Occupy Seattle Wearing Out its Welcome at Seattle Central Community College

The community college system in Massachusetts received a “double whammy” this month, with two different reports citing similar problems with the state’s schools. The first report was released by the Commonwealth Corporation and the second, released just a few days later, was completed by the Boston Foundation. Both reports found the statewide community college system to be lacking in terms of preparing Massachusetts residents for industries in demand throughout the state. The good news is that the reports also issued recommendations to make community colleges a better deal for state students.

The Commonwealth Corporation Report

The primary concern of the Commonwealth Corporation report, titled “Critical Collaboration,” was the fact that Massachusetts community colleges are not properly aligning their training programs with the specific needs of the healthcare industry, according to a report at Sentinel and Enterprise. Currently, healthcare is the number one industry throughout the Boston area, accounting for 19 percent of all of the jobs in the city. However, while healthcare jobs are abundant in Massachusetts, both students and employers are finding the community college network increasingly difficult to navigate for the purpose of preparing students for employment and providing employers with adequately trained healthcare workers.

According to the report, community colleges are not creating important standards that ensure sufficient academic performance from students. Despite the fact that more students than ever are graduating from community colleges in the state, those with degrees are not properly matched to the workforce needs of the

Community colleges that are a part of Achieving the Dream have shown they are committed to student success through various proven methodologies. Those named leader colleges each year demonstrate exceptional standards of performance and practice, even among schools that have already been named as some of the top performers in the country. This year’s list of leader colleges provides a broad spectrum of community colleges from coast to coast. We’ll look at some of the top community colleges on the 2011 Achieving the Dream Leaders list and explore what it takes to become a part of this prestigious organization.

Four Principles Emphasized by Achieving the Dream

When it comes to improving student outcomes at community colleges across the country, Achieving the Dream subscribes to four basic principles that are highlighted on the organization’s website:

• Committed Leadership—This principle states that community college leaders are committed to the success of students across all demographics rather than simply focusing on enrollment numbers.
• Use of Evidence to Improve Programs and Services – Schools use data collected to determine gaps in student success and formulate effective strategies for bridging these gaps.
• Broad Engagement – Students' success at a community college depends on collaboration between faculty, administration, student services, and constructive feedback from students.
• Systemic Institutional Improvement – Using the data collected, Achieving the Dream schools create and regularly evaluate programs designed to enhance student success.

While these four principles apply to all of the Achieving the Dream community colleges, some of the schools

In the past, when San Mateo County Community College District in California asked the voters for more funding, the answer was yes. However, the district didn’t fare so well in this last round of voting, and now the three colleges within the district will be forced to make some tough decisions regarding the expansion and renovation of their campuses. The bond issue has raised some interesting issues on both sides, as voters came out to either support their community college system or send a strong statement that, like others in a tough economy, San Mateo must figure out how to do more with less.

Measure H Designed for Upgrades

The most recent bond issue to come before San Mateo voters, Measure H, would have provided the community college district with an additional $564 million. The money was slated to be used to continue the district’s decade-long reconstruction project, according to a report in The Almanac. The bond measure went down in defeat to a vote of 52.75 percent who supported the measure and 47.25 percent who opposed it. The measure required a minimum approval vote of 55 percent to pass, according to current state law.

The defeat was the first the community college district has faced in recent years. Over the past decade, two other bond measures have passed, providing the district with necessary funding for upgrades to buildings and technology throughout their campuses. According to Peninsula Press, the first measure passed in 2001 for $207

Smoking bans are not new at community colleges; many schools have prohibited smoking in buildings and other areas of campus for years. However, complete, school-wide smoking bans are still a relatively new – and growing – trend for the 20-something crowd. Many community colleges have implemented such bans, with 120 campuses jumping onto the smoke-free bandwagon this year alone. However, campus-wide smoking bans are not met with enthusiasm by all students, and enforcement has proven to be a significant issue for many of these schools. Take a look at why some community colleges are launching such bans, and how they are handling the negative aspects of their decisions with students.

Smoke-Free = Cleaner, Healthier Campuses

According to a recent report on Christian Post, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that nearly 22 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 smoke. Some colleges implementing a smoking ban are hoping to encourage students to kick the habit as a result. To that end, college representatives share information on quitting with students and provide aids like nicotine patches and gum to students during school hours.

Other community colleges have initiated smoking bans to clean up campuses littered with second-hand smoke and cigarette butts. The first college to launch a campus-wide ban, Ozarks Technical College in Springfield, Missouri, had that goal in mind. According to CNN, the president of the college approached Ty Patterson, the former vice president of student affairs