Education for an Aging Planet

As low income societies experience rapid aging of their populations, they face major challenges in developing educational policies to prepare their workforce for the future. We review modest efforts undertaken to assist colleagues in three societies: Mexico, China, and Jamaica. Graduate education in gerontology has an important opportunity to expand research, training, and service-learning programs in global aging.     

Voluntary turnover and women administrators in higher education

A salient characteristic about the U.S. workforce is the continual process of voluntary employee turnover, which can be problematic for employers who invest a substantial amount of time and money in recruiting and training employees. This paper discusses the effects of workplace policies and practices on the voluntary turnover of women administrators in higher education. According to the results from in-depth interviews with ex-administrators of one Ivy League university, the top three reasons were conflict with supervisor, inadequate advancement opportunities, and incompatible work schedule. The results from this study revealed several interesting findings which add to our understanding of the staff turnover process for midlevel administrators in institutions of higher education. The findings could offer important insight into implementing cost-effective retention programs to help reduce unwanted turnover among women administrators in colleges and universities.     

Community Colleges: The Preferred Provider of Career and Technology Education and Training

Community colleges are recognized by business and industry as the prime provider of career and technology education. This recognition has been earned by the strong links formed between these entities and the responsiveness of community/junior colleges to workforce needs. An important consideration in maintaining this preferred provider status is the recent emphasis on the development and adoption of industry validated skill standards and the strengthening of partnerships between educational institutions and industry. Collaborative efforts between education and industry stakeholders–facilitated by established skill standards organizations–strive to assure quality workforce development. Such efforts guide and promote the development, validation, and voluntary adoption of critical standards as a model for workforce training and development programs in community/junior colleges.     

Globalizing higher education through internationalization and multiculturalism: The case of Indonesia

As part of the efforts to globalize higher education in Indonesia, internationalization and multiculturalism are two globalization behaviors that have been promoted across higher education institutions. This study investigated both these behaviors through a qualitative case study analysis of four state universities in the country. The authors found that firstly, the autonomy of state higher education institutions played a significant role for the implementation of internationalization programs which is related not only to the flexibility in designing international programs, opening study programs, or recruiting foreign lecturers, but also to the budget amount allocations by the government. Secondly, in developing multiculturalism serious considerations on the cultural stance of the institution and the unique ideology of that institution needs to be undertaken and integrated with the national ideology. Thirdly, the role of the government in making policies and encouraging state higher education institutions to be more autonomous is essential to advance higher education in internationalization and multiculturalism.     

美国职教教师资格证的备选途径——以南卡罗来纳州CTWCP项目为例

职教师资的匮乏,极大影响了美国生涯和技术教育(CTE)的质量,美国各州纷纷出台相应政策,设立和完善CTE教师资格证项目,改革CTE教师资格证体系,为社会人员开辟获得CTE教师资格证书的"备选"途径,以吸引职业技术人才进入CTE师资队伍。以南卡罗来纳州的CTWCP项目为例,美国各州职教教师资格证备选途径具有以下特征:强调知识整合,注重课程平衡;强调课程标准,注重培养质量;强调以人为本,注重学生自主;强调市场需求,注重与行业合作。     

Challenges and policies for promoting internationalization—The case of Iranian public universities

The global knowledge economy has turned higher education into a key player in societal development. Internationalization benefits higher education institutions in several aspects, such as improvement and visibility in international rankings, revenue generation via tuition fees and external funding, improvement of research and teaching quality, integration with academic communities and familiarization with scholarly attitudes. In this study, we provide insights into the challenges of internationalization faced by higher education institutions in Iran as a developing country. Several policies and practices have been adopted in Iran to improve internationalization efforts; however, these activities have had little impact on the quality of research and educational programs at Iran's universities. Understanding the challenges they face in a systematic way can help identify different factors and develop a set of suggestions to increase the quality and quantity of international cooperation. We formulate our suggestions based on the opportunities provided by the digitalization solutions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing importance of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in both global and national environments. We interviewed 15 faculty members in Iranian higher education institutions and 14 managers in charge of international affairs at universities in Iran. In addition, data extracted from three forums on Iranian higher education internationalization are analysed. Using a grounded theory approach, we group the challenges into macro-, institutional and individual levels and then suggest a number of practices and policies to increase the quantity and quality of internationalization efforts.     

Human resource development in the agriculture sector: three levels of need

This paper defines human resource development (HRD) as a functional process that involves learning interventions which are both determined by and have implications for public policy, public and private sector institutions, and the HRD specialists operating within the institutions that seek to implement these interventions. HRD is considered a force for optimizing human growth, organizational effectiveness, and national development through skills enhancement in the workforce. The agricultural workforce is broadly divided into four major segments, and these are related to three arenas of educational activity: in‐service training and development, non‐formal extension and extension‐type educational programmes, and school curricula. Following the definitions section, the paper takes up the question of basic needs of HRD in the agriculture sector (HRD/AG) at the policy, institutional and operational levels. Finally, there is a brief review of the global forces, both exogenous and endogenous, affecting HRD/AG. The conclusion calls for carefully diagnosed, systematically implemented HRD/AG policies to ensure for the development of profitable agriculture in a clean environment.     

Strategies for Broadening Participation in Advanced Technological Education Programs: Practice and Perceptions

Expanding and diversifying the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce is a national priority. The National Science Foundation is investing efforts at post secondary education institutions to engage individuals who have been historically underrepresented in STEM. This paper investigated the use of strategies to broaden participation in STEM by grantees of NSF’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE), who are primarily located at 2-year colleges. The ATE program focuses on developing and improving technician training programs to prepare students for employment in fields that rely on advanced technologiessuch as nanotechnology, photonics, and mechatronics. A survey, conducted annually by the authors of this study, was used to collect data from ATE grantees on their use and perceptions of strategies to broaden participation in STEM. The findings showed that strategies related to motivation and access to enhance recruitment are more widely used then strategies that improve retention. Respondents identified strategies related to providing financial assistance, mentoring, and conducting outreach activities as the most effective for reaching and engaging underrepresented minority students in academic programs. Despite these perceptions, these strategies seem to be underutilized among this group.     

Practical Partnerships: Analysis and Results of a Cooperative Life Skills Program for At-Risk Rural Youth

Working with at-risk youth presents unique challenges for rural agencies and organizations. This study describes the results of a life-skills management program, Survival Skills for Youth (SSY), that was organized and delivered to rural youth via collaborative efforts of education and noneducation agencies. The program was replicated with 10 groups of rural youth in Tennessee and Missouri (N = 114). All programs were a collaborative effort of 2 or more organizations, such as University Extension, school districts, juvenile justice programs, and state human service or workforce development programs. Pre- and postevaluations of knowledge of life management concepts, self-esteem, and social skills showed SSY to be effective in changing the attitudes and behaviors of rural youth. Performance and generalization of the skills in natural settings were also demonstrated. Interagency partnerships were shown to be an effective means of providing extracurricular life-skills management workshops for at-risk rural students.     

Distinctives of High Producers of Minority Science and Engineering Doctoral Starts

Demographic shifts in recent years have resulted in a smaller proportion of white males in the American population. Historically, we have depended on these individuals to comprise almost all of the science and engineering doctorates for our workforce. America must now develop S&E talent more fully among minority groups and women. Colleges and universities have moved ahead admirably in bringing these individuals into S&E programs and preparing them for doctoral study. Predictably, some have had greater success than others. The present study was completed under a National Science Foundation grant. It sought to identify the more successful institutions and to identify the elements of their success in an effort to effect a sharing of know-how. The National Research Council was asked to rank-order institutions according to their rates of success in sending Indian, Hispanic and black students on to graduate study in science and engineering. Site visits and interviews were made at ten of the top institutions. Using George Kuh's rubric for involving institutions, site visitors identified valuable threads among the practices for talent development among the populations under study.     

Foreign students in American colleges: Time for change in policy and practice

Institutional characteristics for the total population of more than 2,300 American colleges and universities are related to the proportionate foreign student enrollment in each institution through stepwise multiple-regression analysis. Large proportionate numbers of foreign students are enrolled in American private colleges, in colleges located in the West, and in institutions of high quality (as determined by institutional revenue and average achievement test scores of enrolled students). It is proposed that American institutions of higher education, particularly those which are found to enroll proportionately few foreign students, undertake efforts to increase their ratio of foreign to domestic students. A broad discussion is also presented with respect to the educational experience of foreign nationals in the United States and the institutional and national policies which affect foreign students. Given the greater balance in the supply-demand situation of highly trained American manpower in the 1970s, and the availability of many unfilled student positions in American institutions, the implementation of such policies and programs may allow a greater inflow of foreign students to domestic colleges.This research was supported in part by Grant GI-34394 from the RANN program of the National Science Foundation. I am indebted to Jeffrey E. Dutton for his assistance in the computer processing phases of this project and to Richard A. Humphrey for a number of comments and suggestions for revision.     

Recently Published Dissertations on Community and Junior Colleges

The Gulf Coast Petrochemical Information Network (GC-PIN) is a workforce development partnership among industry businesses and area institutions of higher education in the four-county Gulf Coast region. GC-PIN partners develop new industry-specific curricula, foster industry career awareness, and retrain existing employees in new technologies.     

A Christian Value? Faculty Diversity at Southern Evangelical Campuses

This case study research project examined efforts at three member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), all located in the southern United States, to increase faculty diversity. The study also explored how these efforts related to institutional mission and what aspects within the history of evangelicalism were perceived to promote or hinder the hiring of diverse faculty at these institutions. The study participants consisted of eleven faculty members, seven administrators, and two students from the three case study universities, and one administrator from the main office of the CCCU. Data were analyzed from a combination of personal interviews, observations, field notes, documents, and textual analysis, resulting in the identification of themes related to faculty diversity. Although these institutions had made great strides in diversity efforts, the study findings revealed that more intentional and systematic processes need to be established in order to increase faculty diversity. Given that faculty diversity efforts can be enhanced by implementing better recruitment and retention strategies, the discussion section highlights initiatives that have been effective at these universities, including the active pursuit of faculty of color and the purposeful management of mentorship programs.     

Six Workforce Development Initiatives That are Laying the Pathway to Success

Workforce development interventions have historically been heavily driven by federal funding, much of which was designated towards short-term training programs (less than six months) and rarely involved interaction or collaboration among colleges. The resulting efforts by the colleges to improve, update, or expand their workforce development programs typically focused on short-term localized improvement, resulting in competition over limited resources and notable variation in the quality of these programs. This article explores the recent changes in how community colleges and funding bodies are approaching workforce development. This is done by exploring the following six recent workforce development initiatives: Bridges to Opportunity (2002–2008), Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST, 2004–present), Breaking Through (2006–present), Shifting Gears (2007–2011), Accelerating Opportunity (2011–present), and Completion by Design (2011–present). Each of these initiatives has made, and continue to make, significant contributions to our collective understanding of how to create and sustain workforce development programs at community colleges that meet the needs of both students and industry.     

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OCCUPATIONAL-TECHNICAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS: ASSESSING STUDENT CAREER GOALS

ABSTRACT

A traditional way of assessing program effectiveness of academic programs has been by determining the percentage of students who complete programs and receive degrees or some other acknowledgment of completion. This method of assessment is particularly problematic for community colleges because only 4% of students who enroll in occupational-technical certificate programs do so with the intention of earning a certificate. These circumstances pose significant problems for certificate institutions as well as for those in coordinating/governing units at various levels who must assure that these programs are meeting the goals of the students and institutions in addition to the needs of a region or state. The purpose of this study was to investigate an alternative way of evaluating the effectiveness of occupational-technical programs to determine if they are meeting the goals of the students and institution by providing students with entry-level skills into the workforce or the ability to advance in their careers. Data were collected from the institution and from noncompleters in occupational-technical certificate programs at an urban community college. The study investigated when students choose to drop out and why. It concluded that these students are very pragmatic in terms of their education and that they enroll for specific reasons and drop out when they achieve their goals. This study not only confirmed that students meet their career goals, but also that the institution meets its goals as well since it is successful in preparing students for the workforce or in advancing them in existing jobs.     

Refugees’ pathways to German Higher Education institutions

Since 2015, Germany has followed a welcoming policy for refugees and has made efforts to integrate them in German society through initiatives such as development programs. However, very few refugee students have actually managed to enter German Higher Education (HE) institutions. Using a qualitative methodology, the researcher interviewed Arab refugee students studying in pre-academic and academic degree programs in Germany, to obtain answers to the following two main questions: 1) What are the main challenges that refugee students have experienced on their path to Germany as a host country? 2) What are the challenges that refugee students faced in HE in Germany and how does the German HE system respond to their needs? The findings suggest that, despite Germany’s desire to open up access to HE for refugees, the implementation of the policies adopted often sets administrative and social challenges to refugee students along their pathways to German HE institutions. These challenges include rigid access policies and procedures, unwelcoming public discourse and feelings of alienation. Nevertheless, students positively valued the new window of opportunity and universally applicable procedures offered in Germany, although they had not quite provided adequate responses to the refugees’ needs. The paper concludes with implications for policy makers wishing to open pathways for refugees to HE in intercultural academic spaces where they can interact and integrate within the academic community in preparation for their full integration into their host society.     

Heterogeneity or Homogeneity

While research has focused on the effects of diversity on individual and group level outcomes, there has been little inquiry concerning the organizational level. Cox (1994) states that the most frequently asked question by executives regarding workforce diversity involves how it affects the performance of organizations. In order to manage the growing diversity of the workforce, organizations need to implement systems and practices so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized and the potential disadvantages are minimized (Cox, 1994). While the goal of these programs is organizational success, from a human resource perspective they introduce unique challenges. In particular, these challenges relate to activities such as the socialization of culturally diverse employees. Therefore, in an effort to increase understanding of the effects of cultural diversity on organizational performance, this paper examines the moderating impact of socialization tactics on the relationship between cultural diversity and firm performance.     

RECRUITMENT,RETENTION, AND RETIREMENT: COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYMENT POLICIES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

Faculties are aging along with the rest of society. Low retirement rates and slow growth limit the number of new hiring opportunities in many institutions. Universities face a series of common challenges that will shape higher education in the 21st century. In order to maintain high quality faculties in the coming years, universities must develop compensation policies and employment practices that are appropriate for the new economic and demographic environment. This paper examines existing human resources (HR) policies and considers potential modifications that will enable institutions to recruit, retain, and retire faculty in the coming years. The analysis reviews the soaring cost of health insurance for active and retired faculty and how these plans are being amended. We also review the widespread adoption of phased retirement plans and the use of early retirement programs as components of HR policy. The increasing reliance on nontenure track faculty is also described. The analysis focuses on the challenges that universities face in the current economic and demographic conditions and the methods that administrators can adopt to fulfill their teaching and research missions. The paper presents the results from a national conference consisting of new research and intense discussion by scholars, administrators, policymakers, and HR consultants.     

APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This article discusses community college involvement in a key welfare-to-work training program, the Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS), as a mirror to reflect on the larger issue of how federal and state workforce policy impacts publicly-controlled institutions of higher education. A qualitative assessment of JOBS programs at community colleges framed discussion regarding the challenges community colleges face as they attempt to preserve these programs within an era of devolved responsibility for welfare-to-work funding from the federal government to the states.