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James Jacobs

President Emeritus, Macomb Community College • Research Affiliate, CCRC

James Jacobs is a national expert on both the theory and practice of workforce development at community colleges. He specializes in occupational change and technology, regional economic development, occupational education, retraining displaced workers, and the skills needs of employers.

Jacobs combines his research with a long tenure as a community college educator and administrator. After serving nine years as its president, Jacobs is currently president emeritus of Macomb Community College in Michigan. Previously, he served the college in many capacities, including as the director of the Machinist Training Institution and as the associate vice president for public policy. As president of the college, Jacobs led efforts to merge credit and noncredit education and developed both National Science Foundation and Department of Labor grants to promote education and training in the auto industry. With support from JP Morgan Chase, he initiated the college’s Innovation Fund, which awards startup businesses with funds to develop educational opportunities for Macomb students.

Jacobs was associate director of CCRC from 2000 to 2008 and a member of the Center’s advisory board from 2008 to 2017. Jacobs has written extensively on issues regarding community colleges and workforce development. At CCRC he has coauthored publications on noncredit workforce education and IT certifications.

Jacobs served as president of the National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE), a national postsecondary organization of occupational education and workforce development specialists. He has also been an advisor to several national foundations and community colleges on workforce development issues. He was a member of the advisory board of the congressionally mandated National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of the Department of Commerce. He also served on the community college advisory board for the Educational Testing Service and on the boards of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and the Global Corporate College.

Currently, Jacobs is an advisor to the Wilson Foundation, which promotes development in the Detroit and Buffalo regions, and serves on the boards of the Center for Automotive Research, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. Jacobs earned a BA from Harpur College, Binghamton University, part of the State University of New York system, and an MA and PhD in politics from Princeton University.

July 2023

Healthcare Training Programs in Community Colleges: A Landscape Analysis of Program Availability and Student Completions

This report uses IPEDS data to better understand healthcare training programs and the current role that community colleges play in training healthcare workers, including public health workers.
April 2022

Preparing for Tomorrow’s Middle-Skill Jobs: How Community Colleges Are Responding to Technology Innovation in the Workplace

Based on fieldwork at eight institutions, this report describes how community colleges are responding to workplace technology innovation by adapting their workforce programming, diversifying pathways to certificates and degrees, and addressing equity concerns.
March 2019

The Evolving Mission of Workforce Development in the Community College

This paper describes how community colleges became a major resource for the nation's workforce development requirements and discusses how this role continues to evolve to meet the needs of students, employers, and local communities.
November 2013

Demographic and Academic Characteristics of Pell Grant Recipients at Community Colleges

Findings from this paper suggest that while Pell recipients at community colleges have a stronger academic focus than non-Pell recipients, they may be taking more time to complete a credential than is prudent.
March 2012

Employer Perceptions of Associate Degrees in Local Labor Markets: A Case Study of the Employment of Information Technology Technicians in Detroit and Seattle

Based on fieldwork in two distinct labor markets, this paper compares how associate and bachelor's degrees are perceived by employers seeking to hire IT technicians.
June 2009

The Outlook for Noncredit Workforce Education

Drawing on a national review of state policies and case studies of 20 community colleges, this article examines trends in noncredit courses connected with workforce instruction and contract training.
April 2009

The Landscape of Noncredit Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices

This report provides detailed findings on state policies and community college practice from CCRC's study of community college noncredit workforce education.
June 2008

From Compliance to Capacity Building: Community Colleges and Federal Workforce Education Policy

In this paper, the author argues for a new paradigm in federal workforce education policy, one that privileges capacity-building over compliance.
June 2008

Shifting Gears: Community Colleges and Adult Basic Education

This paper explores some of the barriers adult basic education students face in obtaining postsecondary credentials, and how changes in federal policy can improve ABE outcomes.
January 2008

ATE Regional Centers: CCRC Final Report

This paper analyzes how effective ATE regional centers, which work with community colleges and businesses in a single region to improve technical education, have been in meeting their goals.
January 2007

The Uncertain Future of the Community College Workforce Development Mission

This article explores the evolution of the workforce development role of the community college, its interactions with other missions of the college, and the current crisis facing workforce development.
January 2007

Income Equity and Workforce Development: Balancing the Earnings Scale

This article calls for community colleges, on behalf of their students, to join the national discussion of how income and wealth are created.
August 2006

The Community College as a Nexus for Workforce Transitions: A Critical Essay

This article examines horizontal and vertical workforce transitions and how a global economy and the need to train new subpopulations of future workers will cause community colleges to approach their roles in workforce training differently.
April 2004

Institutionalization and Sustainability of the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education Program

Institutionalization and Sustainability of the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program
January 2004

Outsourcing of Instruction at Community Colleges

This report presents the findings of exploratory research designed to identify the characteristics of the outsourcing of instruction at community colleges and the forces that promote or block its spread.
April 2003

Community Colleges and the Equity Agenda: What the Record Shows

This paper discusses the economic returns to education for African American and Hispanic students and the performance of community colleges in increasing college access for ethnic minority students.
March 2003

Implementing the “Education Consensus”: The Federal Role in Supporting Vocational-Technical Education

This report, commissioned by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) of the U.S. Department of Education, examines the rationale for federal involvement in occupational education.
March 2002

Workforce Development in the Information Economy

This book chapter discusses changing labor demands in the information economy and how workforce development at community colleges can meet those demands.
March 2001

Community Colleges and the Workforce Investment Act: Promises and Problems of the New Vocationalism

This article in New Directions for Community Colleges discusses the Workforce Investment Act and its impact on workforce development at community colleges.
February 2001

What Is the Future for Postsecondary Occupational Education?

This article discusses how postsecondary occupational education must become more responsive to contemporary labor market needs through redesigning workforce development.
April 2017

Plenary Session: Do Students Invest Wisely in College?

Recent Publications

July 2023

Healthcare Training Programs in Community Colleges: A Landscape Analysis of Program Availability and Student Completions

April 2022

Preparing for Tomorrow’s Middle-Skill Jobs: How Community Colleges Are Responding to Technology Innovation in the Workplace

March 2019

The Evolving Mission of Workforce Development in the Community College

November 2013

Demographic and Academic Characteristics of Pell Grant Recipients at Community Colleges

Recent Presentations

April 2017

Plenary Session: Do Students Invest Wisely in College?

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