Enhancing the Community College Pathway to Engineering Careers.

While recognizing the multiplicity of roles that community colleges already play in higher education, it is important also to better utilize the community college resource in the pursuit of important national education and workforce objectives. According to the U.S. Congress, building a larger and more diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is among the most critical national imperatives of the 21st century (DoD, 2001). Science and engineering jobs, critical to many of the most dynamic sectors of our economy, are expected to increase three times faster than the rate of growth for all occupations in the coming decade. The potential for tapping the community college population to address this critical workforce issue is substantial.