COURSE SYLLABUS
Department of Educational Leadership
Florida Atlantic University
Course Number & Title: EDH 6215
Community College Curriculum
Catalog Description:
3 semester hours. An
examination of the background, development, function and goals of the
curriculum of the community college. The course will emphasize practical
applications of concepts and research. Case studies, guest
speakers, and discussion learning will be key learning activities.
Assignments will be diverse and include leadership interviews, a practical case
study, an opinion-editorial piece and a synthesis paper.
Required Texts:
Cohen, Art. & Brower, Florence. (1996) The American
Community College. 3rd edition San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
(This book is a “classic” in community college education. Cohen and
Brower offer an extensive and thorough discussion of the history, philosophy,
evolution, and description of America’s community colleges. Various curricular
missions of workforce development, community education, transfer education,
general education, remedial education, and economic development are
discussed. A “must read” for anyone serious about the study of the
community college.)
Schuyler, Gwyer. (1999) Trends in Community College
Curriculum. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
(This publication is an edited collection of readings that is part of the New
Directions for Community Colleges series of monographs. The authors
studied aspects of community college curriculum using a 1998 data set by the Center
for the Study of Community Colleges. The ten chapters focus on diverse
aspects of the curriculum such as the liberal arts, honors programs,
interdisciplinary studies, English as a Second Language (ESL),
multicultural education and distance education.)
Vaughan, George B. (2000) The Community College Story. (2nd
edition) Washington, D.C.: American Association of Community Colleges,
Community College Press.
(Brief, and thorough, history of the community college movement including
themes such as open access, community based programming, and the strong
commitment to teaching and learning.)
McCabe, Robert H. (2000) No One to Waste: A Report to Public
Decision-Makers and Community College Leaders. Washington, D.C.:
American Association of Community Colleges, Community College Press.
(In less than 60 pages, this former president of Miami Dade Community College
makes a compelling case for defending the remedial/development curriculum in
community colleges. The report provides an overview of the National Study
of Remedial Education that was supported with funded from the Pew Charitable
Trusts, the League for Innovation, and the American Association of Community
Colleges.)
The Knowledge Net: A Report of the New Expeditions
Initiative (2000) Washington, D.C.: Community College Press.
(Summary report of the New Expeditions project, which was funded by a 1998
grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to the American Association of Community
Colleges and the Association of Community College Trustees. A Coordinating
Committee of national community colleges leaders led the project.
The purpose of this project was to analyze the impact of the 1988 Building
Communities project and to create a blueprint for the future of community
colleges. In addition to the report, the written work of the Coordinating
Committee included 12 issues papers which are also a part of the required
readings for this course.)
New Expeditions Issues Papers (included with The Knowledge Net
report.) Topics of the papers are:
· Student Access in Community Colleges,
· Reexamining the Community College Mission,
· Fulfilling the Promise of Access and Opportunity,
· Public Community College Faculty,
· Community College Financing,
· Contradictory Colleges: Thriving in an Era of Continuous Change,
· Issues in Community College Governance,
· Community College Leadership in the New Millennium,
· The Search for the Learning-Centered College,
· Technology and the Future of the Community College,
· Community Colleges and Career Qualifications, and
· Charting the Future of Global Education in Community Colleges.
Christensen, C. Roland. “Every Student Teaches and Every Teacher
Learns: The Reciprocal Gift of Discussion Teaching.” In R.C.
Christensen, D.A. Garvin and A. Sweet. Education for Judgment: The
Artistry of Discussion Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business School
Press. 1991. pp. 99-119
(This essay will be distributed in class by the professor. The author
discusses the role of instructors and students as persons who share the task of
teaching and learning. All teach and all learn. )
Note: Other readings will supplement these basic sources,
based on student interests and course dynamics.
Recommended Texts:
Course Objectives:
The student will develop and understanding of, and appreciation
for:
· The historical and philosophical development of America’s
community and junior colleges and their egalitarian missions.
· The demographics of America’s community college students (credit
and continuing education) and the challenges of addressing the learning needs
of such a diverse clientele.
· Various differences among community colleges in terms of size,
location, and governance as those differences affect the implementation of the
comprehensive community college curriculum and mission.
· Numerous curricular issues such as developmental education,
continuing education, workforce development, transfer and general education,
student development services, and technical education.
· The strategies and approaches to analyze community needs and
develop goals, plans, programs, and curriculum to address those needs.
· The challenges for community colleges in the 21st Century,
especially in areas of connecting communities, learners and colleges.
Content Outline:
1 Introduction and Overview
Student Profile, Learning Plans/Goals
Community College Mission and Philosophy: Curriculum Overview
2 Historical and Philosophical Development of Community Colleges: Mission and Curricular Issues
3 Students as Learners: Issues and Challenges with Services and Curriculum
4 Students as
Learners (continued)
5 Community
College Leadership: Issues and Challenges
6 Developmental
and Remedial Education
7 Community
Services, Community Education, Commitment to Community
Assessing Community Needs - Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches
8 Transfer Education, General Education
9 Forces
Influencing the Curriculum
Issues and Challenges for the 21 Century
Issues & Challenges (continued)
11 Distance Education and Technology
12 Other Curricular
Areas: Honors Programs, Training and Development, Interdisciplinary
Studies,
English as a Second Language · Issues and Challenges for the 21st Century
14 Issues and Challenges
for the 21st Century (continued)
15 Discuss Op-Ed
articles, Scholarly Papers
Course Requirements:
1. Since participation is a major portion of the course grade and
learning process, each student should make every effort to attend all class
sessions, stay for the full duration of class, come prepared by reading each
assignment and participate fully in class discussions. If an emergency
arises and a student is unable to attend class, the professor should be
contacted in advance (when possible) and efforts will be made to arrange for
substitute learning.
2. Complete the Student Information Profile (distributed the first
day of class). The profile includes basic contact information for the
professor. Additionally, students will articulate specific personal goals
for the course and contributions that may be made during this class.
3. Interview a minimum of two community college leaders and
present a written and oral summary report. If a student is currently
employed in a community college, at least one of these interviews must be
conducted with a leader outside the student’s community college organizational
system. Topics and issues to be addressed in these informational
interviews will be discussed in class. Each written report should be less
than five pages in length (10 pages total).
4. Develop a “case study” of a hypothetical situation in a
community college that deals with a curricular issue outlined in the course
objectives. The informational interviews, personal experiences, classroom
discussions and cases, news in the national trade papers, and other readings
should be useful in developing the case. The case study should be
no longer than three pages and preferably shorter.
5. Write an Opinion-Editorial article describing a community
college issue and your views. The guidelines for this Op-Ed piece
should conform to the potential publication source, such as the Community
College Week, Community College Times, a local newspaper or a campus or
district newspaper. Generally, Op-Ed pieces should be no longer
than 3 or 4 pages in length.
6. Develop an annotated bibliography for submission with the final
paper. This project will require reviewing at least ten relevant
publications. (See #7)
7. Write a scholarly, thoughtful paper on an issue, research, or
practice appropriate to the objectives of this course. The topic for the
paper should be discussed with the professor in advance of writing.
The paper should follow the publication guidelines of the American
Psychological Association, unless the prospective publication source uses
another editorial guide. At least ten references (annotated) must be
cited in the paper. This paper may be submitted to the professor at any
time after the first four weeks of the course and early submission is
encouraged, as revisions/rewrites are the norm.
8. Participate fully in class activities such as field trips,
class case study discussions and impromptu learning activities.
Grading/Evaluation Criteria:
This course will follow FAU’s grading policy.
A = 4.0 C = 2.00
A- = 3.67 C- = 1.67
B+ = 3.33 D+ = 1.33
B = 3.0 D =1.00
B- = 2.67 D- = 0.67
C+ = 2.33 F = 0
Bibliography:
Web Sites of Interest
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
www.aacc.nche.edu
Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)
www.acct.org
The Florida Community College System
www.dcc.firn.edu
The Florida Association of Community Colleges
www.facc.org
The League for Innovation in the Community College
www.league.org
ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges
www.gseis.ucla.edu/ERIC/eric
Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
www.aacu-edu.org/Initiatives/gxhome.html (Greater
Expectations [general/transfer ed.] Project)
Journals and Other Publications
o Community College Journal. Washington, D.C. American Association
of Community Colleges.
o Community College Times. Washington, D.C. American
Association of Community Colleges.
o Community College Week. www.ccweek.com. Independent
biweekly published in Fairfax, VA.
o Community College Review. Raleigh N.C. Department of Adult and
Community College Education
o Catalyst. Journal of the National Council on Community
Services and Training of AACC.
o Chronicle of Higher Education. Washington, D.C.:
Editorial Projects for Education, Inc.
o New Directions for Community Colleges (series). San
Francisco CA: Jossey, Bass. Published quarterly.
o Community College Humanities Review. Journal of the
Community College Humanities Association.
o Community and Junior College Libraries. Bi-annual
publication that addresses community college librarian and LRC issues.
o Community College Journal of Research and Practice.
Published 10 times per year by the University of North Texas.
o Community College Journalist. Journal of the Community
College Journalism Association.
o Journal of Applied Research in the Community College.
Published semi-annually.
o Journal of Staff Program and Organization Development.
Stillwater, Oklahoma: New Forums Press.
o Trustee Quarterly. Journal of the Association of Community
College Trustees. Washington, D.C.
o Visions. Journal of Applied Research for the Florida
Association of Community Colleges. The University of Florida. Published
twice annually.