On the Road to Economic Development - December 1996
No doubt, all of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States will recognize elements of their own educational programs in the promising practices and key program elements described in the preceding chapter. The challenge for institutions seeking to become more actively involved in economic development efforts is to organize an effort that optimizes use of institutional resources to benefit their service areas. The continuing education unit of a college or university, as the arm responsible for extending learning opportunities to adult students, may be the ideal department for extending the institution's resources to the larger community.
The study revealed many areas of strength that HBCUs can build upon to expand their involvement with economic development.
The study also identified some areas that need strengthening if institutions are to adequately serve their communities, business, and industry. For example,
One of the National Education Goals includes the objective that "All workers will have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills, from basic to highly technical, needed to adapt to emerging new technologies, work methods and markets through public and private educational, vocational, technical, workplace or other programs." This objective embodies the notion of providing lifelong learning opportunities for working people. Although most continuing education programs espouse a similar aim, many of them are not closely aligned with the workplaces of the nineties. They may not, therefore, be able to provide adults with the knowledge and skills needed to adapt to emerging technologies, work methods, and markets.
If continuing education programs are to serve adult populations well, it is important that they provide offerings that will help individuals, businesses, and communities thrive and make the transitions and transformations necessary for functioning within a 21st Century global economy. In so doing, they can make significant contributions to the local, regional,and state economies in which they find themselves.
HBCUs are similar to, and different from, other institutions of higher education. The model presented here acknowledges the similarities and the differences. The similarities will facilitate bridging gaps between HBCUs and the larger community; the differences will enable HBCUs to play roles that other institutions cannot play.
Higher education institutions, particularly HBCUs, can enhance their involvement in economic development by following the steps outlined in the Continuing Education Economic Development (CEED) Model. The requirements of the CEED Model, as shown in Figure 1, are that continuing education programs:
For optimum effectiveness, an institution will need to embrace each element of the model. Figure 1 provides a graphical depiction of the interrelationship of the nine elements in an institution's quest for increased involvement with economic development. Although the model suggests an ordinal relationship for the nine components, some activities may actually occur in tandem or in conjunction with other elements, depending upon whether the program is well established or just beginning. All of the components are essential, however, for a continuing education program to actively and aggressively support economic development of its community, region, or state.
Institutions of higher education are founded in order to respond to specific needs. Continuing education programs operate to extend the institutional resources to nontraditional constituencies. This is best accomplished when the outreach services offered by continuing education draw upon the expertise and academic strengths that are internal to the college or university.
For example, institutions with a strong teaching mission might best focus on teacher education as its major contribution to economic development. Liberal arts colleges and universities that focus on developing leaders might offer leadership development training for individuals, businesses, community-based organizations, and governmental bodies. Land grant institutions might consider fulfilling their service mission by offering their agricultural or technological research findings and expertise to support the efforts of local economic development agencies and community development groups.
Involvement with economic development requires a major commitment from the leadership of a college or university. It is critically important, for several reasons, that the president or chancellor fully supports and endorses the institution's involvement.
First, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the institution will need to serve as a major spokesperson for the effort. This includes informing internal and external audiences of the integral reciprocal relationship between the institution's well-being and the well-being of people in surrounding communities. It will help if the vision for the institution, as articulated by the leader, includes workforce preparation and opportunities for skill enhancement by individuals. Second, the involvement may require the institution to commit additional financial resources for research, faculty support, facilities and equipment, or promotional activities. The CEO will need to be prepared to seek the resources from public or private sources and be prepared to justify the need. Third, institutional policy and administrative changes may be necessary so that faculty can be rewarded for involvement with community activities and so that programs can be developed with minimal bureaucratic hurdles. Top-level administrative support for the institution's economic development activities must be present and visible to the public. The commitment needs to be consistently verbalized and followed by definitive actions that are apparent to community observers.
American society is undergoing rapid changes that dramatically alter, within the span of a few years, training and educational needs. The information superhighway was unheard of a decade ago; today it is commonplace. Occupations and jobs are changing equally rapidly. Within the last decade technological innovations have rendered many occupations obsolete (e.g., typist) and created new jobs (e.g., word processing operator). Continuing education programs, to be effective, must know the needs of their service areas whether they are local, regional, or statewide in scope. They may gain pertinent information from many difference sources.
Conduct labor market studies. It is imperative that program staff conduct routine and systematic analyses of labor market data to ensure that program offerings meet current and future needs. The following resources may be used:
The purpose of this process is twofold. One, it provides information about likely job openings and growth occupations. Two, it allows the continuing education program to put its finger on the pulse of the community it serves and learn what the market needs. Program implementers will then be able to target continuing education offerings to the projected areas of need.
Determine program targets. Based on the labor market studies, the continuing education program will be able to determine the types of program offerings that will best address projected market needs. Armed with current information, the program can then develop a plan for how it will respond to, and help to meet, the economic development needs of the community.
College business management and business administration programs point out to entrepreneurs and business managers the importance of developing and using a business plan. Continuing education programs are no different from other entrepreneurial ventures. Program administrators are seeking to provide a service to a market area. They, too, need to have a strategic plan for how they will develop, market, finance, and provide those services. Strategic plans need to cover three to five years, include annual work plans, and be subject to annual reviews to make revisions. There are concrete steps that must be taken to develop a useful plan.
Involve academic departments in the development of the plan. Continuing education offerings involve extending internal institutional resources to the surrounding community; it is critical that the developers of those resources (faculty members) be involved in deciding which ones can best be offered externally. Provide the department chairs with a copy of the labor market needs report and then consult them either individually or collectively to determine ways in which their departments might help to respond to identified community needs.
Identify the strongest offerings that match needs. The continuing education department, like a business, is seeking to sell services to the community. Therefore, it should offer only its best. Every department in the institution will not have suitable offerings. Carefully assess which departments can realistically provide the services that will match the needs of the market and ascertain which faculty members can best deliver those services.
Provide incentives to faculty. In the discussions with department chairs, seek their guidance on rewards that might be provided to faculty members who contribute their time and energies to economic development activities. Determine if the institution's system of compensation will acknowledge community service in the consideration of tenure, salaries, and promotions. If it does not, seek to change it. If it does, make the provisions known to faculty members. Indicate whether service through continuing education will result in reduced teaching loads, additional consideration for tenure and/or promotions, or additional earned compensation.
Form liaisons with academic departments. After agreement is reached with department chairs regarding their level and type of commitment, formal liaisons need to be established between continuing education and the cooperating departments. This might result in an Economic Development Task Force with the responsibility for setting goals and developing a program of offerings that address the identified needs of the community.
Establish goals that are consistent with the institutional mission. As was mentioned previously, all the activities and initiatives of the continuing education program should be complementary to the mission of the parent institution. If the institution's mission is teaching, research, and service; then the goals should be related to these areas of emphasis. One or more of the goals may specifically focus on economic development activity. For example, the goals may be to:
All four goals build upon the teaching, research, or service mission of the institution. The latter two focus specifically on traditional economic development initiatives one for business and industry and the other for community organizations.
Set measurable annual objectives. In order to gauge the progress the program is making toward meeting its three-to-five-year goals, the strategic plan should include annual performance and outcome objectives for each goal. And the objectives need to be measurable. A first year objective for the third sample goal above might be to:
By stating explicitly what the program hopes to accomplish, implementers have a road map for the year's activities as well as a gauge for determining whether they made the planned progress.
Establish time frames for implementation. Based on the boldness or the goals and objectives, the continuing education program maybe able to implement some activities immediately. Others may require considerable time for development. The plan needs to stipulate what will happen when. And it needs to include strategies for informing target markets about the availability of offerings.
Outline marketing strategies. Business, industry, and governmental leaders are often unaware of the resources, expertise, and offerings available from HBCUs. Continuing education programs that are seeking to extend the institution's services into the larger community need carefully what strategies will best promote the institution.
Outreach efforts might include:
Whatever promotional strategies are adopted will require financial resources. All will be used to present the institution's image to the public. It is important that outreach be done well.
Prepare a 1-, 2-, and 3-year budget. Another element of the strategic plan is the budget. It needs to take into account all of the preceding aspects with special emphasis on the promotional needs. The budget should include projections of revenues expected to be generated by the program's involvement with economic development activities and the associated expenses. It is expected that expenses will decrease and revenues increase over the three years. In fact, any program purporting to contribute to economic development should be self-sufficient by the end of three years.
Include an evaluation plan.To ensure that the program is progressing well or making needed modifications, the strategic plan must include an evaluation component. The evaluation plan must allow for a comparison of projected versus actual accomplishments on every dimension: goals and objectives, program activities, promotional strategies, and budgetary operations. Difficult as it may be, theevaluation plan must stipulate what will entail success or failure for the program.
After the strategic plan is developed by continuing education personnel in consultation with academic departments, it is time to gain overall institutional support for greater involvement with economic development efforts. This process, though imperative. Without endorsement by institutional leaders and support from faculty and staff, the program is doomed.
Present plan to institutional leaders. Although the CEO will have already endorsed the general concept, it is important that the institutional leader be informed about the elements of the strategic plan. This will enable him or her to refer to specific aspects of the institution's involvement when addressing the public. The director of continuing education needs to present the strategic plan to the president/chancellor and other senior-level institutional officials. The presentation will be strengthened by the participation of academic department chairs. The goal is to demonstrate the benefits that will accrue to the community and to the institution as a result of implementation of the plan.
Among the possible benefits to the community are enhanced skills and capabilities of the workforce; improved production and manufacturing capacities of industry; increased numbers of businesses contributing to the tax base; increased job openings; and an overall improved quality of life. Potential benefits to the institution include increased enrollments; increased revenues to departments; enhanced opportunities for assigning student interns to business, industry, and governmental partners; expanded opportunities for faculty members to share their knowledge and expertise with business, industry, and government; renewed and/or increased prestige in the community; and enhanced role as a key participant in the policy making process for the community, region, or state.
Present plan to faculty senate.Each participating department stands to gain increased prominence by contributing to the uplift of the community. Presenting the major elements of the plan to the faculty governing body will illustrate the high esteem in which continuing education holds that entity and will highlight ways in which faculty can extend their services to benefit the market area.
Present plan to, and garner support of, institution's governing board. Members of an institution's governing board are often selected because of their ties to business, industry, government, and community organizations. These individuals can serve as powerful allies in implementing program activities. A courtesy presentation of the plan to the governing board may yield significant returns.
It is recommended that the continuing education program staff seek the support of the governing board. Different forms of support may be sought. One, the board may be asked to pass a resolution approving the autonomous
operation of the program. Two, board members may be asked to introduce continuing education staff to business leaders. Three, board members may be asked to contribute resources to the program. Regardless of the type of request made to the board, it is important that members be familiar with, and supportive of, the institution's economic development efforts.
Among the barriers to institutions developing successful economic development initiatives are lack of faculty interest, and an unfavorable institutional climate. Gaining the support of institutional leaders, faculty, and governing boards will help to alleviate many obstacles. With the support of the entire institution, a strong and viable program can be developed.
Programs that are responsive to the changing needs of the community have several elements in common. They operate with a high degree of independence and autonomy while keeping the institutional leadership informed. They maintain strong liaisons with the academic departments. They have the ability to mobilize resources quickly and respond to requests from business, industry, government, or community groups. They offer services inconvenient and accessible locations at public schools in residential neighborhoods, on campuses of community colleges, at government offices, or on employers' premises. They provide a continuum of offerings that allow individuals or agencies to build toward certification, degrees, or higher level skills. Successful programs assign sufficient staff with the appropriate mix of skills and competencies to meet program needs.
Operate independently. For a continuing education program to be responsive to community need, it must be able to develop and deliver offerings with minimum bureaucratic hassles. Once the institution endorses the initiative, the program staff needs to have the independence and autonomy to take the ball and run with it.
Maintain liaisons with academic departments. Taking the ball and running with it might mean, for example, being able to contact key faculty members in several departments to help plan and execute a seminar within four weeks for governmental leaders. It might mean requesting that the School of Education develop a course on instructional strategies for the training department of a major business. The key requirement is that continuing education personnel maintain frequent contact with faculty in the academic departments so as to garner resources when they are needed.
Mobilize resources quickly. Business and industry tend to operate on a different time frame than does academia. Answers and actions are needed quickly to respond to real-world problems and issues. Continuing education programs need to be organized and staffed so that they can respond quickly to requests from their clients.
Carve out a niche. The program must acknowledge which segments of the community it can best serve and which of its offerings are the strongest and most likely to be in greatest demand for the foreseeable future. It must also determine which needs other institutions and agencies are already meeting. The key aspect of carving out a niche or niches is to identify those services for which the institution can be the unique provider in the service area.
Continuing education cannot be all things to all clients. It must look carefully at the resources possessed by the institution that set it apart from other area colleges and universities and build upon that distinction. The distinguishing characteristic may be related to historic mission, geographic location, surrounding neighborhood, highly acclaimed academic departments, or relationships with governmental agencies. Whatever it is, the program needs to capitalize upon it.
Provide a continuum of offerings. A trademark of a program that is attuned to segments of the community is its ability to tailor seminars, courses, technical assistance, and training to the specific needs of each client. It is also important that the program be able to provide offerings along a continuum so that as clients' needs change the program will still be able to serve them. Collaborations with other higher education institutions, other academic entities, or with businesses will help the program expand its offerings without overextending its resources. For example, some institutions work with public schools, community colleges, and other four year colleges to offer programs in facilities so that clients might progress from basic skills instruction to a master's degree under the same roof.
Use varied strategies and methods. Whether the institution's contributions to economic development are in the form of degree programs, technical assistance to businesses, or technology transfer to industry; it is important that the transmission of information be based on sound instructional strategies. There is a vast body of literature available on adult learners and this resource needs to be drawn upon for developing courses and presentations. Continuing education programs can also draw upon technology to improve instruction and to extend instruction beyond the home campus. Program implementers and faculty should consider the use of computer assisted instruction, distance learning, the Internet, and other technology to meet the needs of potential students. It is important that different approaches and strategies be utilized to ensure that the quality of services are optimized.
Seek feedback on effectiveness . Program implementers need reliable ways of knowing whether or not services are meeting the needs of clients. Among feedback mechanisms that can be used are:
Results from the feedback mechanisms should provide the director of continuing education with useful information on which offerings are effective and which need revisions, which instructional approaches are well received and which are not, and which delivery modes and locations best serve client needs.
Choose strategic locations.An important aspect of providing responsive services is being able to make the program's offerings easily accessible target populations. This may involve opening up academic department classroom space for use during evenings and weekends. It may mean developing cooperative arrangements with churches, community centers, and community colleges to offer courses on their premises. It may entail joining with other higher education institutions to lease space in isolated areas for shared offerings. In many instances, the location of choice is the employer's site. Program staff need to work creatively with clients to select locations that best meet their needs.
Assign suitable staff.Some of the more effective programs studied were those and acknowledged that different program components called for different skills and competencies. The number and caliber of personnel assigned to the effort can spell either success or failure. The individual who is accomplished at developing public sector clients may not have the requisite skills or temperament for working with the private sector. Similarly, the person who is able to appeal to suburban adults may be in effective in relating to the residents of the neighborhood abutting the urban campus. All of these factors need to be considered by the administrators who staff the program.
The director of continuing education, though a talented administrator, may not be the best person to spearhead the unit's economic development activities. Whether the role is filled by the program director or someone else, the position must carry high-level administrative status so that institutional personnel and the public will perceive its importance to the school. This is an entrepreneurial venture and requires an energetic, visionary, and unflappable go-getter.
Visionary optimist. The individual who takes on the responsibility of extending the institution's resources to the larger community must be able to see the myriad benefits that such an involvement will generate for the community and for the institution. That vision must to others in such a manner that it becomes real to them.
Energetic, relentless, and unflappable advocate. The vision must be coupled with an energetic commitment to knock on doors, face rejection, and move on to the next door. True community outreach requires going into areas where services have previously not been provided and convincing the potential users that:
Although educators are not very fond of the sales model of services, this individual must be a salesperson (albeit a sophisticated one) for the program.
Adaptable, comfortable mixer. The American society is increasingly a multicultural one where interactions across racial and ethnic lines are everyday occurrences. However, racial bias and its concomitant restrictions continue to exist in many pockets of society. This sometimes presents barriers to HBCUs' ability to work effectively with all segments of the community. Rather than confront the barriers head-on or circumvent them, some institutions retreat within their walls and deny the communities their resources.
The person with responsibility for bridging the gap between the institution and all elements of the community cannot be deterred by racial or any other biases. This may require that the individual attend many meetings or events where he or she is the only representative of his or her racial group. The person must have sufficient program commitment, ego strength, and self-confidence to promote programs wherever necessary.
With a visionary, optimistic, energetic, and unflappable mixer in the vanguard, the institution can move to develop linkages, form liaisons, and cultivate relationships with public and private sector organizations. Lack of ties to economic development agencies and to the private sector have been cited as reasons that many institutions are not actively involved in economic development activities. These barriers can be overcome.
Ties to economic development agencies. In many communities, the economic development agencies have small budgets and small staffs. But they have big charges. They are responsible for determining economic trends in the local area; addressing growth-related issues such as unemployment and underemployment, affordable housing, training, regulations; and providing technical, financial, and management support to business and industry. With such a formidable charge, economic development agencies can benefit from staff support and assistance provided by local colleges and universities. Agencies often need assistance with conducting economic analyses, researching regulations, and developing housing plans. Business schools, economics departments, planning departments, public administration programs, and human services departments at HBCUs all have skills and expertise that could benefit economic development agencies. Institutions can provide policy analysis support that would be welcomed by the agencies. By contributing to the effectiveness of economic development agencies, institutions also help strengthen the private sector.
Ties to the private sector. HBCUs in the study that have strong ties with the private sector used several different approaches to develop those ties. In every case, however, the president and other senior officials served on key boards and task forces within the community. By engaging in ongoing association and contact with business leaders, the institutions are able to learn of needs and offer services.
Officials serve on boards of Chambers of Commerce and Private Industrial Councils; they serve on public boards like the United Way that bring business people together; and they serve on local, regional, and state task forces. Informal contacts in these contexts pose opportunities for business leaders to be invited to the institution and for the institution to respond to industry needs.
Linkages with public schools. Many HBCUs have been very successful in establishing linkages with public schools. They provide in-service training for teachers and administrators; prepare individuals for standardized examinations; and develop joint programs that indirectly serve public school students while providing training opportunities for university students.
Collaborations with higher education institutions. Because of the history of segregated higher education in America, two or more higher education institutions serving different target populations are often in close geographical proximity to each other. For example, Florida A & M University and Florida State University are both in Tallahassee. Some HBCUs have developed consortium arrangements with other four-year colleges and universities to provide training for public school personnel, for employees of governmental agencies, and for private industry. Some institutions, like South Carolina State University have joined forces with community colleges and other two-year institutions to form feeder program arrangements.
Linkages and collaborations with other colleges and universities lead to increased opportunities for HBCUs to develop, expand, and communicate their offerings. Strong program offerings, coupled with systematic promotional activities, can enhance the image and prominence of the institution.
The study of the nine HBCUs and the literature review revealed that institutional resources are not well known by the consuming public. Individuals, businesses, professional organizations, industry, community groups, and governmental bodies are only able to utilize services if they know about them. Continuing education programs which have a serious commitment to community economic development must make their services known.Marketing and public relations expertise must be available to promote program offerings. This support might be garnered from the institution's public relations office, business school, journalism or communications department, or contracted externally. Whatever the source, it is critical for the success of the effort that proper attention be devoted to publicity. Programs with high enrollments in continuing education courses and with strong relationships with business, industry, and government used a variety of promotional strategies depending on the target audience.
Mass media.Television, radio, newspapers, and magazines appear to be the best sources for informing large numbers of people about offerings. The media choice may depend on the characteristics of the target audience and the financial resources available to the program. Television advertisements will appeal to some groups where as newspaper feature stories will be more effective with others. Radio spots aired during drive times will often capture the attention of people who work during standard day-time hours. Increasing use is being made of paid "graffiti" advertisements in public facilities. Web pages on the Internet may serve as another source of publicity for the program.
Personal contacts. Offerings for business and industry groups may be better marketed by direct contacts. Telephone calls to schedule visits with personnel officers and training managers are preferable in these cases.
Offerings that target professional groups such as associations may be best promoted by personal letters sent to the executive director and to the membership. The inclusion of a brochure or pamphlet describing the offerings helps.
Direct marketing. Although many continuing education programs have ceased to publish catalogs because of the cost, institutions with successful programs still use this strategy or a variation of it to their advantage. Variations include periodic newsletters or brochures that highlight certain types of offerings. Mass mailings targeted to certain zip codes and/or to previous continuing education students allow many people to learn about upcoming offerings.
Another approach that gains widespread publicity rather inexpensively is the use of flyers and posters. Flyers may be placed on car windshields in public places or passed out at public events. Attractive posters gain considerable attention when strategically placed on grocery store bulletin boards, on street bulletin boards, and in public facilities.
A wide array of marketing strategies are available to continuing education programs. Successful programs rely on strategies other than waiting to see if a course"makes." Successful programs, those with high enrollment and wide community appeal, develop high quality offerings and then promote them aggressively. Part of marketing the program aggressively is for key institutional personnel (i.e., the chancellor/president, director of continuing education, and faculty) to be highly visible and articulate about how the institution is contributing to economic development.
The Continuing Education Economic Development (CEED) Model requires that:
Systematic implementation of the components of the CEED Model will place institutions well on the road to economic development and to increased institutional benefits.
Benefits of the CEED Model to Institutions Continuing education programs, like other departments in colleges and universities, are being called upon to justify their existence. In some cases the departments are cash cows for the institution; in too many other instances they are drains on dwindling resources. The administrations at several HBCUs have presented the continuing education departments with a mandate: become self-sufficient or disappear.
Pressure is on for programs to produce. They must produce increased enrollments and increased revenues. HBCUs can help to counter these pressures by becoming involved in economic development activities. Such involvement can lead to attracting new clientele, providing retraining to members of the existing workforce, and identifying 2lst Century professional occupations for which adults need training.
As continuing education programs expand their offerings to include the various types of economic development activities human capital development, technology development and transfer, economic analysis and policy development, and business development they stand to dramatically broaden their student base and, thus, their enrollments. Both Tennessee State University and the University of the District of Columbia demonstrated how continuing education enrollment increased by providing courses for state and local governmental agencies.
The revenues for academic departments can also increase through a well-coordinated continuing education effort. For example, by providing community-based credit courses, Tennessee State's Center for Extended Education and Public Service serves as a recruitment service for regular academic programs. Likewise, all the revenues generated by the continuing education programs for credit courses at Florida A & M University and Fayetteville State University accrue to the academic departments.
As administrators of continuing education programs at HBCUs look around to figure out how to maintain solvency, many need look no further than the neighborhoods and communities surrounding the institution. By virtue of their historic mission, most campuses are situated within a stone's throw of massive unemployment and underemployment, substandard housing, crime and violence, and the accompanying ravages of poverty. Socially conscious and visionary program administrators might be able to see redeeming value, for the community and for the institution, in directing institutional resources to increasing the capacity of individuals and organizations to produce goods and services. This might take the form of contracting with local, state, or federal governmental agencies to provide support for human capital development (by operating employment and training programs), policy development (in the form of economic analyses, labor market studies, etc.), or technology development (by conducting research on improved manufacturing processes).
Some HBCUs have been able to attract school districts as new clientele. Others, by establishing arrangements with community colleges, have identified a steady flow of new students who wish to pursue undergraduate degrees in evening or part-time programs. For others, new clientele are provided by expanding their markets and their services to business and industry.
Enterprising program administrators might also seek to provide contractual services to business and industry. Many workers need retraining or "reskilling" based on changes in technologies and in jobs. Institutional resources in the form of faculty and computer equipment might be used to upgrade the skills and capabilities of local workforces.
At the same time that business and industry are benefiting from the institution's expertise and resources, the institution can benefit from establishing additional sites for students to gain practical work experience. Increasingly, businesses welcome student interns who are able to gain first-hand understanding of business operations and develop relevant skills.
Expanded contacts with business and industry also open the door for faculty to share their knowledge and expertise with the larger community through collaborative research or through consulting. Increased faculty involvement narrows the gap between higher education and business.
HBCUs have been extremely effective in preparing African Americans for the professions. This has generally been achieved via full-time day programs. As the workplace changes, there will be increased need for individuals to assume management and professional positions.
Continuing education programs, in collaboration with their institutions' professional schools and various academic departments, might focus on offering advanced training in high growth technical and professional areas. Such training, if offered during evenings and weekends, has the potential for considerably improving the earning power of participants.
Increasing the institution's involvement in economic development in the manner proposed by the CEED Model has the potential for enhancing the institution's image in the surrounding and the extended community. Individuals and groups appreciate the efforts of institutions that provide business development support to entrepreneurs, offer economic analysis support to governmental bodies, and extend their resources to the community. Such efforts indicate that the institution is a key participant in the community.
The CEED Model has the potential to help HBCUs become more meaningfully involved in community economic development activities. In so doing, institutions might gain increased status as valuable contributors to the lifeblood of their communities; continuing education programs may grow and flourish; adults may gain the knowledge and skills that will enable them to live productive work lives during the 21st Century; and the overall economic well-being of communities will improve.
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[Chapter 5]