Community College Toolkits

Community College Data and Performance Measurement
Information, strategies, and resources for state policymakers and community college leaders
Replay the May 21, 2008 Webinar

Making the Case for Community Colleges:
Tools for Communications Advocacy
Strategies, tools and materials for a successful advocacy campaign.
Replay the March 18, 2008 Webinar

Linking Educational Opportunity and Economic Development
For community college leaders and policy makers
Replay the January 17, 2008 Webinar

Community College Finance Toolkit
For State and Local Leaders
Replay the June 13, 2007 Webinar

Career Pathways Toolkit
for Community College and Workforce Practitioners
Updated with new additional resources
Replay the April 24, 2007 Webinar

Grantee Update: The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Plan for a Competitive Commonwealth focuses on the specific mission and mandates issued to (KCTCS) in the enactment of the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997. Click here to download the plan and to learn more

Policy Brief Update: The Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAAL) has released a new Policy Brief by senior analyst Julie Strawn of the Center for Law and Social Policy -- POLICIES TO PROMOTE ADULT EDUCATION AND POSTSECONDARY ALIGNMENT. The publication is available for download from the website of the National Commission, at www.nationalcommissiononadultliteracy.org/pandp.html.

Expanding Opportunity for the Underserved Community - See a video of David Wessel's speech at the Bridges Summer Meeting 2007.

Click here to download the transcript of his speech

New non-partisan workforce campaign launched!

On November 12, over 100 organizations throughout the U.S. launched Skills2Compete, who's vision statement is "Every U.S. Worker should have access to the equivalent of at least two years of education or training past high school - leading to a vocational credential, industry certification, or one's first two years of college... "

Watch Dr. Keith Bird, Chancellor, Kentucky Community & Technical College System explain why Kentucky's largest workforce preparation system has endorsed Skills2Compete and why America needs to change the way it thinks about building a skilled workforce.

Higher Education More Important to Americans - Public Agenda and the National Center have released a new report "Squeeze Play: How Parents and the Public Look at Higher Education Today" tracking public attitudes toward higher education since 1993. One interesting fact:

• " Nearly three-quarters of Americans (71 percent) also believe a student can learn just as much in the first two years at a community college as at the first two years at a four-year institution."

Read the full story at: http://www.highereducation.org/news/news_053107.shtml

The Data Project An important thrust of the Bridges to Opportunity Initiative is to change the way that data is collected, analyzed and employed to improve access and success for community college students. A partnership between Bridges and the Achieving the Dream initiative, the Data Project is promoting the use of data by states to guide improvements in policy and practice that benefit students.
Click here to learn more...

Solutions for Our Future is a national initiative to establish a dialogue about the critical role colleges and universities play in serving the public, solving pressing societal needs, and preparing people for our country's future. Click here to view their new TV ads on the importance of community colleges.

Welcome to Community College Central Community colleges play a vital role for over five-and-a-half-million adults in the United States, many from disadvantaged communities. Community colleges are among the most adaptable and responsive American public institutions. Unfortunately, in many cases, the opportunity for educational and economic achievement at community colleges is impeded because the missions of academic transfer, workforce development, and access for the disadvantaged are not wholly integrated with one another. This Web site houses the research and work behind the Ford Foundation's Bridges to Opportunity Initiative.