For over thirty years The American Community College has provided up-to-date information and statistics about community colleges and has been widely used in graduate courses and by community college scholars, institutional researchers, on-the-ground administrators. The sixth edition includes an entirely new chapter focused on community college outcomes and accountability, as well as new sections dealing with the rise of for-profit colleges; vertical expansion, including dual enrollment and community college baccalaureates; cross-sector collaboration; student characteristics and enrollment patterns; the implications of part-time faculty; leadership and administrative challenges; revenue generation and state allocation patterns, including performance-based funding; distance learning; statewide efforts to improve transfer and articulation; and, finally, a response to contemporary criticisms of the institution. All chapters and data have been updated, and each chapter includes guiding questions for reflection and discussion.