League Reaffirmation - Johnson County Community College

“Johnson County Community College was one of
the first community colleges to be accredited for its
College Now programs. Their participation in the
program and partnership with secondary schools
has provided an invaluable opportunity for high
school students seeking college credit. Their presence
in the community has had a direct impact on the
success of many area high schools.”
– Dr. Tom Trigg,
superintendent, Blue Valley School District
“The ‘Intercultural Assimilation and Conflict in East
Asia’ project was a fantastic opportunity for our
adjunct faculty colleagues. So often, adjunct faculty
do not have the time or support for professional
development, and this project was designed
specifically to address their desire to understand
Japan. The foundational knowledge they garnered
from the project has been instrumental in their ability
to incorporate information on Japan in their classes.
Those of us who seek to infuse Asian studies are often
asked why we teach it and why it’s important for
students to study Asia. Our students are very likely
to pursue careers in which they will have interaction
with Asian businesses. They may even be assigned
to live in Asia for their jobs. At the very least, a
good portion of their retirement dollars will be
invested in Asia. They can’t afford not to know
about Asian cultures.”
– Sheilah Philip,
professor, theater
College Now program is
nationally accredited
JCCC’s College Now concurrent enrollment
program was accredited in 2006 through the
National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment
Partnerships (NACEP). The college is one of
the first 20 schools in the nation to achieve
this accreditation. College Now is a credit
program for county high school juniors
and seniors or 9 th ­ ­ and 10 th ­grade students
identified as gifted with a current Individual
Education Plan. College Now students
enroll in selected college classes, such
as composition or U.S. history, offered
at and in cooperation with the high
school. The courses reflect JCCC’s content,
objectives and assignments and are taught
on the high school campus by qualified
high school teachers.
During fall 2006, College Now enrollment
totaled 2,423 students in 23 different
locations. In spring 2007, 1,481 high
school students were enrolled in College
Now. The credits students earn through
College Now transfer to most four­year
colleges and universities, so students can
enter college with several hours of credit
behind them.
Asian studies
In 2003, the National Endowment for the
Humanities awarded $135,650 to JCCC for
a project titled “Intercultural Assimilation and
Conflict in East Asia,” one of 16 Exemplary
Education Grants awarded that year from a
field of 172 applicants. JCCC was the only
institution in Kansas and the only community
college in the country to receive such a grant.
The grant allowed JCCC and the Community
College of Philadelphia to cooperate in an
ambitious two­year program that provided
intensive workshops on Asian studies to
adjunct liberal arts faculty at community
colleges in the two cities. The workshops in
Overland Park concentrated on Japan, those
in Philadelphia on China. JCCC is an active
member of the Associated Regional Center
of the Asian Studies Development Program,
a major program of the East­West Center at
the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
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