Speaking for its more than 1,100 member institutions, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) regrets that “Leaders and Laggards, A State-by-State Report Card on Public Postsecondary Education”, released recently by the U.S. Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW ‐ a part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce), contains many flaws. The report’s stated design is to evaluate the performance of two‐ and four‐year systems of public higher education and assign grades accordingly, but the study employs methodologies and an overarching framework that are so poorly conceived that the various grades have extremely limited value.
Community college CEOs are disappointed by the issuance of this document, particularly given the extensive, intimate, and positive relationships that they have with hundreds of local Chamber of Commerce chapters across the country. Fortunately, the positive interactions between community colleges and their local chambers will surely continue.