AACC periodically publishes reports and white papers about issues particularly revelant to community colleges. Please click on the links below to read the full text of the reports and white papers.
Reports:
Noncredit Enrollment in Workforce Education: State Policies and Community College Practices
This report provides detailed findings on state policies and community college practice from Community College Research Center's (CCRC's) study of community college noncredit workforce education. Drawing on interviews with state policymakers in all 50 states and case studies of 20 community colleges in 10 states, the report offers recommendations for policy and practice. Noncredit workforce education can play an important role in responding to local labor market demands, while also connecting students to long-term educational opportunities and documenting outcomes in a meaningful way.
Download the report (PDF)
Funding Issues in U.S. Community Colleges: Findings From a 2007 Survey of the National State Directors of Community Colleges
Changing state revenues have prompted heightened concern about the immediate short- and long-term future and stability of state investments in higher education. Just what is going on in the field in terms of access, funding, and overall support for community colleges? These are the questions that originally spurred the need for a formal survey of funding issues in U.S. community colleges. This report summarizes the perceptions gleaned from community college state directors (or their designees) during the third administration of the survey in 2007. It is offered as a barometer of the current situation and future prospects for community college funding and access.
Download the report (PDF)
First Responders: Community Colleges on the Front Line of Security
Community colleges currently credential close to 80% of first responders and 60% of health-care professionals. Not so fully documented, however, is the colleges' expanding leadership role in homeland security through new programs, unique facilities, and working alliances. To gain a more complete picture of community college engagement, AACC undertook two important surveys in 2004. Findings from these studies - AACC's Hot Programs and Homeland Security Survey and Survey on Homeland Security and Related Issues - provided for the first time an in-depth look at these broad and varied activities and provided the basis for much of this report.
Download the report (PDF)
White Papers:
The Workforce Investment Act: Implementation for Community Colleges
Employment and training programs in the United States have evolved through several legislative incarnations since the early 1960s. The Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 and the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 (JTPA) were all major landmarks in the history of these programs.
Download the report (PDF)
Copyright Considerations In Distance Education and Technology-Mediated Instruction
In 1999, AACC published a white paper, "Copyright Considerations in Distance Education and Technology-Mediated Instruction." The white paper was updated in May 2000 to include recent changes in copyright law and the implications those changes have on higher education.
Download the report (PDF)