American Council on Education: The ACE, “the major coordinating body for all the nation’s higher education institutions, seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues and to influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.” The ACE Web site covers events in Washington that affect higher education (including the recent Supreme Court decision upholding Affirmative Action), offers excellent resources for department chairs and adult learning, and includes a bookstore (among other things!).

Community College League of California: The Community College League of California is a “nonprofit public benefit corporation whose voluntary membership consists of the 72 local community college districts in California.” The League’s Web site provides access to policy and resource papers under its “Publications” link.

CCSSE: Read about the Community College Survey of Student Engagement, check on results from participating colleges, listen to student voices on student engagement, and take a “Community College IQ” test at the official CCSSE website. From the site, “The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) provides a much-needed tool for assessing quality in community college education. CCSSE results help colleges focus on good educational practice — defined as practice that promotes high levels of student learning and retention — and identify areas in which community colleges can improve their programs and services for students. All our work is grounded in research about what works in strengthening student learning and persistence.”

The Eric Clearinghouse for Community Colleges: This Web site provides a wealth of information for community college instructors, administrators, and researchers. It includes links to the ERIC database (housing documents and journals related to education from 1966 to the present), to graduate programs, and to publications. Publications accessible on the site include “EdInfo Summaries,” one-page reports of research in the field of community colleges, “ERIC Bibliographies,” lists of current literature on popular topics, “ERIC Digests,” two-page summaries of current trends and practices in the field, and “Information Bulletins,” among others. A quick search in the ERIC Digests yielded a paper on “A Paradigm Shift from Instruction to Learning,” by Gwyer Schuyler.

Foundation for California Community Colleges: The Foundation for California Community Colleges is “the official nonprofit auxiliary for the C.C.C. Board of Governors, Chancellor’s Office, and system of 108 colleges.” The Foundation’s Web site offers information on its programs and links to all California community colleges, and includes an explanation of “The Way California Works,” a public awareness program to build the image of California’s system of 108 colleges. You can download print ads, listen to radio spots, and view commercials for “The Way California Works. ”

Foundation for Critical Thinking: The Web site for the Critical Thinking Consortium includes information on events, professional development, and resources related to critical thinking. Under “Resources” for both “College and University” and “Primary and Secondary” are many excellent, brief articles on incorporating critical thinking into the classroom. Books, videos, and pamphlets can also be purchased on the site.

League for Innovation in the Community College: Touted as “the most dynamic organization in the community college world,” the League is “dedicated to catalyzing the community college movement.” The League’s Web site offers news and events, publications, professional development opportunities, and resources for community colleges. Of particular interest: The “Learning College Journeys” link provides an opportunity to learn more about what strategies the Vanguard Learning Colleges are using to become more learning-centered. The “Leadership” and “Learning” Abstracts, provide links to full-text articles related to leadership and learning in the learning-focused college. Access the Abstracts via the “Publications” button.

League for Innovation Web Resources: A section of the League for Innovation’s Web site, “Resources on the Web” provides links to colleges, training resources, and higher education resources, and allows you to search their online database for innovations presented at recent League conferences, publications, announcements, and online articles related to the community college field.

Microsoft in Higher Education: Microsoft’s Higher Ed Web site is about “creating innovative solutions for faculty, staff, and lifelong learners to realize their potential any time, any place, and on any device.” The site offers advice on using Microsoft technology to engage learners and integrate technology with education in innovative ways. It also offers suggestions for technical staff and administrators. You can also access tutorials on Microsoft technology such as PowerPoint.

The Pew Charitable Trusts: From the Web site: “The Pew Charitable Trusts support nonprofit activities in the areas of culture, education, the environment, health and human services, public policy and religion. The Trusts make strategic investments to help organizations and citizens develop practical solutions to difficult problems. Based in Philadelphia, the Trusts consist of seven individual charitable funds established between 1948 and 1979 by two sons and two daughters of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew and his wife, Mary Anderson Pew.” The Trusts manage assets of $4.3 billion and make annual grant commitments of about $230 million. The Web site provides access to the cultural, educational, environmental, social, medical and religious works funded by the Trusts. Click on “Search” and type in “Roundtable” for reports on the roundtables financed by the Trusts (Isothermal participated in Pew Roundtables on their journey to becoming a learning college).

Learning College Related Articles: This site provides a collection of the League for Innovation’s Learning Abstracts. You can search the archive, which contains full-text articles from 1998 to the present, all focused on learning. An excellent resource!

Leadership-related Articles: This site contains an extensive collection of the League’s Leadership Abstracts. You can search for full-text articles on leadership dating back to 1988.

An Interview with Dr. Terry O'Banion: Read an interview with O’Banion on the occasion of his retirement from the League at the end of 1999.