RELEASE
DATE: January 31, 2008
CONTACT:
Statement from H. Martin Lancaster, President
North Carolina Community College System
On the Report of the National Commission on Community Colleges
"Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening America's Middle Class:
An Action Agenda for Community Colleges"
January 31, 2008
January 31, 2008
Note: President Lancaster is a member of the National Commission on Community Colleges and is a strong advocate for more College Board involvement with community colleges. He and his fellow commissioners have worked for more than a year with College Board staff on the report. The College Board is the organization which tests students for their level of academic preparation for admission purposes (the Student Aptitude Test or SAT), placement purposes (Accuplacer), college credit for life experience and informal learning (CLEP) and college credit for Advance Placement (AP) courses taken at the high school level. In recent years, the College Board has taken a special interest in community colleges as an alternative pathway to university education and as the primary provider of workforce preparation. President Lancaster has served on their Community College Advisory Panel.
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"I commend the College Board for excellent, thorough work on the report of the National Commission on Community Colleges. The recommendations are consistent with North Carolina's vision for community colleges, and I hope our state and federal lawmakers will support them.
"I also commend the College Board for focusing on the need for a new commitment in community colleges to success, excellence and program completion. The College Board defines 'universal success' for community college students as 'the expectation that each student will meet his or her goals -- enrichment, employment skills, transfer -- on a timetable consistent with the student's needs.' The report also challenges community colleges on accountability -- the ability to measure real results in meaningful ways.
"In North Carolina, we have a head start on accountability, thanks to the General Assembly's requirement that we measure and report Critical Success Factors each year. Durham Technical Community College, Guilford Technical Community College, Martin Community College and Wayne Community College are part of the Lumina Foundation's Achieving the Dream initiative, cited by the College Board for its goal of developing a 'culture of evidence.'
"What the evidence tells us is that we are doing well in North Carolina in many areas, and we have a lot of work to do in others. To keep our students on track toward their goals, we need the best possible counselors and advisers in our colleges, and we must have more funding for them. We need to keep working toward more efficient ways of delivering instruction, including distance learning and 'modular' programs. We need to continue to strengthen and expand partnerships with our colleagues in public and private colleges and universities and in secondary schools.
"I am delighted that the College Board, a highly respected and independent voice for education in America, has stepped forward as an enthusiastic and highly visible partner in the vital work of community colleges."
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The North Carolina Community College System enrolls more than 800,000 students a year in 58 comprehensive community colleges. Internationally recognized for the scope and quality of its programs, the System is North Carolina's primary provider of workforce preparation and adult education.
For the most recent Critical Success Factors report, visit http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Publications/docs/Publications/csf2007.pdf
For information on Achieving the Dream, visit http://nccommunitycolleges.edu/Stu_Dev_Services/Lumina/index.html
For information about the College Board, visit http://www.collegeboard.com/splash/
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