National Office of Community College Initiatives
The College Board established the National Office of Community College Initiatives to support the Board's mission to connect students to college success. Community colleges serve more than six million students, including the largest proportion of students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in American higher education. Assuring access and college success for these students requires strong partnerships among K-12 schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities. The College Board is one of the few not-for-profit national organizations that brings together all of these constituencies in the service of students, families, counselors, and other student service professionals.
Goals
The Office of Community College Initiatives serves the educational needs of community college students and educators by:
- Supporting the work of the Community College Advisory Panel (CCAP) - The College Board's standing committee, composed of community college leaders who advise the organization on its work with community college students and educators
- Advancing the voice of community colleges within the College Board and encouraging other community colleges to become members
- Developing policies, programs, and services that assist community colleges while promoting equity, access, and college success for all students
Intersections and Collaborations
The College Board advances the community college agenda in three ways:
- Membership—The College Board is one of the few national organizations that brings together all of the players with whom community colleges must partner: middle schools, high schools, and four-year colleges and universities. Few other venues provide opportunities to forge essential partnerships needed for community colleges.
- Partnership—Community colleges are pivotal players in the American education landscape. They serve students, especially those from underserved groups, in the transition from secondary education to college. They also prepare students for the transition to four-year institutions or for the world of work. These transitions require effective partnerships with secondary schools, as well as four-year colleges and universities.
- Leadership—Community colleges are regional education leaders in addressing the lack of appropriate preparation for students to attend. This includes assessing student academic potential, aligning high school and college curricula to prepare students for college success, and training education professionals to serve the needs of students from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education. The College Board advances community college regional leadership by providing programs and services that address each of these needs.
Current and On-Going Projects
- Counselor Professional Development: The Community College Sourcebook: Strategies for Advising Transfer Students from Experienced Community College Counselors is a one-of-a-kind reference manual. It provides counselors with resources to serve community college students whose goal is to transfer and earn the baccalaureate degree.
- Student Academic Preparation: Free information for community college students is provided on collegeboard.com. In addition, MyRoad™ is currently being adapted for use by community college students. MyRoad is an interactive website enabling students to explore majors, careers, and educational options, such as transfer to a four-year college or university.
- Public Policy and Advocacy: Destinations of Choice: A Reexamination of Community Colleges in American Education is a CCAP project to initiate a public dialogue about the importance of community colleges in American education and the role of these institutions in advancing student success. In addition, the recently convened National Commission on Community Colleges will issue a report, in early 2008, that "documents the critical role that community colleges play in American education and make recommendations on how the influence of these institutions can be expanded to respond to the challenges facing the nation."
Reports, Publications, and Other Resources
The National Office of Community College Initiatives sponsors reports, policy briefs, and articles to highlight critical and emerging issues that affect community colleges. Many of the following titles can be accessed on our Resources page.
Community Colleges: Places So Close Can Take You So Far (.pdf/40K)
Why Community College—What students need to know about community colleges
College Board Programs and Services for Community College Educators (.pdf/292K)
The Key to Success in Community College
Strengthening the High School-to-Community College Transition (.pdf/277K)
(Stephen J. Handel, Community College Trustee Quarterly, Winter 2006)
Tutoring Trustees (.pdf/38KB)
(Stephen J. Handel, Community College Trustee Quarterly, Fall 2006)
Academic Cultures of Community Colleges and Selective Four-Year Institutions: The "Transfer-Going" Context in California (.pdf/3.29 MB)
(Plenary remarks by Stephen J. Handel at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation National Forum, Washington DC, June 28, 2006)
Pursuing Higher Education Access and Achievement: Case Studies in the Development of "Transfer-Going" Cultures (.pdf/317K)
(Paper prepared by Stephen J. Handel and Alfred Herrera for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation National Forum, Washington DC, June 28-29, 2006)
Preparing High School Students for Community College Success (.pdf/357K)
(Stephen J. Handel, Community College Trustee Quarterly, Fall 2005)
"The Effectiveness of the Transfer Path for Educationally Disadvantaged Students" (Chapter 8 in Expanding Opportunities in Higher Education: Leveraging Promise,SUNY Press, 2006).
"Second Chance not Second Class: A Blueprint for Four-Year Institutions Interested in Community College Transfer Students" (In press—Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning)
"The Invisible Partner: The Pivotal Role of Community Colleges in Tackling Educational Equity and the National Workforce Agenda" (Stephen J. Handel and James Montoya – In preparation)
Join Us
The success of this initiative depends on the commitment of individuals who believe in the egalitarian mission of community colleges and the College Board and the pivotal role these institutions play in the education of our students. We welcome your ideas and encourage you to contact Stephen J. Handel, Director of Community College Initiatives, at shandel@collegeboard.org, to share your thoughts about how this initiative can support "excellence and equity in education."
