Community College Commission
Community College Commission
States and colleges must help community college students move down a well-defined path to degrees and careers. The commission called for reforming college placement and carefully monitoring students who need remedial courses.
The Southern Regional Education Board’s Community College Commission was charged with recommending ways to strengthen the role of community colleges in raising educational attainment in Southern states. With a focus on policies with statewide potential, it studied strategies to prepare more students for community college and guide them through completion. The goal: increase college access and success so that more students earn postsecondary credentials and enter careers that are in demand in their communities.
Commission Calls for Readiness Reforms, Clear Pathways
SREB’s Community College Commission calls for states to reform college placement, reconsider math and literacy requirements, and carefully monitor students who need developmental (remedial) courses. The Commission report proposes firm guidance along structured pathways where students clearly see entry, exit and re-entry points to continue their education. The recommendations also ask states to commit increased funding and hold community colleges accountable for improving student services and students’ completion of degrees and certificates.
Community Colleges in the South: Strengthening Readiness and Pathways
Report of the SREB Commission on Community Colleges
The full report of SREB’s Community College Commission offers 21 recommendations for states and community colleges. It presents findings on readiness, placement, math standards and structurally guided pathways to help students clearly see entry, exit and re-entry points to continue their education. Recommendations ask states to commit increased funding and hold colleges accountable for improving student services and completion. The goal: increase college access and success so more students earn postsecondary credentials and enter careers in demand in their communities.
Members of the SREB Community College Commission
Dan Branch, State Representative
Texas
Walter Bumphus, President
American Association of Community Colleges
Thomas Campbell, State Board of Education Member
West Virginia
Glenn DuBois, Chancellor
Virginia Community College System
Joyce Elliott, State Senator
Arkansas
Randy Hanna, Chancellor
Division of Florida Colleges
Sheilla Lampkin, State Representative
Arkansas
Joe May, Chancellor
Dallas County Community College System
Mike McCall, President
Kentucky Community & Technical College System
Commission Co-Chair
Joe Pickens, President
St. Johns River State College
John Polk, State Senator
Mississippi
Scott Ralls, President
North Carolina Community College System
Bernie Sadusky, Executive Director
Maryland Association of Community Colleges
Commission Co-Chair
Tim Shaughnessy, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs
Gateway Community and Technical College, Kentucky
Jabar Shumate, State Senator
Oklahoma
Jim Skidmore, Chancellor
West Virginia Council for Community & Technical College Education
Francis Thompson, State Senator
Louisiana
Yvonne Wood, Chair
Tennessee Economic Council on Women
