Community Colleges: Is There a Lesson in Them for Latin America?

This paper explores the potential the community college model holds for Latin America. Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have experience introducing short post-secondary courses and non university institutions, sometimes as a result of private initiative, sometimes as a matter of public policy. Europe and North American models have inspired these innovations. Yet, this paper contends that more needs to be done in this area, in all countries. And it explores in depth the model of the community college as an interesting source of ideas and relevant responses to changes in the social and economic landscape of the region.