In the new millennium, there is an increasing global recognition of the importance of widening the access to higher education for accommodating students from all strata of the society for an equal educational opportunity as well as fostering the idea of life long learning and learning society (OECD, 1999a, 1999b, 2001; UNESCO, 1998). Responding to this global education reform, the SAR Education Commission proposed to encourage the establishment of various types of post-secondary colleges, while accommodating the existing institution (Education Commission, 1999, p. 22). The immediate result of the proposal was the establishment of several community colleges in early 2000, offering mainly Associate Degree programs. From the public, there are voices raising queries over the role of community college in the higher education system as well as whether community college can serve the similar function of traditional university in the provision of undergraduate education. The present paper attempts to introduce the different roles and models of community college in mass higher education systems in North America to highlight the merits and the functions of community college in mass higher education. The ultimate aim is to make some reflections on the development of community college in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

As part of the reform of the overall education system in Hong Kong, the government set a target in October 2000 of raising the percentage of senior secondary school graduates who could receive higher education from the current 30% to 60% within a period of ten years. Prior to this announcement, however, the School of Professional and Continuing Education of The University of Hong Kong (or HKU SPACE for short) had already taken the lead by establishing the first Community College in March 2000. The Associate Degree programme of the College offered an alternative route to higher education to many aspiring young people. The broad-based curriculum with its equal emphasis on science and humanities (as well as solid generic skills) is a new attempt to produce people that can meet the challenges of the knowledge society. The first intake of 740 students in 2000 was followed by a second intake of more than a thousand in 2001. This paper examines the experience gained during the first two years of this new development, and explores the role of community colleges in general in the education reform movement and human resources development strategy of Hong Kong.
[Copyright of International Journal of Lifelong Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0260137032000055312]