CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Thomas R. Bailey (co-editor), Kerry Charron, Rebecca D. Cox, Kevin J. Dougherty, W. Norton Grubb, Esther Hong, James Jacobs, Melinda Mechur Karp, Vanessa Smith Morest (co-editor), Dolores Perin.  

LINK TO: List of Authors by Chapter

Community colleges today enroll almost half of all undergraduates in the United States. These two-year colleges manifest the American commitment to accessible and affordable higher education. With about 1,200 institutions nationwide, community colleges have made significant progress over the last decade in opening access and have become the critical entry point to higher education for many Americans who traditionally have been left out of educational and economic opportunity. Yet, economic, political, and social developments have increased the challenges community colleges face in pursing an “equity agenda.” Some of these challenges include: falling state budgets combined with growing enrollments; a greater emphasis on outcome-based accountability; competition from for-profit institutions; and a growing immigrant student population. These trials come at a time when community colleges confront crucial economic and workforce development pressures which may impact their mission. How can community colleges continue to maintain their open-door policies, support unprepared students and struggle to help enrolled students complete degrees and certificates that prepare them for success in the work place?

Building on case studies of colleges in six states; New York, Texas, Florida, California, Washington, and Illinois, this edited volume offers a frank and fresh new examination of the challenges currently facing American community colleges. Drawing on new findings from their fieldwork supplemented by data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the authors analyze how these challenges impact the community college's mission of educational opportunity, especially for low-income students of color, and other underserved groups, and how colleges are responding to a drastically different environment. The book’s authors propose a set of strategies to strengthen the role in providing both access and student achievement for all students.

TO ORDER: The book will be available for purchase through Amazon.com and Hopkins Fulfillment Service on December 1st, 2006. It will be available in bookstores on December 26th, 2006. To receive a 20% discount, call the Hopkins Fulfillment Service at 1-800-537-5487 and mention the code NAF, or visit www.press.jhu.edu and enter the code NAF at checkout.

FOR MEDIA REVIEW COPIES: Contact Kate Roberts or Jennine Meyer at 914-833-7093 or Kathy Alexander at 410-516-4162 (Johns Hopkins University Press).