Articles of Interest to Community College Employees: 9/2/10

College education for all
Chicago Tribune | By Jeff Libman |Story posted 2010.09.01 at 08:23 PM CDT

Classes have just begun at Truman College, where I’ve taught English as a second language to adult immigrants for 17 years. There’s been a scurry of activity in a variety of languages among the most diverse body of students you will find anywhere in the world. With their African dresses, American flip-flops, Middle East head scarves and internationally recognized ringtones, the students are embarking on an educational journey that will turn them into productive citizens.  But, according to City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Cheryl Hyman and board Chairman Gery Chico, many of these students shouldn’t be in the City Colleges system. They claim that many of these students are enrolled in remedial classes as they prepare for college-level work and that’s costing City Colleges millions of dollars. They say these students could be better served somewhere else. (More)

Ezra Klein: Thrown into managerial waters
By Ezra Klein | Washington Post | Wednesday, Sep 1, 2010

Over at Confessions of a Community College Dean, there’s an interesting thread on making the transition from faculty to management. The underlying theme, as you’ll see if you read to the last graf, is that “higher ed doesn’t really train deans. Although we put people through absurdly extended and picky training regimens for faculty jobs — the research part, anyway — we don’t train administrators at all.”  (More)