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Mississippi has the oldest state-wide system of public 2-year colleges in the USA. The story of the creation of the community college system in Mississippi is both complex and powerful. Fou...

The financial challenges facing college students in the U.S. are daunting. The majority of these students are incurring substantial debt during their studies. For many this likely debt level is sufficient to cause them to forgo college, while for others it leads them to drop out before completing a degree. This financial strain places a premium on efforts that the student can take to economize. One of the most substantial ways that the students can economize is through the inclusion of a community college in their plans of study. Consequently, economizing requires the inclusion of multiple colleges and the courses needed to be taken at different institutions seldom fits neatly into full-time semesters. Recent regulatory changes have created an opportunity for institutions to eliminate this type of financial strain through the strategic cooperation of a financial aid consortium.

Higher education enrolment has long been known to rise and fall counter to the current economic situation. This counter-cyclical enrolment response represents an economic principle where a price-elastic consumer is more likely make a consumption choice when another valuable use of resources is not available. Higher unemployment has historically led to increased enrolment as fewer prospective students have had attractive employment opportunities as an alternative use of the resource of time. This consumer decision was possible students generally had the ability to pay the cost. This trend has now ended as enrolment is no longer rising with increased unemployment. This indicates that ability of many students to pay has now been exceeded by the cost of tuition and other fees.

Articulation between two-year colleges and universities provides a critical opportunity for potential students. Most institutions declare their support of articulation; however, the visibility of this support to potential students is inconsistent at best. Articulation agreements that are visible and easily understood by potential students serve as a motivation to the pursuit of higher education. Conversely, the lack of a complete, visible path to a baccalaureate degree is a powerful deterrent to enrollment. For this study, articulation is a coordinated effort and process to support efficient transfer between institutions of higher education. (DeMott, 1999). The purpose of this study is to explore the general visibility of existing articulation opportunities at two-year colleges. The visibility of articulation agreements is a critical practical factor in their potential positive impact on student behavior and success.

This paper examines the origins of developmental education and explores the way developmental education is administered at selected colleges in Arkansas. Finally, the paper focuses on a model Career Pathways Initiative program at University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton. Career Pathways invigorates partnerships between colleges and workforce and economic development to meet the needs of employers as more and more industries struggle to find qualified workers. A large number of the community college's targeted population have the ability but lack the skills to meet employers' needs for the 21st century. Career Pathways programs pull together the resources needed to serve individuals, business, and industry. Career Pathways is a means of delivering extensive developmental programming in an efficient manner. Career Pathways promotes the development of an enhanced workforce by tapping into a population that has previously been overlooked: low income, low skilled, unemployed, underemployed, single pa...

Adult student retention is an issue of growing concern for many institutions. It differs from traditional retention much like traditional students differ from adult students. As the majority of student body growth comes from adult students, adult student retention management will become critical to the majority of colleges and universities. To support this end, this article explores the forces producing a need for better adult student retention, provides methods for the development of institution-specific retention enhancement plans and retention measurement metrics, and provides a set of retention enhancement tactics.

Many colleges and universities are expected to produce more graduates while responding to an increasing level of racial and ethnic diversity among students. While the importance of diversity within executive management leadership teams may be accepted among nonprofit higher education institutions, the connection between diversity among the leadership in higher education and the retention of minority students has not been empirically established. This study, focusing on Texas public colleges and universities, finds that: 1) a diverse executive management team makes a positive difference in minority student retention at community colleges and 4-year universities institutions; and 2) the impact of a diverse executive management team on retention is not limited to race and ethnicity, but instead includes other demographic aspects.

The changing product life-cycle is having a significant effect on successful international business planning. Strategic planning that correctly predicts the life-cycle of the products of a business has the potential to be much more effective than planning that does not The forces that are causing a general shortening of the product life-cycle, from both the global and domestic points of view, are examined. In the past, many companies in differing industries sold their products in their home country until the market was saturated. At that point, the company branched into other countries to gain new customers. Eventually, production was begun in the new market. This process was carried out in a slow manner, often one country at a time. The practicality of this strategy, in general, has been lessening as product life-cycles have been shrinking. An alternative strategy of simultaneous penetration of multiple markets in conjunction with a dispersed global strategy is proposed. The strengths and drawbacks of such a strategy are discussed.

This article examines the demographic makeup of Texan university executive management groups in their relationship to institutional success as measured by student retention rates. Executive management teams that are diverse in age, time served as an executive, and the number of executives on the team may be particularly advantageous in enhancing total retention rates. Teams that are diverse on a broad range of demographic characteristics are likely to produce improved strategic decisions that may lead to relatively better performance, measured by rises in student retention. It can therefore be suggested that the setting up of an optimal executive team could lead to improved levels of retention. While this article does not make any indications as to what an optimal team might be or does prescribe a formula for producing one, it does indicate that one or more optimal executive team profiles exist. In the current higher education climate, the demographic composition of executive teams is a subject of critical importance to higher education researchers and leaders.

The competitive environment for educational institutions is changing. In this environment, community colleges and private universities may be ill equipped to achieve their respective missions. This article introduces a concept from for-profit business strategy to higher education planners. The changing competitive environment of higher education has created an opportunity for the development of strategic alliances among organizations that have previously been competitors. Strategic alliances based on cooperation between individual institutions of higher education can allow these institutions to be more successful in a highly profitable market in which neither institution could compete separately. This article reviews the relevant literature on community colleges and private universities, and applies principles of strategic management to the current college and university environment. The student body in higher education institutions is markedly different today than 30 years ago. Students today are as like...