No laughing matter

Historically, cartoons are not a significant driver of communications and marketing strategy in higher education.

But one cartoon -- by Randall Munroe, whose popular Web comic is known as xkcd -- has resonated so strongly in higher ed circles that it has some marketing officials taking a hard look at what experts still believe to be their strongest marketing asset: the institutional website’s home page.

The cartoon shows a Venn diagram with two overlapping circles -- one labeled “Things On The Front Page Of a University Website,” and the other labeled “Things People Go To The Site Looking For.”
View entire article here.

New Chief for 2-year-college group

WASHINGTON -- The American Association of Community Colleges announced Monday, June 22, that it had selected Walter G. Bumphus, who has led two-year institutions of all types in nearly 40 years in higher education, as its new president and chief executive officer.

Bumphus, now A.M. Aikin Regents Chair in Community College Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin, will succeed George R. Boggs as AACC's top official in January. The former president of Brookhaven College, Baton Rouge Community College, and Louisiana's two-year-college system will take the reins of the 1,200-member community college association at a time when the institutions are in the public policy spotlight -- and potentially the cross hairs -- as never before.

While two-year colleges have faced (and are likely to continue to face) increasing pressure to improve their completion rates at a time of diminishing state and other resources, Bumphus takes what he calls a "half-full" view of the institutions' status.

"There has never been a brighter spotlight, and flashlight, on community colleges than today, but community colleges have never been better than they are today," Bumphus said in a telephone interview Monday after AACC announced his selection by its Board of Directors. "We're starting to become a community of colleges that are focused on a culture of evidence, truly looking at performance, and I am convinced that we are moving the needle in terms of student success.
View entire article here. View AACC Press Release.

Everett compston, jr, passes away

Mr. Everett Compston passed away on May 29, 2010 and his funeral was the morning of June 1, 2010, at 10:30 A.M.

Everett was a Retired Vice President for Administration and Finance at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC).

He served several years as a board member for Community College Business Officers (CCBO) and was instrumental in hosting an international CCBO conference in Biloxi during his tenure on the board. Even as a retiree, Everett attended almost every CCBO annual conference until last year.   View obituary.

No Vacany

At American River College, in Sacramento, desperate times are calling for desperate measures.

Like so many community colleges in California, all reeling from $825 million in state budget cuts, American River simply does not have enough classroom space to accommodate all of its students. Last month, for example, estimates noted that almost 250,000 students statewide would be kept from community colleges due to dwindling space.

(A tentative budget deal in the state was reached Monday night between the governor and legislative leaders. The deal relies on budget cuts, not tax increases, to close the budget gaps, suggesting that deep cuts to higher education will not go away, and the Los Angeles Times reported that passage is not assured.)

The crunch has been especially noticeable in general education courses required for graduation or transfer to a four-year institution, such as introductory English composition and college mathematics. Students nearing graduation who have put off these courses now jockey for position against an influx of first-time students who fear that if they do not take them now they will never get the chance to finish on time and within their budget. View entire article here.

The Obama Plan

President Obama, as he promised he would, placed community colleges Tuesday in the center of his plans to revitalize the American economy. He proposed billions in new spending -- for job training programs, improvements in basic skills education, facilities and free online education -- to focus on two-year institutions.

In words that community college educators have longed to hear, he stressed the importance of community colleges in broadening access to American higher education, and he specifically rebuked the way these institutions have often been ignored in favor of elite institutions. "Community colleges are treated like the stepchild of the higher education system; they're an afterthought, if they're thought of at all," Obama said, in a speech at Macomb Community College. View entire article here.

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