| There is significant amount of dialogue about many of the issues facing our nation's community colleges such as student retention, persistence, and success. Although the development of community colleges can be placed within the context of the growth of higher education in the United States in the twentieth century, community colleges play a unique role in the realm of postsecondary education (Cohen & Brawer, 2008). Community colleges have a unique mission to serve as institutions of learning open to all members of the community and, therefore, face the challenge of being everything for everyone.;Among the many challenges that community colleges have faced since their inception, one clearly has been the struggle to adequately find the resources necessary to fulfill their missions. Seeking additional external funding in the form of federal grants has been an approach utilized by a growing number of community colleges to develop new programs and augment existing programs.;Although much has been written about how to successfully obtain federal funding, this mixed method descriptive study investigated the experience, education, and skills necessary to implement and manage federal grants within the context of community colleges. |
