An open door? A closed door? A revolving door? What term accurately reflects the efforts of community colleges in attracting minority students to their campuses? The question is being posed by community colleges across the country as they examine their effectiveness in attracting and assisting minority students in achieving their educational goals. Though the problems and the solutions for recruitment initiatives may vary, minority student concerns related to academic preparedness and financial resources, as well as issues concerning institutional climate, are found on each campus. And it is vital that community colleges confront these problems now. Preparing for the student body of the 1990s and into the twenty-first century demands identifying and analyzing the barriers to access and equity for minority students entering community colleges. Moreover, developing positive guidelines for recruitment initiatives that enhance rather than inhibit the open door philosophy is a necessity.
In conversations with six community college presidents, issue editor Rosemary Gillet‐Karam asks about the definitions, roles, essential skills, and accomplishments of midlevel managers at their respective institutions.
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has identified a set of six competencies essential to effective community college leadership. Studies have been conducted to test the validity and usefulness of these competencies in such ways as by surveying community college professionals and to examine the effectiveness of graduate programs in preparing students to become community colleges leaders by incorporating some or all of the competencies. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has conducted a seven-year project to address issues surrounding PhD completion and attrition, called the PhD completion project. This project found six institutional and program characteristics that are key factors in determining whether a particular student is likely to complete a PhD program. This paper seeks to review the AACC competencies for community college leaders and the PhD completion project and examine the practical implications of both studies.
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