No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.Printed on acid-free paper springer.com This book is dedicated to our families for their continued strength and conviction to believe in a project of this magnitude. In particular, we want to thank our spouses, Ronald S. Raby and Vera C. Valeau for their patience and support during this long process. They have given so much and we love them dearly.
We also want to dedicate this book to a pioneer in the field of community colleges, David Wilson. His inspiration and vision is seen throughout this book.Although community colleges in the United States are increasingly seen as a model that other countries can emulate to train a more skilled work force, Americans are aware of the need to seek knowledge and expertise from other higher education institution models -community college, technical and further education -around the world. All systems are struggling with the complexities involved to successfully educate students to be globally competent citizens in today's world economies. Globalization, a challenging theme for many community colleges in America, is now seen as essential to a nation's competitiveness and its societal standard of living.Readers of this book are exposed to a variety of themes that are relevant both in the United States and abroad. Chapters focus on economic models to help local and national economies develop strong workforce training and preparation, humanitarian models to bring about social mobility, peace transformative models to help institutions expand and keep up with societal needs, and newly created models that respond to the educational and training needs of a constantly changing world. Forward-thinking leaders committed to higher education reform, recognize how commonplace it is to have problems that never seem to be fully resolved. Through studying different models and focusing on the functions and tactics applied by other systems, individual practices can be improved and enhanced. This sharing of information will help broaden partnerships and networks between the United States and higher education institutions in other countries as well as with the private sector and foundations; highlight and expand emerging and innovative approaches to teaching, training, technology transfer, and human development; and develop strategies to establish innovative and lasting higher education relationships for international development in areas that support innovation and economic growth.For many decades, the United States has been the most competitive force in the world and the leader in higher education developments based on its investments in technology and innovation, our capital structure, an...
