Community colleges traditionally have had a lower public profile than the nation’s four year colleges and universities, but that seems to be changing. President George W. Bush has spoken publicly about the importance of two-year schools to the nation’s economic future, and community-development organizations and policy-makers also have touted their contributions.

The rising stock of two-year schools also is exemplified by the growing number of national organizations and initiatives that seek to assist community colleges and their students. Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count is just one example of such efforts. Here are a few others, along with links to Web sites for more information:

• American Association of Community Colleges: AACC, based in Washington, DC, is the main membership organization for the nation’s nearly 1,200 two-year institutions.
• Bridges to Opportunity: This project, funded by the Ford Foundation, works in six states to implement state- and systemlevel policy changes that serve to increase the access and success of low-income students in community colleges.
• Community College Affinity Partnership: CCAP is a group of private foundations and national and state organizations that work together to coordinate their efforts to aid community colleges.
• Community College Survey of Student Engagement: CCSSE was established in 2001 as a project of the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin. The survey, adapted from a similar tool used on four year campuses, assesses community
  colleges’ effectiveness in actively engaging their students.
• League for Innovation in the Community College: Founded in 1968, this membership organization for community colleges includes more than 800 two-year institutions in 16 countries.
• National Articulation and Transfer Network: NATN, a coalition of more than 200 large urban high schools, community colleges and four-year institutions, is a nonprofit organization helping students of color identify and seize opportunities for educational advancement at two- and four-year colleges.
• Opening Doors: In this initiative, experts from New York-based MDRC are working with community colleges in several states to design and implement new types of financial aid, student services and classroom innovations to increase the success rates of low-income students.