New “Pay it Forward” Plan will Allow Students to Attend Community College Tuition-Free

The largest community college in California is destined to meet a dire fate one year from now if heroic efforts to save the school are not successful. City College of San Francisco was recently notified by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges that it will lose accreditation by July 31, 2014. Although the school has few options left, extreme moves are in the works that could be the last hope for saving the failing school.

11 of 14 Changes Go Unaddressed

Problems for City College date far beyond the recent announcement of accreditation loss. San Francisco Gate reported that the commission evaluated the school in 2012, and made 14 recommendations for improvements that would save the school's accreditation status. Those 14 recommendations included:

• A revised mission statement for the school
• Use of the mission statement to allocate resources, with an increase in reserves
• An assessment of the college’s effectiveness
• Evaluations of all staff members responsible for student success
• Determination of whether there is sufficient staff to ensure student success
• Identification of priorities in-class curriculum and effectiveness of current courses and programs
• Assessment of whether student support services are hitting the mark
• Development of an effective planning process
• Leadership training for all staff and faculty members
• Reporting of financial information through a timely, accurate process
• Inclusion of building operating costs in long-term financial planning
• Development of a plan for maintaining and updating information systems
• Improvement of a governance structure for more efficient decision-making
• Adherence to bylaws and policies by college trustees

In this video, California

Students entering the California Community College system will now have another tool to help them choose a degree program and motivate them to complete that program. Through a new online tool, California students will be able to see how much they can earn with the various degrees offered through their school. The tool was recently unveiled by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.

Introducing Salary Surfer

The new website, dubbed Salary Surfer, allows students to track a person’s potential salary in California for five years after earning a two-year degree. The site uses data from graduates across the state, to compile significant information that can help students choose the best degree program for them. The Huffington Post reports that Salary Surfer shows the median annual incomes for 179 of the most popular community college programs in the state.

The website does not include data on students that transfer to four-year institutions. It does not have information on federal employees or self-employed graduates. Graduates that move out of state are also not included in the salary averages listed at Salary Surfer.

EdSource reports that Salary Surfer is the first online database of its kind in the state. The website tracks average annual salaries for the various programs two years after graduation, and again five years after graduation. Students can see how much they might expect to make in their discipline and compare that to what they were making prior to graduation.

At a time when more focus is on community colleges as a viable and cost-effective option in higher education, leadership at these schools appears to be in crisis. According to a recent report from the Aspen Institute and Achieving the Dream, a large percentage of community college presidents are slated for retirement over the next five years. Even more concerning is the fact that few appear poised to take over the helms of these institutions, leaving some to wonder where the direction of the community college system is headed.

The new report, titled, “Crisis and Opportunity: Aligning the Community College Presidency with Student Success,” was released at a National Forum in Washington D.C. in June. The report details the challenges facing community colleges in the upcoming years as they work to keep their key leadership positions filled with qualified candidates. The report identifies some of the specific problems that could contribute to a presidential shortage of community college presidents nationwide. It also provides recommendations that community colleges can follow to ensure their leadership does not suffer from the loss of a large number of current presidents in the next few years.

This lengthy video from the Aspen Institute describes the report in detail.

Primary Concerns Over the Coming Leadership Shortage

According to a recent report at Inside Higher Ed, more than 40 percent of the current community college presidents may retire

Community college is often the choice for women seeking higher education. These institutions typically provide many features adult female students need, including proximity to their homes and affordable tuition rates. However, one primary barrier consistently interferes with a woman’s ability to complete her community college education, according to a recent report.

Primary Barrier for Student Parents: Affordable Child Care

The majority of student parents at community colleges today are women who are trying to juggle family, work and school responsibilities as they pursue higher education. A new report released by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) shows that the largest obstacle facing this student demographic is access to affordable child care. Unfortunately, Raw Story reports that these findings have been released at a time when federal funding for child care is dwindling across the country.

In this TEDTalk, Heather Wylie, a first-generation college student from a low income, rural Northern California community, talks about how she became a college professor in large part because of connections she made with individuals, ideas, and communities. In this talk, she challenges us to change the conversation from community colleges as places of last resort to institutions of innovation inspiration and social change.

The report, titled, “Women in Community Colleges: Access to Success,” was officially released just before Mother’s Day. The authors of the report, Andresse St. Rose and Catherine Hill, used a variety of