Make Room for What MATTERS for Jobs and the Economy

Community colleges are uniquely positioned to solve the mismatch between skills and jobs in our state. As the largest segment of our state’s higher education system, community colleges enroll 70 percent of California’s higher education students, offer affordable tuition, open admission policies, flexible course schedules, convenient locations, and are important for displaced workers looking to attain new skills as well as students who are older, working or need remedial classes.

As the needs of the labor market and our students changes, community colleges continuously evaluate the effectiveness of courses and programs of study in order to deliver for their regions and local communities. This means is a constant evaluation to:

• Retool programs that are not working or not meeting a labor market need so that students can study what MATTERS.
• Suspend programs that aren’t working or that don’t contribute greatly to jobs and the economy in order to make room for programs and courses that will make a difference.

Community Colleges are welcomed to tap into the Program Viability Tool Kit in this process to Make Room for MATTERS for Jobs and the Economy. If you have additional ideas for the Tool Kit, contact Robin Harrington at rharring@cccco.edu.