2009-2014

News from 2009-2014.

View the most popular articles in 2009-2014:

Wal-Mart Partners with Community Colleges to Train DC Students

Updated July 07, 2020

As a major school-to-industry initiative, Wal-Mart is funding a new program to train up 2,000 D.C. residents for retail positions through the local community college to support the four new stores it plans to open in the area in the near future.

With an unemployment rate of over 10 percent and 34 percent of the population considered “functionally illiterate,” any employment training program that is introduced to the city of Washington D.C. should be a welcome addition. That must have been Wal-Mart’s philosophy when it announced that the company would be partnering with the city to launch a three-year, $3 million pilot program to train a new workforce of 2,000 D.C. residents. There is no doubt that Wal-Mart is hoping to gain some goodwill from the city through its efforts, but there are significant benefits to the residents struggling to make ends meet in the city as well.

New Training at the Local Community College

The new program introduced by Wal-Mart would provide 2,000 D.C. residents with essential retail training to help them land jobs in the industry. In the past, many retail companies have gone outside the city limits – to Maryland and Virginia – to find qualified workers to staff their stores. With this new program, more qualified applicants would be found right in the community, assisting a population with high illiteracy and unemployment rates to improve the standard of living within the city.

This video describes one of Wal-Mart's many community initiatives.

According to an article in the Washington Times, the $3 million contribution by Wal-Mart would be split between the new Community College of the District of Columbia and the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. The community foundation will oversee a grant program

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President Obama Expands Skills for America's Future Program

Updated September 28, 2022

by Grace Chen

President Obama Expands Skills for America's Future Program

In a bid to boost America’s global competitiveness, President Obama has increased the scope of the “Skills for America’s Future” initiative. Learn about how this impacts community colleges and the future earning potential for its students.

The Skills for America's Future program was introduced by the current administration as a way to match up community college training with fields in need of qualified workers. The idea behind the initiative was to make community college graduates more competitive and marketable in the real world after school, as well as to provide industries with highly qualified workers. This month, President Obama has announced that Skills for America's Future will expand further, ensuring more community college students get the training they need to find successful, lucrative jobs once their college training is complete.

What is the Skills for America's Future Program?

Last year, President Obama launched an ambitious initiative along with the Aspen Institute, designed to bring companies together with community colleges to produce future workers that would be highly qualified and able to compete in a global market. The movement was dubbed Skills for America's Future, and it began with partnerships between industries and academia that would coordinate the training and build the skills of a qualified workforce in the United States. The initiative, according to the Aspen Institute website, would serve as a broad umbrella under which labor unions, corporations and community colleges could coordinate their efforts to train up a new generation of American workers.

From its inception, Skills for America's Future began signing on a number of key players to help the initiative achieve its goals. Some of the leaders that have worked with the Skills for America's Future program since the beginning include

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Sprucing Up Campus: Beautification Projects Abounding at Community Colleges

Updated July 20, 2022

by Grace Chen

Sprucing Up Campus: Beautification Projects Abounding at Community Colleges

Community colleges have big beautification plans this summer to prepare their campuses for the fall. Learn about some of the lovely and innovative projects in store this summer, even for budget-strapped schools.

Summer is the time that many homeowners kick their renovation projects in high gear, but homeowners aren't the only ones sprucing up their environment this year. Community colleges around the country are finding ways to make the campus experience more attractive to students and staff. Despite tight budgets for many schools, some are getting creative in finding ways to spruce up their campus grounds without breaking the bank. We'll take a look at how three community colleges are providing their students with a prettier place to head back to class.

Taking Trash to a Whole New Level

Laredo Community College art students have found a new way to bring their artistic endeavors to life. According to a recent report in the Laredo Sun, many of the art students at this school have spent the last semester experimenting with a brand new medium – large steel drums that serve as outdoor trash cans throughout the campus. The painted drums are a part of a Laredo campus beautification project known as "Yes We Can!"

For this part of the project, art students painted 19 well-known works of art onto the cans, including masterpieces by Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne and Diego Rivera. Creating a design for the paintings from a two-dimensional canvas to a cylinder was more than a little challenging. Students began by reproducing pictures from an art history book and transferring them onto a 3-foot cylinder using a redrawing technique. From there, students designed their images in a larger scale to

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What are the Biggest Issues Facing Community Colleges Today? New Study has Answers

Updated March 04, 2021

by Grace Chen

What are the Biggest Issues Facing Community Colleges Today? New Study has Answers

Community colleges face many hurdles, ranging from budget constraints to increased enrollment, but a new study pinpoints some of the largest issues - which may surprise you.

The current economic slowdown, high unemployment rates and rising costs of four-year universities have sent many college students scurrying to the ivied halls of their neighborhood community colleges to begin the path of higher education. Community colleges across the country have seen record enrollment figures over recent years, as more students are turning to these institutions right out of high school and well into adulthood. However, community colleges are far from the utopia many make them out to be – in fact, these schools have their own sets of issues and hurdles they must overcome to help their students be as successful as possible. We'll take a look at a recent study that outlines eight of the biggest issues community colleges face today.

About the Study

Western Governors University, an online college that provides more than 50 degree programs across the country, recently conducted a study with The SOURCE on Community College Issues, Trends and Strategies, a new online resource for schools. The study went to a broad range of community college leaders nationwide to get their perceptions on the major hurdles in higher education at the community college level. The report found that there is a diverse outlook among community colleges as to which issues are the most prevalent in the industry. Some of the issues discussed during the study included college readiness, student services, and workforce development, according to a press release on the WGU website.

Although there was much variation in the issues

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Texas Community Colleges Face Severe Cuts that Could Mean Reduced Enrollment

Updated July 23, 2022

by Grace Chen

Texas Community Colleges Face Severe Cuts that Could Mean Reduced Enrollment

One of the largest states is facing massive budget cuts that are impacting Texas community colleges. Learn about the current predicament and what it means for Texan students.

Community colleges have traditionally been institutes of higher education, allowing anyone to attend, regardless of their academic ability or income level. Thanks to state funding, these schools were designed for both those who would struggle in four-year colleges right out of high school and those who could not afford the tuition at the local university. Community colleges were also an option for adults who needed additional training to advance in their current careers or switch over to industries with greater potential.

All of these purposes come at a cost, and until recently, community colleges – with the help of state funding – were able to pay the price. However, the recent economic slowdown, combined with a rising unemployment rate, has boosted enrollment at these schools while cutting the available money. The result has been a serious financial crunch for many community colleges across the country. In light of these recent economic difficulties, many schools are faced with challenging decisions over how best to serve their student population on a fraction of the money to which they are accustomed. This video provides an update on the financial situation facing community colleges in Texas.

Lone Star State in Dire Straits

While the entire country is feeling the economic pinch at the community college level, three states appear to be grappling with their financial reality more severely than others. Texas, California, and Arizona are all left wondering how to keep community colleges open and running

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Recent Articles

November 17, 2022

10 STEM Degrees You Can Earn at Your Local Community College

We highlight some of the best degrees offered by community colleges in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

November 16, 2022

Community College Students Headed to NASA

Some community college scholars have been selected by NASA to design robotic rovers. Learn about the program and some of the students selected.

November 16, 2022

Get Your Feet Wet with a WaterBotics Camp at Your Local Community College

This summer, community colleges across the country have been participating in an innovative program known as “Waterbotics,” developed at the Stevens Institute of Technology by the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education.