to get more students started on a “lifelong path of civic engagement.” Originally inspired by the service of college students nationwide after Hurricane Katrina, the honor roll strives to recognize schools that “achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes in the communities they serve.”

The honor roll is a collaboration between the CNCS, the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Contact, and the American Council on Education. Finalists are chosen through a series of criteria that include the scope and innovation of service projects, the incorporation of service-learning into course curriculum, the commitment of the institution to long-term partnerships with community organizations, and the measurable community outcomes as a result of the service projects.

This year's honor

College students have traditionally been known for their willingness to exercise their First Amendment rights,and today’s students are no exception. In fact, college students have been voicing their opinions on everything from community college reorganization to tuition hikes, with protests from coast to coast. Check out two of the issues on either side of the country that currently have many community college students up in arms.

California Students Protest Tuition Hikes, Education Cuts

On the West Coast, college students have come out in droves to protest deep state budget cuts that have resulted in higher tuition rates and cuts to classes and student services. The UC Berkeley News Center reports that an estimated 8,000 students flocked to Sacramento earlier this month to stage a mass demonstration on the steps of the state capitol. The crowd included students, faculty, and administrative staff from the state’s universities and community colleges.

“Students, faculty, staff, administrators – we are all on the same side in wanting to maintain a strong university, and there was real consensus among the deans that taking the bus to Sacramento today would be a good thing to do,” Kim Voss, acting dean of social sciences at Berkeley, told the UC Berkeley News Center. The news service reported that more than 50 students and staff traveled from the college to Sacramento to support the protest movement.

A campus-wide email was sent out at the school, encouraging those who could to head to Sacramento to make

Students interested in pursuing higher education are often counseled to look for an accredited college or university. However, accreditation cannot be taken for granted for many community colleges in California. Many two-year schools around the state are at risk of losing their accreditation. They must show why their accreditation should remain intact or lose it altogether. Why is accreditation essential, and what must colleges do to keep it? Many California schools are learning the answers to those questions firsthand.

The Importance of Accreditation

According to the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools website, accreditation is a “voluntary activity initiated by the institution” that “emphasizes quality assurance and a commitment to continuous quality enhancement.” Accreditation can be crucial to an institution because it plays a factor in the following:

• Determining whether the school meets minimum quality standards
• Providing potential students with important information about a school
• Assisting in the determination of credit transfers between schools
• Showing prospective employers the value of the education received at the school
• Evaluating eligibility for tuition reimbursement programs offered by employers
• Enabling graduates to sit for certification examinations
• Creating goals for self-improvement of the institution
• Providing self-assessment for the oversight functions required by the state
• Offering a basis for determining federal student assistance

In many of these factors, accreditation makes all the difference in the quality of the degree a student earns and where he can take his studies after graduation. Accreditation is typically judged according to established standards and may be granted for a variable term ranging

Community colleges often serve a unique role in their communities by offering specific job training for nearby industries hoping to beef up their workforces. The latest addition to Chattanooga State Community College follows in those footsteps, offering first-class job training for a plant that is not even scheduled to open in the area until later next year. How do the soon-to-be new industrial neighbors from Germany know Chattanooga State will be able to meet their employment needs? They had a direct hand in creating the institute that will train up their first generation of American employees.

The Wacker Corporation

Wacker Chemical Corporation is a German-based conglomerate that manufactures hyperpure polysilicon that is used to convert sunlight into energy. The company is currently building a new plant in Bradley County – its first on American soil. However, before that plant can celebrate its grand opening late in 2013, it must find approximately 650 highly skilled workers to man the plant floor. That is where the Wacker Institute comes in to help.

Through a cooperative effort between Chattanooga State Community College and Wacker Chemie, the Wacker Institute has been born. According to a press release at Market Watch, this $5 million pilot plant will become a part of the engineering technology division at Chattanooga State. The plant will serve as the training facility for the hundreds of skilled workers that will be needed at the Wacker plant next year. To ensure the training is

College students in Michigan hoping for another option in four-year degrees will have to wait a little longer. A bill to allow community colleges in Michigan to offer a handful of bachelor’s degrees has stalled out for the moment, while legislators determine the constitutionality of the proposal. Despite the recent roadblock, many Michigan lawmakers and educators are optimistic they will soon have an affordable option to offer students who are hindered by the cost and location of four-year universities and colleges throughout the state.

Providing More Choices

According to an article at Central Michigan Life, a bill that would allow community colleges to offer select four-year degree programs passed through the State House last June. The bill then went to the Senate’s Committee on Education for review, where it is currently under discussion. The bill would allow for a handful of career-oriented degree programs to be offered at community colleges statewide, including programs in energy production, concrete technology, maritime technology, culinary arts, and nursing.

“Some of the degrees are not offered by any of the universities in the state,” Matt Miller, public relations director for Mid Michigan Community College, told Central Michigan Life. “Some of the community colleges do offer associate degrees in a couple of these areas, but in order to get their bachelor’s, they have to go someplace else, so it would be helpful to our students to have this option.”

Most of the areas of study included on