Recent economic events and constantly-shifting priorities continue to challenge the traditional hallmarks of community colleges: responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility. Institutional leaders are increasingly questioning whether the comprehensive community college model and, more importantly, open access, are still sustainable in today's austere funding environment. Drawing on research that predicted many of the unique issues and challenges currently plaguing community colleges, this study assessed the extent to which these items have come to fruition. A 9-state survey of community college chief academic officers provided insight regarding how their respective institutions have been impacted by these issues and challenges. The results indicated that fiscal matters remain the dominant challenge, as community colleges strive to ''be all things to all people.'' Without additional funding and=or new strategies, institutional leaders may face even greater challenges; most notably, dismantling the comprehensive model or redefining open access.Community colleges have traditionally enjoyed great notoriety for their responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility. As the new millennium approached, however, several authors predicted a variety of

Rural community colleges often expand their online course offerings in an ad hoc manner. Due to limited resources and competing priorities, the necessary, careful planning for online instruction is often forgotten. Planning for Online Courses at Rural Community Colleges Jay Leist, Jon TravisThe delivery of courses and even complete degree programs online has become commonplace in higher education. As institutions seek to extend their reach and students demand more convenient access to the college curriculum, online offerings have increased at an accelerating rate. What has not kept pace with this expansion of online offerings is the necessary corresponding development of planning to ensure that quality is incorporated with the increase in online delivery (Bathe, 2001). Although comparisons of online and face-to-face instruction have not shown a difference in quality (Allen and Seaman, 2006), a lack of planning for online instruction can reduce its effectiveness.This chapter examines the value of online instruction to rural community colleges, the importance of planning for these courses, and the actual planning that selected rural community colleges have undertaken. As this examination demonstrates, online course planning, as vital as it is to rural campuses, is often overlooked as colleges rush to jump on the fastmoving train of online instruction. Online Courses and Rural Community Colleges: Benefi ts and ChallengesLike their urban and suburban counterparts, many rural community colleges have incorporated online courses into degree and certifi cate programs 2

Rural community college presidential job advertisements that focus on geography, politics, and culture can improve the likelihood of a good fit between the senior leader and the institution.

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Research into higher education as a field of study is impeded by the lack of an authoritative databaseof all graduate programs in the United States. One resource used frequently is the Association for theStudy of Higher Education (ASHE) database, which is self-reported by the host institutions. In 2008,this database indicated that approximately 77 higher education (HIED) programs awarded the Doctorof Education (Ed.D.), 91 offered the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and 35 awarded both degrees. Thisdistribution recalls questions that have marked research in the field for 80 years: how do HIEDprograms differentiate between the two degrees? Are both degrees really necessary?