For Immediate Release
Contact: Martha M. Parham, Ed.D.
Cell: 714-932-3694
mparham@aacc.nche.edu
Partnerships that Propel: Expanding Strategic Alliances
by DeRionne P. Pollard, PhD
Accelerating workforce development has become increasingly urgent in our current climate. It touches almost all parts of economic discussions today — from the cost of living and gross domestic product to trade and intellectual property rights. The good news among so much flux is that the return on investment for community colleges continues to be high. In fact, targeted training for in-demand positions has become a more intentional focus for higher education writ large. Community colleges are rich case studies in preparing skilled workers affordably, and local partnerships are at the center of our strategy.
Fellow higher education leaders often ask me: How do community colleges develop such wide networks of partners? The answer is paradoxical: our colleges were never designed to exist in isolation. Structured to serve communities, it is second nature to us to form alliances with local companies, non-profits, workforce boards, K-12 education sectors, and government agencies. The diverse assets of private industry and public entities complement one another to produce outcomes with higher impact: agility in the workforce, higher success rates among economically underserved students, more entry points for education in local communities and deeper civic engagement.
Being open access, community colleges serve students who arrive with very different needs and ambitions, from a recent high school graduate seeking a bachelor’s degree to an incumbent worker who needs upskilling in a technical field to an unemployed worker looking for a new career path through a short certificate. Among these profiles there are endless variables that impact how successful a student may be. Some students are parents of young children; some need additional English skills; some work full time and can only attend classes in the evening; and some lack reliable transportation for mandatory labs or internships. Community colleges already work tirelessly to address these needs so that students can take advantage of the education our institutions offer.
Local non-profits often provide practical, basic needs, such as healthcare from a mobile van, food packages distributed on campuses or career placement assistance. A corporation might offer mentoring or internships that help build career pathways, or a company may partner on a real estate transaction — financing a building on a community college campus, for example — that gives them a tax break and advances their business interests, while providing training opportunities for students. A private donor might fund a scholarship for students, lowering another barrier to student degree completion. Curricular linkages are built with diverse industry partners, addressing the specific needs in high-demand workforce areas. By ensuring that colleges are providing the skills that are needed today — and tomorrow — the pipeline of well-prepared workers is strengthened, as are students’ personal contributions to the economy.
This partnership dynamic echoes several mentioned in “America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age,” a 2024 report from the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor and Commerce. Centered on building a reliable talent pipeline that feeds that national workforce, the report emphasizes the increasing need for collaboration between industry and education to fill new workforce gaps and drive sustainable economic growth. Industry needs are already being mapped to programs at several community colleges through Registered Apprenticeship designs through AACC’s and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship Building America Electric Vehicle Hub. An additional partnership with the federal Appalachian Regional Commission is supporting 30 colleges across 13 states to infuse cybersecurity into multiple education and training programs serving healthcare, financial services, agricultural science, and education. The passion that thrives at community colleges across our nation is at the heart of these efforts and can be optimized by even more intentional strategic partnerships.
Creating a web of interwoven partnerships can allow a college to shore up several kinds of vulnerabilities: local food banks and clothing closets support basic needs of students; internships and apprenticeships can put students on career paths well before they graduate; philanthropists can help with scholarships. Each partner has unique strengths that empower the larger impact of our common work. And many of them wear multiple hats.
Another secret to creating productive partnerships is asking the right questions: What existing processes drive the partner’s work? To whom is this potential partner already connected? What values and goals do we share? These critical conversations almost always birth new ideas about how to advance shared interests that advance the public good. They also clarify who is already in that shared space, in what role. The innovation that comes from a couple of these conversations can be transformational, creating an asset map while also highlighting areas that could grow with common attention.
Philanthropists, for example, also can be valuable thought partners for community colleges. Funding that allows a pilot program to run and be assessed for its scale-up potential can be the start of a wider trend that serves hundreds of colleges. Philanthropists who create communities of practice empower colleges to experiment with new designs in collaboration with fellow institutions. These investments go far beyond an individual student or an institution to the underlying architecture of the community college system nationally.
Local chambers of commerce can also be visionary collaborators around workforce development strategies. Connected as they are to local businesses, they can channel feedback about in-demand skills, hiring practices, and trends on the market that might not be evident from the outside. These chambers also tend to be tightly invested in community success, hosting events that draw business leaders and residents alike.
Finally, K-12 public education pipelines are partnerships in which every community college should invest. AACC is currently partnering with General Motors to work with 18 community colleges to identify successful strategies for K-12 and career and technical education programs that will support advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies.
By building career pathways early, students have the time and discipline to create the roadmaps that lead to skilled professional lives. When students are prompted to think about their interests while in lower grades, they are more intentional about study and more focused on goal-settings. Some school systems are working with community colleges to produce toolkits and stand up specialized professional events that bring younger students to their campuses in early grades. Such partnerships drive enrollment in college and capture students’ imaginations early, giving them time to plan and pivot.
The support that partnerships provide is the secret sauce of community colleges. We are not just educators — we are change-makers. Our institutions are bridges to local people and groups with shared vision about what communities can achieve. Like community colleges, our partners believe in the power and the promise of opportunity. I am proud to be working as AACC continues to advocate in this dynamic ecosystem, committed to expanding the potential of every student and growing the in-demand workforce for our nation.
The author is the president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges.