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\"This book does an excellent job of tracing the history of the movement and where it stands today. It discusses the political context when these discussions happen in states and the education implications when institutions take on this additional mission. This book may or may not convert those who are concerned about 'mission creep' of community colleges, but it sure will give them something to think about. Clearly we cannot continue to do business as we have always done and expect to meet the growing demand for college educated citizens. This book provides some thoughts on how to create a new model going forward and it deserves serious consideration.\"-from the Foreword by Carol D'AmicoThe premise of this book is that, in a globalized economy dependent on innovation and knowledge, higher education must provide greater, more affordable access to the acquisition of higher-level skills and knowledge for a greater proportion of the population.The purpose of this book is to open up a debate about the status quo. Should four-year institutions remain the near-exclusive conferrers of the baccalaureate? Or is there a legitimate role for community colleges who already educate over half the undergraduate population of the United States, at lower cost with few barriers to access?The contributors examine the capacities of four-year colleges to deliver training for technical occupations; the ability of community colleges to deliver rigorous, high-quality courses; and issues of access, affordability, faculty development, and responsiveness to changing needs. A chapter devoted to student voices provides the critical perspective of this constituency.The book concludes by describing examples of implementation across the United States, reviewing different models of articulation as well as promising practices that include eliminating the need for transfer altogether.Alternative Pathways to the Baccalaureate provides vital information and new research for policymakers, community college leaders, and scholars of higher education to provoke much-needed debate.Published in association with the Community College Baccalaureate Association

Background Global Health Community Service-Learning (GHCSL) can have a profound professional and personal impact on learners. This pedagogy provides understanding of unfamiliar environments and challenges learners to step out of their comfort zones, adapt to new cultures, and navigate unique situations. Yet, there are relatively few studies exploring the experiences of learners participating in community service-learning placements in global regions as part of undergraduate dental curriculum. This study aimed to explore the experiences and impact of the GHCSL program in East Africa among undergraduate dental learners at the Schulich School of Dentistry. Methods Eight undergraduate dental learners were enrolled in GHCSL pilot placements. Placement agreements were established with Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and the University of Rwanda in Kigali, Rwanda for the summer of 2022. Stakeholders from both institutions were engaged in the development and implementation of these placements. Learners were required to engage in weekly reflection through a ‘storytelling and incident-based narrative’ while carrying out their placement. A qualitative study design was employed, and an inductive interpretive approach was utilized to thematically analyze the learners’ reflective essays. Results Five major themes emerged from the learners’ reflective essays: (1) experiential clinical learning; (2) cultural humility and social awareness; (3) awareness of contrasting healthcare systems; (4) commitment to service; and (5) personal and professional growth. Most learners reflected on their engagement with diverse communities, being exposed to unique patient cases, and witnessing the adaptability exuded in resource-constrained environments. These experiences presented the learners with an opportunity to develop cultural humility and gain a newfound motivation to mitigate global oral health disparities in populations beyond that of their local communities. Learners also reflected on enhanced social awareness experiences and the awareness of contrasting healthcare systems in Canada and their placements, which encouraged the development of empathy, communication, and compassion skills, as well as an understanding of the disproportionate burden of conditions in low-resource settings. Conclusion The reflective essays concluded that the GHCSL placements had a positive impact on the learners, encouraging many to develop a heightened desire for lifelong learning to address oral health disparities within a global context.

Background The engagement of people with lived experience (PWLE) of mental health and substance use health challenges in the co‐production of health services, programming and research has many benefits, but how co‐production impacts those involved remains unclear. Recovery Colleges are low‐barrier, generally co‐produced education programmes focused on mental health and wellness. Designed to support individuals on their personal recovery journeys, they provide a meaningful setting to explore the impacts of co‐production. Objective This co‐produced study explored the impact of co‐production within recovery‐oriented programming using a photovoice methodology. Photovoice captured the lived experiences and expertise of people involved in Canadian Recovery Colleges as curriculum designers, facilitators and/or students. Method A sample of 21 participants with co‐production experience took part in seven photovoice workshops. These culminated in a final photo submission that illustrated how co‐production has impacted them. Eighteen participants completed a focus group discussion on the topic, which was audio recorded, transcribed and analysed using codebook thematic analysis. Results Five themes were generated from the data. Participants found that co‐production (1) reduced stigma, (2) provided a space to collectively share lived experience, (3) helped them develop a sense of belonging, (4) helped them advance their personal recovery journeys and (5) supported their personal growth. Conclusions This study demonstrated that co‐production in Recovery College settings has a wide range of positive impacts for the individuals involved, across a range of personal factors. The co‐production of services, programme development and research can create positive meaning for those involved in mental health and substance use health settings, as well as potentially other broader health settings, which may aid in their recovery journeys. Patient or Public Contribution A Recovery College research subcommittee, including individuals with lived experience of mental health and/or substance use challenges, co‐produced every phase of this study.

We employed a thematic analysis approach, utilizing purposeful sampling to recruit 21 faculty members and 19 residents engaged in Indigenous education from three Canadian universities. Data collection involved semi-structured 60-minute interviews, which were subsequently analyzed by the research team. We found three main themes: (1) Critical components of Indigenous curricula; (2) Curricular pedagogy; (3) Critical reflection of ongoing harms. Key findings emphasized the importance of continuous exposure to Indigenous curriculum content, starting with community engagement and cultural events, and progressing to collaboration with experienced healthcare professionals and training in cultural humility, anti-racism, and awareness of colonialism's legacy and biases. By incorporating the insights and experiences of faculty and residents engaged in Indigenous education, the curriculum can become more effective and better tailored to address the health needs of Indigenous patients and communities.

Background Veterinary students have historically lacked meaningful experiential learning opportunities in equine medicine. At the same time, there are barriers to accessing veterinary care in Indigenous communities stemming from colonial injustices. In 2018–2019, a partnership was initiated where University of Calgary students began to provide equine veterinary services to Indigenous communities. As the first-documented equine veterinary service-learning initiative in Indigenous communities embedded in a veterinary curriculum, the purpose of the study is to systematically evaluate the program for its potential impact as part of a formative process for improvement. Methods Multiple parties in the program were engaged in a convergent, parallel, mixed-methods systematic program evaluation to explore the main program outcomes: (1) equine veterinary care; (2) clinical experiential student education; (3) cultural training of veterinary professionals and students; and (4) education of community members. The hypothesis was that ethical development using the “first, do no harm principle” would lead to benefits including a healthy horse population, a technically and culturally competent veterinary community, and an educated horse clientele. Results The program had a positive impact on accessibility to veterinary care and self-reported improvement in veterinary and cultural competency. In addition to the hypothesized program outcomes, additional program outcomes and effects were identified, including reciprocal learning and relationship building with the Indigenous community, leading to trust and equity-building. The students learned from both the in-community programming as well as the Indigenous community members they worked with. Conclusion Program evaluation of an equine service-learning initiative in Indigenous communities reveals multiple and profound impacts including improved patient health status, wider scope of veterinary and cultural learning, strengthened relationships, and reciprocal learning with partnering Indigenous communities.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the roles of quality managers at community colleges, their experiences balancing accountability and improvement and their insights into the future of quality assurance. Design/methodology/approach This phenomenological, qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with eight community college quality managers to investigate their roles, experiences and perspectives. A reflexive thematic approach was used to analyze the interview data. Findings Four themes were identified from participant responses: quality managers frame and enable program quality, quality managers drive program change, quality managers cultivate a culture of quality and quality managers seek system change. The findings illustrate the roles played by quality managers as they work to improve college education at program, institution and system-wide levels. Research limitations/implications The decision of participants to accept the recruitment invitation might reflect particular attitudes, perspectives or experiences. Practical implications Quality assurance has emerged as a key mechanism for ensuring postsecondary programs are current, relevant and meeting the evolving needs of students and employers. This study advances the understanding of how quality assurance processes play out at the operational level and explores the experiences of quality managers as they navigate various quality tensions. Originality/value Quality managers play key roles in leading, evaluating and influencing quality assurance processes in postsecondary education yet they are underrepresented in the literature. The findings of this study shed new light on the aspirational and influential roles they play in advancing quality assurance.

The health advocate role is an essential and underappreciated component of the CanMEDs competency framework. It is tied to the concept of social accountability and its application to medical schools for preparing future physicians who will work to ensure an equitable healthcare system. Student involvement in health advocacy throughout medical school can inspire a long-term commitment to address health disparities. The Social Medicine Network (SMN) provides an online platform for medical trainees to seek opportunities to address health disparities, with the goal of bridging the gap between the social determinants of health and clinical medicine. This online platform provides a list of health advocacy related opportunities for addressing issues that impede health equity, whether through research, community engagement, or clinical care. First implemented at the University of British Columbia, the SMN has since expanded to other medical schools across Canada. At the University of Ottawa, the SMN is being used to augment didactic teachings of health advocacy and social accountability. This article reports on the development and application of the SMN as a resource for medical trainees seeking meaningful and actionable opportunities to enact their role as health advocates.

The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions and attitudes of Canadian undergraduate students in health-related fields of study regarding the sexuality of disabled people. More specifically, we examine what is being taught to undergraduate students regarding the sexuality of disabled people, the sources of information that students rely upon to learn about this topic, and the current attitudes that these students hold. A modified version of the Attitudes to Sexuality Questionnaire was completed by 156 healthcare students from 30 different Canadian post-secondary institutions. Data analysis revealed that participants generally held non-restrictive views about parenting, sexual rights, non-reproductive sexual behavior, and sexual self-control of people with disabilities; however, over half of the participants noted that their post-secondary curriculum did not provide them with enough information regarding disability and sexuality. The results of this study speak to the need for more information about the sexuality of disabled people in healthcare education curricula.

There is a contemporary trend in many major research institutions to de‐emphasize the importance of natural history education in favor of theoretical, laboratory, or simulation‐based research programs. This may take the form of removing biodiversity and field courses from the curriculum and the sometimes subtle maligning of natural history research as a “lesser” branch of science. Additional threats include massive funding cuts to natural history museums and the maintenance of their collections, the extirpation of taxonomists across disciplines, and a critical under‐appreciation of the role that natural history data (and other forms of observational data, including Indigenous knowledge) play in the scientific process. In this paper, we demonstrate that natural history knowledge is integral to any competitive science program through a comprehensive review of the ways in which they continue to shape modern theory and the public perception of science. We do so by reviewing how natural history research has guided the disciplines of ecology, evolution, and conservation and how natural history data are crucial for effective education programs and public policy. We underscore these insights with contemporary case studies, including: how understanding the dynamics of evolutionary radiation relies on natural history data; methods for extracting novel data from museum specimens; insights provided by multi‐decade natural history programs; and how natural history is the most logical venue for creating an informed and scientifically literate society. We conclude with recommendations aimed at students, university faculty, and administrators for integrating and supporting natural history in their mandates. Fundamentally, we are all interested in understanding the natural world, but we can often fall into the habit of abstracting our research away from its natural contexts and complexities. Doing so risks losing sight of entire vistas of new questions and insights in favor of an over‐emphasis on simulated or overly controlled studies.