Jerry Sue Thornton, Ph.D.
President
Cuyahoga Community College
The Renaissance Seattle Hotel
Friday, July 13, 2012
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Community colleges serve as a gateway to higher
education and as a result the middle class.
◦ In 2010, enrollment reached 13.3 million students in
credit and non-credit courses.
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Community Colleges enroll almost half of U.S.
undergraduate students
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Student success rates, however, are:
◦ Unacceptably low,
◦ Employment preparation is not adequately
connected to job market needs, and
◦ Handoffs between high schools, community
colleges, & baccalaureate institutions are frequently
dropped.
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The U.S., formerly the leader, now ranks 16th in the world in
college completion rates for 25-34-year-olds.
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By 2018, nearly 2/3 of all American jobs will require a
postsecondary certificate, associate or baccalaureate degree.
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By adding 20 million postsecondary-educated workers over
the next 15 years, income inequality will decline, reversing the
decline of the middle class.
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Phase I
–Listening Tour
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Phase II
–Creation in 2011 of the 21st Century Commission
on the Future of Community Colleges
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More than 1,300 stakeholders
– Students, faculty and staff, administrators, trustees, state
policymakers, college presidents and chancellors
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Visited 13 cities in 10 U.S. regions, Jan – Nov 2011
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Austin, TX
Detroit, MI
Washington, DC
Tallahassee, FL
Jamestown, NC
River Grove, IL
Columbus, OH
New York, NY
Anaheim, CA
Martinez, CA
Des Moines, IA
Harrisburg, PA
Grand Island, NE
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Two-fold mandate:
◦ Safeguard the fundamental mission of community
colleges; and
◦ Challenge community colleges to imagine a new
future, while ensuring the success of community
college students, institutions and our nation.
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Thirty-eight members from higher education, education
policy and business.
– Chair, Walter Bumphus, President & CEO of AACC
– Co-Chairs,
• Augustine Gallego, Chairman Emeritus, San Diego Community College
District
• Kay McClenney, Director, Center for Community College Student
Engagement, The University of Texas at Austin
• Jerry Sue Thornton, President, Cuyahoga Community College, Ohio
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Funding provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
the Kresge Foundation, ACT, and Educational Testing
Service.
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The American dream is at risk.
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Because a highly educated population is fundamental to
economic growth and a vibrant democracy, community
colleges can help reclaim that dream.
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Stepping up to this challenge will require dramatic redesign
of our institutions, their mission, and most critically, their
students’ educational experiences.
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A call for a new vision for community colleges
grounded in the “Three Rs”:
◦ Redesign students’ educational experiences;
◦ Reinvent institutional roles; and
◦ Reset the system to create incentives for student and
institutional success.
AACC Recommendation #1
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Completion
◦ Degrees
◦ Certificates
◦ Degrees by transfer
AACC Recommendation #2
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College Readiness/Developmental Education
◦ Support/assist K-12 actions related to college readiness
◦ Improve developmental education delivery
 Math emporia
 Developmental gaming
 Uri Treisman’s research – Carnegie Foundation (Quantway/Statway)
 Faculty development and training
 Increased academic/student support (tutoring)
 Supplemental education
AACC Recommendation #3
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Re-configure workforce training
◦ Develop “stackable” credentials
◦ Create short-term certificates
◦ Fill the “true” skills gap
◦ Define labor needs, supported with data
AACC Recommendation #4
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Mission and institutional roles
◦ Access (Open Door)
◦ Success
◦ Multiple delivery modes (open entry-open exit)
◦ Faculty as coaches/brokers of education
◦ Forums for discussions (Boards/Faculty/Partners)
AACC Recommendation #5
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Collaboration and partnerships
◦ Support structures to serve collaboration
(community colleges, philanthropy, government
and the private sector)
 Partnerships and consortia
 Strengthen credentialing through rigorous assessment
and transparent documentation
AACC Recommendation #6
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Public and private investments/Reclaim the
American Dream
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Increase advocacy at all levels
Incentives for student performance and progress
Funding strategies
Public funding models
Accessible and interactive statewide data systems
AACC Recommendation #7
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Rigor, transparency and accountability
◦ Degree Qualifications Profile
◦ Leverage the influence and collective purchasing power for
development of learning outcomes assessments
◦ State data systems needed to track students on their
educational and career pathways
◦ Voluntary Framework of Accountability
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Successful AACC convention in Orlando, FL April 2123
– More than 2,200 attendees from across the country
– Highly responsive and positive reaction to report
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Commission members are traveling across the country
to discuss the report and its recommendations
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AACC will:
– Establish an implementation task force
– Create an AACC 21st-Century Center
– Widely disseminate the report
– Conduct proactive outreach by AACC and Commission
members
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Support flexible policies, rules and regulations (e.g., program
development regulations)
Review and revise state rules and regulations that hamper competition
Assess and recommend appropriate funding formulas (advocate for
removal of funding inequities)
Advocate, provide direction and oversight re. foundation investments
(review differences in funding of community colleges vs. four-year
institutions, for example)
Assist with institutional resource reallocation
Influence the alignment of the Common Core State Standards
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Help define accountability (e.g., completion rates/IPEDS)
Advocate for increased higher education credentials
Work toward the lessening of the gap between workforce need and
worker availability
Advocate and educate toward efficiencies (better use of financial
resources)
Develop relationships and work with regional accreditation bodies
Work with higher education partners on job market needs (career
planning gap, degree gap, underfunding [especially developmental
education programs], equity, help identify optimal collaborations and
partnerships, etc.)