Unwarranted Stigma

Investment in higher education is essential to improve the knowledge and skills of a country's labor force for economic growth. Higher education is a dynamic context with various institution types. However, the higher education market and research has generally suggested a single higher education institution, university education. Such single entity promotion has informed policies to increase university enrollments and completions resulting in a belief that universities are prestigious institutions that provide greater economic growth while stigmatizing community colleges as less prestigious and of little or no value to economic growth. University models have provided higher education to selected members of society which has not met the global demand for education or improved economic growth. This chapter will demonstrate that community colleges are becoming a higher education policy focus for their ability to provide flexible, short cycle education, and new research demonstrates their short- and medium-term economic impact. Thus, the community college stigma is unwarranted.

Challenges Facing Contemporary Community Colleges

For over a century, American community colleges have delivered on their mission of open access and now educate about half of all undergraduate students in the United States. Recognized as primary providers of higher education and workforce training, especially to non-traditional and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, community colleges serve as transformative engines of prosperity and democratization of education. Contemporary community colleges face many challenges. Mainly, while community colleges are persistently underfunded, their leaders are under ever-increasing demand to improve student completion.

Community College Infrastructure

The idea of community colleges serves to disrupt elitism in higher education by countering social stratification that is created and maintained by conventional models of education around the world. At a time when countries seek to redefine their education policies towards stabilization, prosperity, and democratization of opportunities, the idea of community college offers a powerful connective solution to community, industry, and national economies. The powerful but flexible idea of community college infrastructure is open for adaptations through a wide range of unique economic contexts around the world.

The Development of Community Colleges in Vietnam

Since 1986, with the creation of the Renovation (Doi moi) policy, Vietnam has demonstrated a strong commitment to the improvement of its higher education system. After 25 years of opening its doors to the global educational environment, Vietnam has achieved some notable accomplishments. The country's higher educational system has become more diversified, more accessible, and more open to international cooperation. However, the management structure and quality assurance aspects of higher education still need significant improvement. One of the new and exciting opportunities for Vietnamese higher education is the development of community colleges. The emergence of community colleges, which resemble the U.S. community college model, is a fairly new phenomenon in Vietnam. This chapter analyzes the literature and the Vietnamese government's policies regarding the direction of higher education in general and community colleges in particular. Predictions and recommendations for the future of Vietnamese community colleges are also provided.

Choices, Courses, and Companies

How do students of post-secondary vocational education make career choices, and how/how much do the institutional systems of VE/VT support them? This chapter traces the expectations, choices, and alternatives encountered by the students enrolled at vocational institutions in India. Referred to as industrial training institutes (ITIs), these institutions bridge the transition from school to employment. The research uses the “safety net” theory of vocational education to assess student choices and preferences to analyze the reasons why students pursue a course at the ITI. The study includes a survey of 212 students in two-year programs. In-depth interviews were conducted with teachers in the same institutes where the survey was administered to the students. In the process, the role of such vocational institutions is assessed with respect to the correspondences with the larger VE/VT system in the country, thereby offering relevant insights into changes that are underway from recent policy measures.

Education, Industry Partnership, and the Creation of Innovative Workforce Training Spaces

This chapter describes the planning process undertaken by Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in Omaha, Nebraska to program and design three new academic buildings to meet demand for middle skill workforce training in the Omaha area. Context on the economic climate in the Omaha area is provided to establish the need for more extensive job training programs at MCC. This chapter also describes the engagement of a master planning consultant, as well as internal and external stakeholders to develop a comprehensive facilities master plan. Finally, a description of each of the new buildings is provided.

Technical and Vocational Education in Jordan's Higher Education System

This chapter outlines Jordan's higher education landscape highlighting the development of technical and vocational education and training, reflected in the development of community colleges in the country. The risks, challenges, and opportunities in regard to higher education are outlined and examined closely. This chapter also strives to uncover the key challenges that exist in higher education access for the large refugee population in Jordan and the plight of women in higher education in Jordan. Finally, some recommendations have been made to improve the higher education system by increasing access for the populations, particularly refugees and women, traditionally deprived of economic opportunities.

Chinese Higher Vocational Education Development and Reform

Education researchers have examined whether innovative education and training initiatives might assist in promoting a nation's economic growth. A focus upon Chinese higher vocational education (CHVE) offers an opportunity to study these factors, as CHVE plays an important role in China's educational, economic, and social development. The role of CHVE is to contribute a skilled workforce to the knowledge economy; however, it faces challenges from cultural traditions, teaching/curriculum, and funding issues. The question of how CHVE might better serve social and economic development is of concern to both the nation and government because it is associated with the nation's future economic reform. Through analysis of government policy, the author discusses the development of CHVE as having four major stages with different policy emphases. The new policy reform addresses movement towards optimization of teaching/curriculum, development of decentralization/localization, improvement of industry cooperation, and enhancement of internationalization.

Community Colleges and Global Counterparts

Higher education massification has broadened access to universities throughout the world. However, admission remains highly competitive. Alternative institutions emerged in each country to provide opportunities that would otherwise not exist. These institutions share specific commonalities and are seen as a unique higher educational sector. The Community College and global counterpart sector exists alongside the university sector and shares similarities in mission, philosophy, and institutional design.

Codifying Civility on Campus for Employees and Students

School-level bullying and workplace bullying are globally recognized as threats to organizational productivity, emotional safety, psychological wellness, and overall morale. Consequently, some countries have instituted legislation to prohibit bullying at various levels in society. This essay will proceed from two vantage points. First, workplace bullying will be addressed, considering the cost to organizations and individuals. Second, school bullying will be addressed with an examination of the bully as a threat to the school's reputation and individual student welfare. Further, cyberbullying affects both children and adults. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to consider policy development for international leaders who are managing both students and professional educators.