The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program is a diverse and dynamic set of projects intent on improving the USA's technical workforce. This book uses the ATE work as a means to focus on key issues for federally funded projects and all community colleges facing the difficult challenges of staying current and reaching constituents in positive ways.

This book brings a wealth of information on key issues for community colleges. Topics addressed include:


How to sustain innovative programs

How to develop effective instructional materials

How to promote and maintain collaboration among
various institutions including business and
industry

How to provide high quality professional
development

How to strengthen and improve programs of study

How to recruit and retain diverse students

How to evaluate and use evaluation effectively

How to engage advisory committees to
effectively serve program needs


In developing these topics the authors drew heavily on previous research and a common set of evaluation studies including site visits at 13 different projects and surveys of more than 100 ATE projects.