In “Midnight Class Is Latest Sign of Higher Education’s Demand,” the Baltimore Sun reports on community colleges that are offering graveyard-shift classes, including a psychology class - “Midnight Madness” coming this fall from 12-3 a.m. at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. It certainly provides access and relieves pressure on crowded community college facilities. There’s nothing wrong with the concept and it creates some buzz. Classes in the middle of the night may be just the ticket for some. But … continue reading

I saw an ugly sight last week: An emerging new exclusion from the opportunity called higher education. This exclusion is the net result of reduced state budgets for community colleges and state colleges and universities, an increasingly expensive and ineffective education model, and the expressed attitudes of some policy, government, and educational professionals. continue reading

As a former community college founder and president, I share Jill Biden’s passionate advocacy for community college students and the institutions that serve them. If we are committed to successfully serving marginalized learners, doubling our graduation rates, and strengthening our workforce, community colleges are an essential part of the solution. continue reading

President Obama has sent a strong and badly needed message of philosophical and financial support for community colleges. But they, and their students, are still in deep financial trouble in many states whose economic recovery is key to the national economic recovery, including California and Florida. continue reading

Recently I have seen three articles about the current state of higher education financing which perplexed me greatly. First, Business Week published an article which portrayed proprietary institutions as “cashing in” unduly on stimulus money. continue reading