The Role of Community Colleges in Higher Education - Assignment Example

Comp Exam By Institute Question The Role of Community Colleges in Higher Education Introduction At the White House Summit on Community Colleges in 2010, President Barak Obama indicated that his administration would establish a framework for increasing community college degrees by 5 million within 10 years (Alssid, Goldberg, & Schenider, 2011). Obama’s plans for increasing the number of community college degrees are part of a larger workforce agenda. Obama expressed the view that one of the main challenges of globalization is directly linked to a demand for workers with a post-secondary education and community colleges can meet that demand (Alssid, et.al., 2011). This essay examines the evolving role of community college in the American higher education system. Background/History The two-year community college idea originated in the US and can be traced back to the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Since its beginning, the community college program has been regarded as a significant part of the higher education system in the U.S. A formal definition of community colleges is expressed as follows: Any institution regionally accredited to award the associate in arts or the associate in science as its highest level (Santos & Santos, 2006, p. 38). The term community college has also been used interchangeably with terms such as “junior college”, technical colleges and alternative colleges (Santos & Santos, 2006, p. 38). All indications are that community colleges are perceived as separate, but yet connected to the conventional four-year college system. As Santos and Santos (2006) explain, community colleges make provision for “comprehensive curricular offerings” inclusive of “academic transfer preparation, vocational-technical education, continuing education, developmental education and community services” (pp. 38-39). By the 1990s, community colleges became increasingly linked to vocational and workforce training and development (Santos & Santos, 2006). According to Baum, Little and Payea (2011), community colleges are perceived as “the access point to higher education for many students” (p. 1). In particular, access to higher education in the U.S. continues to be a problem as the socio-economically disadvantaged can rarely afford the high cost of tuition at accredited four-year colleges. Lower tuition and lower admission requirements have always made community colleges an alternative to this underserved population of Americans aspiring to achieve a post-secondary education. For the most part, students entering community colleges do so with a view to transferring over to a four-year college eventually (Beach, 2010). Conventional wisdom dictates, that once a student completes a two-year college degree and can transfer credits earned to a four-year college, the cost of a college education is reduced significantly. Moreover, students who are unable to academically qualify for four-year college degree programs, have the opportunity to qualify for a four-year college degree program while enrolled in community college (Beach, 2010). It therefore follows that community colleges are seen as both a financial and academic pathway to four year college degree programs. This essay examines trends and issues related to the conceptualization of community colleges as a pathway to higher education in more detail. Trends and Issues Community colleges have always played a significant role in providing a higher education for “underserved” Americans, but have come to play an even greater role in educating the workforce (Freeman, 2007). According to Kasper (2002-03) over the past 100 years, the number of community colleges increased significantly. In fact, during the 1990s approximately half of all college entrants were community college students (Kane & Rouse, 1999). Community colleges provide students with opportunities to pay lower tuition while offering less intensive admission requirements and a variety of courses (Kasper, 2002-03). Students are able to take college courses over two years with a view to obtaining an associate’s degree and thereby increasing opportunities for moving on to conventional colleges and obtaining a post-secondary education (Kasper, 2002-03). In more recent times community colleges have expanded its role in higher education and are no longer viewed as a mere gateway to a full post-secondary education. Community colleges are now increasingly offering vocational training and thus certifying students for specific careers. Previously, certification was only provided for by “proprietary schools and vocational institutions” (Kasper, 2002-03, p. 14). Thus the role of community colleges has increased to include preparing students for a full post-secondary education and for the workforce. A review of literature indicates that community colleges enrol approximately half of America’s college-bound students (Palfreyman, 2008; Kolesnikova, 2009; Bueschel, 2003). According to Palfreyman (2008) community college education in the U.S. is a pathway to further post-secondary education particularly for the socially and economically disadvantaged. Palfrey (2008) goes so far as to state that community colleges in the US are “the Cinderalla sector in relation to the four-year” college education (p. 27). Although community colleges typically attract “low-income, first-generation, and ethnic minority students’’ with the “most daunting educational, economic and social barriers to” post-secondary education, community colleges are entirely underfunded (Palfreyman, 2008, p. 27). Underfunding however, is expected to change since Obama announced plans to invest US$12 billion in community colleges over the next 10 years (Kolesnikova, 2009). A qualitative study was conducted by Bueschel (2003) in which two community colleges in three states were studied. The community colleges consisted of Sacramento City College and Consumnes River College in Sacramento, California: Montgomery College and Community College of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; and Mt. Hood Community College and Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. The study was conducted by interviews of at least 22 or more staff members at each community college and focus groups of between 31 and 48 students at each of the colleges in 2001 (Bueschel, 2003). The staff members interviewed were able to share information relative to counselling, admissions, curriculum, orientation and other policy and practices relative to matriculation. Student focus groups were concentrated on students who had enrolled shortly after graduating from high school although older students were included in the focus groups. Findings indicate that in all three states, the population of community college students consisted primarily of recent high school graduates and few students who did not complete high school (Bueschel, 2003). These findings indicate that the admission standard for community colleges are low compared to four-year college entry requirements since students who did not complete high school were able to enrol. Moreover, the study found that students generally saw community college as an extension of their high school education and as a four-year college preparatory stage. Staff members indicated that students were generally not college ready once they were enrolled (Bueschel, 2003). In other words student expectations and perspectives about college-level education were unrealistic and the community college experience provides a medium whereby students can realistically alter those expectations and perspectives. Therefore community colleges are mediums in which students can become more prepared and better qualified for completing four-year college courses. A study conducted by Gladiux and Perna (2005) also demonstrates that community colleges can contribute toward decreasing the attrition rate among four-year college students. Gladiuex and Perna (2005) analysed data from the U.S. Department of Education relating to students enrolled in colleges from 1995-1996 and followed trends to 2001. The results of the study indicated that over half of the students were in college on student loans and that 20% of those students dropped out of college. The study also found that students enrolled in community college were less likely to have loans and those who did borrowed significantly less than students in four year colleges (Gladiuex & Perna, 2005). The study conducted by Gladiuex and Perna (2005) therefore indicates that community colleges can play a significant role in reducing the college attrition rates since students are less likely to need significant college loans for college and are therefore less likely to drop-out of college. It can be argued that since students attending community colleges do not generally require loans, given the lower cost of tuition, will usually only require two-year loans once they transition from community college to four-year colleges after obtaining an Associate’s degree. Johnson (2012) conducted a study of attrition rates in post-secondary education in the U.S. The data was collected from a Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study for 2004-2009. The longitudinal study focused on attrition rates among students enrolled in 4 year college degree programs and 2 year community college degree programs. The study found that while there was a 31% attrition rate among four-year college students there was only a 9% attrition rate among two-year community college students (Johnson, 2012). These results are significant predictors of the role of community colleges in four-year college retention rates. If students enrolled in community colleges are more likely to complete their 2-year college courses, there is a greater likelihood that they will remain in college once they transfer over to a four-year college degree program with only two years of college remaining. The argument that there is a greater likelihood that students will complete a four-year college degree if they complete a two-year community college degree is buttressed by data released by the National Center for Education Statistics (2012). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2012) students entering the first year of a four-year college degree program have the highest attrition rates. Only 58% of students beginning four-year colleges in the first year of the program complete college (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). In other words, just under half of all students enrolling in four-year college degree programs drop out before graduation. All indications are therefore that students who join a four-year college after completing a two-year community college degree program are more likely to complete the four-year college degree program that students who do not. Community college programs have proven to be particularly helpful with respect to coping with the college attrition rates of Hispanic students. According to Clauss-Ehlers (2010) the attrition and enrolment of Hispanic students is a matter of concern. Statistics from 2000 indicate that Hispanic students represent 14% of students at community colleges and 7% of students in four-year colleges. For the same year, 36% of Hispanic students were in college compared to 44% non-Hispanics whites and 39% non-Hispanic blacks. For the most part, Hispanics were largely enrolled in community colleges. Between 1999 and 2000, 9.1% of Hispanic students in community colleges completed their degree courses while only 6.1% completed four-year college degree programs (Clauss-Elhers, 2010). In other words, Hispanic students are more likely to complete community college courses than they are to complete four-year college degree programs. These findings are significant. Hispanics represent the largest minority group in the U.S. and increasingly regard community colleges as an opportunity for achieving a higher education (Santos & Santos, 2006). As Santos and Santos (2006) explain, since Hispanics represent the largest minority group in the US they will: Play an increasingly important role in the economic and social life of the country in this century if they have access to an education system that provides them with the opportunity to be more ‘college haves’ than ‘college have-nots’. To Latina/os, community colleges are an important gateway to America’s educational opportunities (p. 38). Bibliography Alssid, J. L.; Goldberg, M. and Schneider, J. (November 2011). “The Case for Community Colleges: Aligning Higher Education and Workforce Needs in Massachusetts.” Report Prepared for the Boston Foundation, 1-44. Baum, S.; Little, K. and Payea, K. (2011). “Trends in Community College Education: Enrollment, Prices, Student Aid, and Debt Levels.” College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, Trends in Higher Education Series, 1-6. Beach, J. M. (2011). Gateway to Opportunity: A History of the Community College in the United States. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing LLC. Bueschel, A. C. (February 2003). “The Missing Link: The Role of Community Colleges in the Transitions between High School and College”. A Report for The Bridge Project: Strengthening K-16 Transition Policies, 1-56. Clauss-Ehlers, C. (2010). Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology, Vol. 1. New York, NY: Springer Science. Freeman, J. P. (2007). “Community Colleges in Higher Education: The Role of Community Colleges in Serving the Underserved Student.” Planning for Higher Education, Vol. 35(3): 56-62. Gladieux, L. and Perna, L. (May 2005). “Borrowers Who Drop Out: A Neglected Aspect of the College Student Loan Trend.” The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Report No. 05-2:1-64. Johnson, N. (September 2012). “The Institutional Costs of Student Attrition.” American Institutes for Research, AIR: 1-33. Kane, T. J. and Rouse, C. E. (Winter 1999). “The Community College: Educating Students at the Margin Between College and Work.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 13(1): 63-84. Kasper, H. T. (Winter 2002-03). “The Changing Role of Community College.” Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 14-21. Kolesnikova, N. (Fall 2009). “The Changing Role of Community Colleges.” Bridges, 4-7. National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). “Indicator 45: Postsecondary Graduation Rates.” IES: 1-6. Palfreyman, D. (2008). “Defending the Community College Equity Agenda.” Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, Vol. 12(1): 27-29. Santos, de los, A. G. and Santos, de los, G.E. (2006). “Latinos and Community Colleges.” In, Castellanos, J.; Gloria, A. G. and Kamimura, M. A. (Eds.), The Latina/o Pathway to the Ph.d: Abriendo Caminos. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing, LLC., 37-54 Read More