The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is initiating a strategic planning effort to better align its services with its members’ evolving future needs. To support this, AACC is partnering with NCHEMS to conduct an environmental scan focused on how community colleges will need to adapt to serve the needs of students, employers, and their communities under rapidly changing conditions. This project focuses on identifying emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in order to inform the field and lead to the development of new services.
NCHEMS is reviewing relevant media articles, reports, and other documents that offer insights about the changes facing community colleges over the next 10-20 years. Our team is also surveying and interviewing community college leaders and external stakeholders, including employers and their representatives, policymakers, and other thought leaders, who can speak to the likely future demands on community colleges in accordance with a series of thematic areas. NCHEMS will develop a conceptual framework highlighting key factors impacting community colleges, such as demographic shifts, evolving workforce demands, technological innovations, and public perceptions of higher education. NCHEMS will deliver actionable insights to guide AACC’s strategic planning and to align its offerings to support its members’ needs as they evolve.