Community Colleges and Urban Development. Ninth in a Series of Essays

摘要

This essay briefly traces the history of community colleges and reviews theirchanging missions, which have evolved over time to encompass occupational and technical skills and--particularly in the South--economic development through the establishment of programs to aid new and expanding industries. The essay focuses on the special challenges and opportunities facing urban community colleges, such as loss of jobs, economic vitality, and links among education, urban unemployment, and poverty. The essay also profiles best practices-community college/business partnerships worked-based learning multifirm cooperation, Campus of Learners, and coalitions with community organizations. It then turns to the tough challenges facing community colleges --the need for more money flexibility, better strategies to measure success, better counseling of students, more involvement with businesses and economic development strategies, and stronger leadership. The essay concludes that the power of employument can attract low-skilled people from economically depressed urban neighborhood into education and training programs to develop their economic potential.