I last wrote about the perception of community colleges and the opportunities to not only change that perception but to effectively change the reality. Another common theme I heard when meeting with the many community colleges was strategic partnerships
Strategic Partnerships:The question of future funding from the state for community colleges is a cause for great concern; “it’s not whether the cut from the state will or won’t take place, it’s how deep will it be and how will we deal with it.” How then will community colleges meet the needs of a growing student body with shrinking state dollars?
With state funding in doubt and pressure to keep tuition costs competitive, partnerships with private industry within the community along with philanthropic support is seen as the way of the future.
At the White House Community College Summit, held on October 5, 2010, private corporations were strongly encouraged to partner with community colleges with the goal of graduating an additional 5,000,000 people to enter the workforce by 2020. That same day, a $35,000,000 grant by the Gates Foundation, targeting Ohio as one of the nine states, to improve the graduation rate at community colleges was established.
Over the summer of 2010, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview community college presidents, provosts, vice presidents and deans, to better understand the challenges and opportunities that these institutions face as they navigate through these historically tough economic times. Over the course of the next several blogs, I’ll share some common themes that came up consistently during these enlightening conversations: Read the rest of this entry »
Many academic planners assumed that the coming of the Internet would lead to the decline of the library as we know it. To the contrary, many academic libraries have experienced significantly increased patron use in recent years.
One reason for this phenomenon is that today’s college students have heightened expectations and demands for academic libraries based on new approaches to learning. While the Internet can provide 24/7 access to information, it can also isolate learners. In contrast, the new academic library model provides a forum for students to collaborate, enjoy fellowship, engage in healthy debate, create and challenge ideas, and experience learning and discovery in a multitude of meaningful ways. The following 12 trends define how the library has evolved to maintain its essential position within the academic landscape.
