Access & Excellence: The Open-Door College

The community college-that unique American institution called "the people's college" "opportunity's college" "democracy's college-manifests the American dream of equal opportunity for all, regardless of religion, ethnic group, or socioeconomic status. But while the removal of academic, economic, social, and geographical barriers serves to democratize higher education, it also poses a dilemma-not the problem of open access with quality. Can access and excellence exist simultaneously? The purpose of this book is to present a description and offer evidence of how quality and excellence have been and continue to be achieved at a major Americancommunity college -one that "We believe this intense studyfaces the problems found in most community colleges in this nation. --Say the authors: "We believe this intense study demonstrates that community colleges do not have to close the door in order to achieve excellence. Many models of excellence exist at Miami-Dade Community College; we have attempted to present a representative sample of them for emulation and adoption by those who wish to achieve access with quality and to offer every American the opportunity to realize his or her highest potential."