Transfer protocol
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard in June 2023 that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions processes violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, some…
Articles by Dennis Pierce
Regional workforce plan pays dividends for Augusta Tech
As president of Augusta Technical College in Georgia, Jermaine Whirl already had partnerships in place with local businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations to strengthen workforce development opportunities in his community. But what the city…
Information, please!
When West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) learned there was a need for computer engineering technology professionals in the western part of the state, the college partnered with the University of Kentucky to create…
A funding revolution
In thinking about traditional funding models that give public tax dollars to colleges based solely on enrollment, Choi Halladay is reminded of a famous quote from the legendary college basketball coach John Wooden: “Never mistake…
Dual masters
As dual enrollment continues to expand, more high school faculty are teaching college-level classes. To make sure they’re qualified and ensure a rich and appropriately rigorous experience for students, a growing number of community colleges…
SkillsUSA stresses interpersonal skills as well as technical ones
Students in SkillsUSA competitions not only learn and demonstrate key technical skills. They also must hone the “essential traits” that employers highly value. Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) student Rosalio “Leo” Avalos won the gold…
Testing their mettle — and building confidence
For Dallas College student Jesse Serrano, competing in the SkillsUSA competitions was the hardest challenge he’s ever experienced. But whatever his future career as a video game designer brings, he’s confident he’ll be well prepared…
Building synergy
Fourteen percent. That was the graduation rate when Joe Schaffer became president of 5,500-student Laramie County Community College (LCCC) in 2012. “To say that we were in a tough spot when I arrived would be…
Bringing equity to online learning
In teaching online and hybrid classes for nearly a dozen years, Blinn College English professor Becky Almany spotted a curious trend. It wasn’t the content that often tripped up students in her courses. It was…
Skills, not frills
Rarely is there an opportunity for a simple policy change to create a “win-win-win” by benefiting multiple stakeholder groups at the same time. Yet, advocates say this is the case with “skills-based hiring,” which focuses…