2009-2014

Community colleges often see growth in enrollment during economic recessions, as recently laid-off workers look to gain more marketable skills and new high school graduates hope to save money on college tuition. However, the current booming popularity of community colleges can also be attributed to President Obama, who is being hailed as the "Community College President."

Community college teachers, students, and administrators have been buoyed by Obama's continued focus on these historically under-appreciated institutions of higher education. Obama believes that community colleges must play a key role in helping America to recover from the recession and to regain its place as an educational leader in the developed world.

If Obama’s recently unveiled American Graduate Initiative is carried out, community colleges could see an unprecedented period of growth over the next decade.

Wick Sloane writes in Inside Higher Education: "The big Obama accomplishment: “During the height of the economic meltdown, we not only sustained but more than doubled, funding for the Pell Grant program, enabling more than nine million more low-income students to go to college. When you think about it, we’ve given more than 17 million Pell Grants to students from low-income families since the start of our administration than otherwise would have been provided, an average of around three million more each year. Year after year after year!” That’s from the 2013 “swan song” of Martha Kanter, Obama’s first undersecretary of education."

In this video, President Obama explains why community

Which community colleges in America have the best digital technology programs? To answer this burning question, the Republic’s Center for Digital Education and Converge magazine have collaborated to review and announce their fifth annual list of the top ten schools in the country.

As the Center for Digital Education reports, schools earning the survey’s top ranks “Aae the leading community colleges across the U.S. that offer exceptional technology support to students and educators.” The community colleges were evaluated based on each school’s digital technology resources, applications, and support services.

Why Digital Technology is Critical for Modern Learning

With so many comprehensive rankings of colleges in America, why is there one specifically dedicated to digital technology? Many advocates argue that digital technology is now intimately tied to a student’s learning process and experiences. Therefore, a campus with an excellent digital technology infrastructure is better equipped to train students for today’s high-tech jobs.

In this video, Paul Hamilton presents 'Technology in Education', a creative and artistic look at the challenges ed-tech faces.

The Future of Networking Technologies for Learning reports that the use of technology in schools has allowed students to access better collaborative resources, which enhances the entire education experience. For example, in exploring the influence of simply the Internet among educators, “When students, teachers, parents, administrators, and even legislators can communicate via the Internet and begin to collaborate electronically on

While many community colleges have educational incentives to provide reform for convicted criminals, some political leaders are taking an opposing stance. According to recent reports from the San Francisco Chronicle, “Some of the nation's worst sex offenders will no longer be eligible to receive generous educational financial aid packages while they are confined in treatment centers under a bill approved by Congress.”

As political leaders and college presidents strive to balance their budgets amidst a struggling economy, one of the first programs to be eliminated is the financial aid and grants that were available for individuals guilty of serious crimes.

This TEDTalk looks at the issue of prisoner education.

Fighting for Reform

In exploring the recent amendments denying convicted criminals of free tuition and grants, one must first understand how these free college opportunities were even initially created. In truth, allowing convicted criminals to gain access to free publically funded courses was a mere oversight in a much larger educational overhaul. As The Hoya, Georgetown University’s central newspaper, explains, the House of Representatives passed a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act in 2008. This act was reinstated in order to provide individuals with enhanced financial aid benefits, and the act allowed individuals to access aid with fewer obstacles and hassles. As a result of this bill, students were able to apply for and receive federally funded student aid Pell Grants throughout the entire year.

Unfortunately, while most students found the

Community college presents students with an array of benefits, ranging from dramatic savings in tuition costs to being prepared for recession-proof careers. However, North Carolina has taken its community colleges to the next level, pioneering innovative programs that increase student enrollment and improve graduation rates. Through its 58 different community college campuses, North Carolina has won several accolades for its accomplishments, including helping students graduate early to enter into the job market, as well as allowing high school students to attend college tuition-free.

High School Students in North Carolina's Community Colleges

According to “Diverse Issues in Higher Education,” students in select areas of North Carolina, such as in the city of Sanford, may be eligible to earn free college credits while still in high school.

Created in 2007, eligible students can apply for the “Lee Early College” program (LEC). By engaging in LEC, high school students attend courses at the nearby Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) campus. Inspired in part by former Governor Easley’s educational agenda, “It’s part of Gov. Mike Easley’s Learn and Earn Early College High School educational initiative in which students graduate in five years with both a diploma and an associate degree, with all credits transferable if they choose to enroll at a four-year institution as a junior post-graduation.”

This video describes the Lee Early College program.

In the first

As a societal approach to improving health conditions in public settings, many offices, community centers, and restaurants have initiated tobacco and smoking bans on their properties. While public schools, such as elementary and high schools, have banned tobacco products on their educational campuses for years, community colleges across the country are now beginning to follow this health-driven trend.

Banning Tobacco on Community College Campuses

The Growing Trend

Institutions, businesses, and other settings possess the legal right to ban smoking and tobacco use on property grounds because private properties can be governed by owners/managers/leaders. As a result, those who own personal property often have the supreme authority over the rules and regulations of their grounds and boundaries.

On the other hand, community colleges had to earn their right to ban tobacco in 2006, as community campuses are not necessarily “privately” owned properties. In 2006, Katherine McDonald of the Chatham Journal explains, “The General Assembly adopted legislation exempting community colleges from a law requiring public institutions to set aside areas for tobacco use.”

According to McDonald’s investigations, community colleges that have adopted smoke-free and tobacco-free policies include schools such as Asheville-Buncombe Technical, Cleveland, Guilford Technical, Haywood, Pitt, Roanoke-Chowan, Stanly, Wake Technical, and Wilkes Community College.

This video describes the Truth Initiative, which helps community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) bring tobacco-free policies to the campuses that serve young adults from minority and low-income communities.