The Community's College: The Role That Florida State Colleges Play in Their Local Communities

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 18
  In Roundtable Session: Issues in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

Community colleges provide much more than education to their local communities. This “social mission” has long been felt, but remains largely overlooked in scholarship. This paper examines specific kinds of engagement that community colleges have with their local communities. Based on qualitative data gathered from 1386 participants enrolled or working at 21 of the Florida College System institutions, we find that engagement comes in many forms: colleges provide resources that meet physical needs of students and community members, facilitate community outreach programs, act a centers for disaster relief, and more.

Authors

• Amanda N Nix, Florida State University

• Hollie Daniels, Florida State University

• Pei Hu, Florida State University

• Tamara Bertrand Jones, Florida State University

• Shouping Hu, Florida State University