In the United States, community colleges (once commonly called junior colleges) are primarily two-year public institutions of higher education. Many community colleges also offer remedial education, GEDs, high school degrees, technical degrees and certificates, and a limited number of 4-year degrees.
After graduating from a community college, some students transfer to a university or liberal arts college for two to three years to complete a bachelor's degree, while others enter the workforce.
In 2012-2013, 7.7 million people attended U.S. community colleges, with about 3.1 million students enrolled full-time, and about 4.6 million students enrolled part-time.
During the Great Recession, community colleges faced state budget cuts amid increases in enrollment. As a result, community colleges raised student tuition. With enrollments decreasing, austerity at community colleges continues while adjunct professors are paid poverty wages and work precariously from semester to semester.
Community colleges received attention in 2015 after President Barack Obama proposed to make community college tuition free to many residents of the US in his State of the Union Address. The plan is called "America's College Promise." This attention has brought on both praise, scrutiny, and criticism of community colleges and the funding of higher education in general. This plan, however, would only pay tuition; non-tuition items such as: textbooks, supplies, transportation, and room and board for those wishing to live on campus would not be covered in Obama's plan.
Terminology and control
Before the 1970s, community colleges were more commonly referred to as junior colleges, and that term is still used at some institutions and for athletics, specifically the NJCAA. However, the term "junior college" is now usually used to characterize private two-year institutions. The term "community college" has evolved to describe publicly funded two-year institutions. The main governing body of community colleges changed its name in 1992 from the "American Association of Junior Colleges" to the "American Association of Community Colleges".
Cohen and Brawer report on the variety of other names, such as city college, county college (in New Jersey), and branch campus. Other common components of the school name include vocational, technical, adult education and technical institute. Nicknames include "democracy's college" and "opportunity college."
In several California cities as well as in other large cities such as Chicago, with its City Colleges of Chicago, community colleges are often called "city colleges", since they were municipally funded and designed to serve the needs of the residents of the city in which they are situated. Also, the state's public two-year colleges are not solely found in its larger cities.
New York City's network of community colleges was established outside of the CUNY system, and only integrated into that system at the insistence of the state government. Another example is Westchester Community College. In the late 1940s, the county operated a popular vocational institute. The New York state government required that the county transform its technical institute into a community college. The county government resisted this transformation, as it would be responsible for a third of the new institution's operating costs (in contrast, the state paid for all of the technical institute's operating costs). After a series of very heated meetings, fully reported in the local press, the county was forced to conform to the state government's wishes.
As a general rule, broad generalizations about the origins, purposes, and funding of public two-year colleges varies widely among the states and, as in the case of California, within states. Furthermore, because the vital role played by rural community colleges in preparing excess rural youth for productive careers in urban centers is not well understood by policy makers, these relatively small institutions do not receive sufficient state funding to offset their weak tax bases and, because of their relatively small size, much higher per-student costs when compared to urban community colleges. This inequity in basic institutional funding has led to the creation of such organizations as the Community Colleges of Appalachia and the tribal college association, which have sought to promote more equitable funding irrespective of an institution's size or location.
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History
Early community colleges
Before 1850, a few public institutions offered two years of college: Lasell Junior College in Auburndale, Massachusetts and Vincennes University of Vincennes, Indiana. Helland cites a section from the 1899 Vincennes University catalog: "The Vincennes University occupies a unique position in the educational field. It is half-way between the commissioned high school and the full-fledged college: it is in fact a junior college."
Many of the early community colleges were normal schools that prepared school teachers. Primary emphasis was placed on traditional middle class values and developing responsible citizens. Normal Schools began in Massachusetts in the 1880s as extensions of local high schools. They were originated to meet the need for teacher preparation. For example, in Saint Joseph, Missouri, a Normal School was added to the local high school to provide a career track for women who wanted to teach. Mr. Whiteford, the area's district superintendent, inquired of the University of Missouri to determine if credits from Saint Joseph Normal School could transfer into a baccalaureate program. The University's President Dr. Hill acknowledged the request and provided for the articulation. Coincidentally, Dr. Hill was actively involved in the American Association of Universities and calling for the establishment of junior colleges for this purpose. In Minnesota, St. Paul's Public School District established a "City Training School" for preparing teachers. The 1883 school's mission was to provide certified teachers and substitutes for the district. Mrs. M. E. Jenness from the Normal School at River Falls, Wisconsin was the St. Paul School's first principal; Mrs. N. F. Wheaton was the Director of Practice. Wheaton had been employed at the Oshkosh Normal School in Wisconsin. In Minneapolis, a Normal Training School was instituted in the fall of 1887. Miss Adele Evers of Manchester Normal School in New Hampshire was appointed the first teacher; she was one of six candidates for the position. Evers' references included work at Martha's Vineyard and Saratoga.
Baltimore's Manual Training High School opened in 1884, was the first separate secondary school for education that was specifically work orientated. The Maryland institution was unique as a stand-alone campus. Other examples of sub-baccalaureate programs were the University Preparatory School and Junior College of Tonkawa. The result of the two- year schools founded in Oklahoma Public School Secondary System in 1902, both institutions later merged in 1914 and became the Oklahoma Institute of Technology. Dean Schneider of the University of Cincinnati developed an alternative high school with a cooperative plan where students spent one week in an occupation and the other in school. Industry provided the shop experiences and the classroom facilitated the academic. There were also non-cooperative high schools; two examples were the Girl's Vocational High School in Kansas City, Missouri and the Delgado Trade School in New Orleans. A two-year, terminal education, was seen as more socially efficient for students who could advance past high school but not continue to attain bachelor's degrees. This national vocational movement gave junior colleges a target population, but numerous students wanted more than a semiprofessional education; many maintained a desire to transfer. Throughout this time period, there was a move for more public two-year institutions along with a trend to separate from high schools and affiliate with higher education. With the change in affiliation came a new status which encouraged junior colleges to develop additional credibility through the creation of professional criteria and use of scientific methods.
Brint and Karabel conclude that, "The two-year college has been a distinctively American creation, and nowhere else has it attained such prominence." J. L. Ratcliff. suggests one perspective for the emergence of two-year post secondary institutions of the past century: they began in the private sector after the Panic of 1893. At that time of severe financial hardship J. M. Carroll, president of Baylor University, made a pragmatic suggestion to solve the problem of too many Baptist colleges with insufficient funds and not enough students to support them: reduce the smaller Baptist colleges' curriculum to the freshman and sophomore years. After this preliminary period, Baylor University would accept the two-year students and provide the junior and senior years of their academic plan. Carroll hoped this split would require fewer faculty and resources for the first two years of higher education.
In the larger cities early public community colleges were often an extension of high schools, like the first established, Joliet Junior College, in Illinois in 1901. These initial community colleges generally were small (usually fewer than 200 students) and focused on a liberal arts education with the goal of transferring students to four-year colleges. They reflected high school needs and lacked a definite identity. These examples of two-year structure innovations with transfer missions in the private and public sector provided a pragmatic approach for the preservation of existing institutions.
Junior colleges grew from 20 in number In 1909, to 170 in 1919. By 1922, 37 states had set up 70 junior colleges, enrolling about 150 students each. Meanwhile, another 137 were privately operated, with about 60 students each. Rapid expansion continued in the 1920s, with 440 junior colleges in 1930 enrolling about 70,000 students. The peak year for private institutions came in 1949, when there were 322 junior colleges in all; 180 were affiliated with churches, 108 were independent non-profit, and 34 were private Schools run for-profit.
Many factors contributed to rapid growth of community colleges. Students parents and businessmen wanted nearby, low-cost schools to provide training for the growing white collar labor force, as well as for more advanced technical jobs in the blue collar sphere. Four years colleges were also growing, albeit not as fast; however many of them were located in rural or small-town areas away from the fast-growing metropolis.
Several different movements supported the creation of community colleges, including local community support of public and private two-year institutions, the expansion of the public education system, increased professional standards for teachers, the vocational education movement, and an expanding demand for adult and community education. Numerous colleges and universities advocated for the development of junior colleges. Leadership felt small, private liberal arts colleges and high schools could provide the first two years of college while larger universities could focus resources on research and junior and senior level students.
Depression era
During the 1920s and 1930s there was a shift in the purpose of community colleges to developing a workforce, which was influenced by wide unemployment during the Great Depression. Developing "semiprofessionals" became dominant national language to describe junior college students. The notion that engineers and supervisors make primary decisions about what and how activities were to be done in the workplace provided the origins for employees needed to carry out their decisions. This need for a class of workers to implement the decisions of the theoreticians demanded an educational delivery system other than the traditional four-year college or university. The closed shop of the artisan which had initially provided workers was no longer the educational program of choice. Nationally, a new two-year vehicle for educating the industrial worker found its launching within the secondary public school system under the leadership of local school districts.
Cold War era
After World War II, the G.I. Bill afforded more educational opportunity to veterans which resulted in increased enrollments. Another factor that led to growth was the rise of adult and community education. After World War II, community colleges were seen as a good place to house continuing education programs. The 1947 President's Commission on Higher Education was an important national document for community colleges. It established a network of public community colleges that would provide education to a diverse group of students at little or no cost along with serving community needs through a comprehensive mission.
This national network exploded in the 1960s with 457 community colleges and the enrollment of baby boomers. A series of grants through the Kellogg Junior College Leadership Programs helped train many community college leaders during this decade.
Merritt College, a junior college (and now a community college) in Oakland, California, was the site for organizing and educating members of the Black Panthers in the mid- to late-1960s.
In the 1970s, growth continued when many enrolled to escape the Vietnam era draft. The 1970s also marked a shift to faculty development, including more instructional training for the unique student body and mission of community colleges. During the 1980s, community colleges began to work more closely with high schools to prepare students for vocational and technical two-year programs.
By the end of the 20th century, two-year community colleges were playing important roles in higher education as access mechanisms. They became an integral feature for those persons who were attending higher education for the first time or as non-traditional students. Brint and Karabel have recognized the change that transpired from 1920 when fewer than 2 percent of all college freshmen were enrolled in a two-year college to the late 1980s when over 50 percent were matriculated. Junior colleges once located in high schools had left their origins to develop their own campuses and were called community colleges and still retained the transfer access mission. High school normal schools matured into teacher colleges or colleges of education within universities offering bachelor and graduate degrees. Industrial institutes integrated with local junior colleges to make these campus's programs more comprehensive community colleges. Along with this growth and legitimization of two-year mechanisms for the delivery of higher education, the emergence of two-year institutions provided an epistemological debate that divided the river of education flowing into the early 20th century into three streams of educational natures. "In the process of this struggle and adjustment some colleges will grow stronger, some will become academies, some junior colleges; the high schools will be elevated to a still more important position than that which they now occupy. The general result will be the growth of a system in the higher educational work of the United States, where now no system exists."
1990s and 2000s
In recent history, a debate between the advocates and critics of community colleges gained strength. Advocates argued that community colleges served the needs of society by providing college opportunity to students who otherwise cannot go to college, training and retraining mid-level skilled workers, and preserving the academic excellence of four-year universities. Critics argued that community colleges continued a culture of privilege through training business workers at public expense, not allowing the working class to advance in social class, protecting selective admissions at four-year institutions for the nation's elite, and discouraging transfer through cooling out.
Although the growth of community colleges has stabilized, enrollment continued to outgrow four-year institutions. A total of 1,166 loosely linked community colleges face challenges of new technological innovations, distance learning, funding constraints, community pressure, and international influence. Some of the issues currently faced are explored in community college resources compiled by the Association for Career and Technical Education.
2010s (The Great Recession and Austerity)
In the 2010s, funding for community colleges faced scrutiny as state budgets were tightened. Because higher education budgets are considered discretionary expenses, they have been more likely targets for cuts than K-12 education or Medicaid. In 2014, however, the state of Tennessee and the city of Chicago, Illinois began programs for free community college. In 2015, President Barack Obama proposed a plan for free community colleges, where states would contribute a portion of the funding. However, key Republican lawmakers, including John Boehner (a key proponent of for-profit colleges) and Mitch McConnell publicly opposed the legislation.
Two states believe providing free community college to students is a great idea. "Oregon now is poised to follow Tennessee as the second state with a plan on the books to provide free two-year college" The Oregon Promise, similar to America's College Promise, will provide free community college to students who meet certain eligibility requirements. According to Fain, the legislation will cost Oregon $10 million per year to pay for tuition costs state and federal aid doesn't cover. Thanks to a large increase in funding for higher education, Oregon is able to financially afford the costs of providing free community college to students. While only two states have made strides in providing a free community college education, White House representatives want to see more states support the initiative. The state of Tennessee currently has the Tennessee Promise, but this initiative does not receive its funding in the same manner in which President Obama wants to fund America's College Promise (Mangan & Supiano, 2015). Following in the footsteps of Tennessee and Oregon is Illinois. The Community College of Philadelphia and Harper College in Illinois recently announced its plans to provide free two-year community college experiences to students (Fain, 2015).
Timeline of important events 1901: Joliet, Illinois added fifth and sixth year courses to the high school curriculum leading to the development of the first public junior college, Joliet Junior College.
1920: American Association of Junior Colleges established.
1930: First publication of the Community College Journal.
1944: Passage of the Federal G.I. Bill of Rights
1947: Publication of Higher Education for American Democracy by the President's Commission on Higher Education (the 1947 Truman Commission).
1965: Higher Education Act of 1965 established grant programs to make higher education more accessible.
1992: The American Association of Junior Colleges changed their name to the American Association of Community Colleges.
Adjunct Faculty and Contingent Labor
Adjunct faculty, also known as contingent labor, make up most of the instructional staff at community colleges. Adjunct pay ranges from about $1,397 to about $3,000 per course. While the community college instructional staff is diverse, some community college teachers are "freeway flyers" who work at multiple campuses to make a living. Most adjunct faculty have limited autonomy and input, and are provided a limited amount of resources. Poor pay for adjuncts and a lack of job stability leads to faculty turnover.
Governance
State Governance
The higher education governance structure landscape in America is very diverse; they are not intended to be precise organization charts. According to the Education Commission of the States there are three major types of higher education governance systems in the states; they are Governing Board States, Coordinating Board States and Planning/ Regulatory/Service Agency States. (from: The Education Commission of the States website)
The Governing Board States (GBS)
State-level governing boards are distinguished according to whether they are responsible for consolidated systems or multi-campus systems. Consolidated systems are composed of several previously independently governed institutions that were later consolidated into one system. Multi-campus systems developed primarily through extensions of various branches or campuses.
Coordinating Board States
Coordinating boards vary significantly in formal authority and informal power and influence from state to state. Generally, there is a state level board governing universities, colleges, and community colleges. Each university and community college district will have its own board that is accountable to a state-coordinating agency.
The Planning/Regulatory/Service Agency States (PRSA)
The PRSA states have limited or non-existent formal governing or coordinating authority, which carry out regulatory and service functions such as student financial aid.
For a comprehensive list of American community colleges and their state level governing boards: U.S. Community Colleges by State, University of Texas at Austin
A more thorough description of state level college and university governance models can be found at: Models of Postsecondary Education Coordination and Governance in the States
Local Governance
Most community colleges are operated within special districts that draw property tax revenue from the local community, as a division of a state university, or as a sister institution within a statewide higher education system.
In all cases, community colleges are governed by a board of trustees, appointed by the state governor, or the board is elected by citizens residing within the community college district. In some instances, as with the City Colleges of Chicago, the board of trustees is appointed by the presiding local government. In Chicago, it is the mayor who appoints the board.
Depending on the operational system, the board of trustees may directly govern the college or may govern the college through a university or system-level office. Depending upon the locus of control, the board may or may not be subject to control by a state agency that supervises all community college districts or all higher education institutions within the state.
The board of trustees selects a president or chancellor of the community college to serve as the chief executive officer and lead the faculty and staff.
Multi-College Community College District
Multi-College Community College Districts include several individually accredited community colleges within one district. Each college is independent with distinct local administration, but they share a single board of trustees and report to a non-instructional central administrative office.
The Contra Costa Community College District is an example of one of the largest multi-college community college districts in California. The District consists of Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College, Los Medanos College, San Ramon Campus, and Brentwood Center, and annually serves almost 62,000 students.
Multi-campus Community College District
larger schools implement a multi-campus system and generally share a single accreditation. Local administrative governance varies. Extension campuses report to the main campus administration or a central administrative office. A good example of this is College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, which has 6 satellite campuses within a 10-mile area, in addition to its main campus, which itself has 9 structures and an enrollment of over 30,000 students.
Faculty Governance
Faculty Senate/Faculty Council
A faculty senate, or faculty council as this body is sometimes referred to, is the representative body of all faculty who participate in the governance processes of the community college. As with all governing bodies, the faculty senate is usually governed by a constitution and a set of bylaws specific to the college. Membership in this body varies from college, with most restricting voting rights to tenured and tenure track faculty, and others allowing a wider array of members to include full-time, adjunct, continuing education, technical, and adult basic education faculty. (modified from: http://www.pima.edu/facsenate/)
Though this is not an exhaustive list, the mission of the faculty senate at the community college usually includes: matters concerning curricular decisions; strengthening the concept of the faculty as a college entity; promoting the gathering, exchanging, and disseminating of faculty views and concerns regarding college matters; promoting mutual accountability between the college faculty and the faculty representative to any college committee; advising the Chancellor and other administrators of faculty views on college matters; bringing the concerns of the Chancellor and other administrators on college matters to the faculty; promoting the involvement of all faculty members in the establishing, staffing, and functioning of college committees, task forces, or other initiatives; and participating in the policy review process of the college.
Collective Bargaining Units/Agreements
Most community college faculty are bargained for employees. While unions and their respective collective bargaining agreements serve to protect faculty rights and working conditions, collective bargaining agreements, or union contracts, provide faculty with a defined set of rules and regulations they must follow as a condition of employment. Collective bargaining swept into higher education on the coattails of legislation authorizing public employees to negotiate. As these laws were passed in various states in the 1960s and 1970s, employee groups ranging from refuse collectors to prison guards gained union representation and began negotiating contracts (Cohen & Brawer, 2008, p. 147)
Collective bargaining units exist for all divisions of community college faculty; however, participation by faculty groups differs from college to college.
Student Governance
There is a student government organizational presence on close to every community college campus in America The Student Government organization is the official voice of the student body, a vital link in effective student participation in all areas of student concern in relationship to the college's administration. By advocating student rights and services, the organization represents the student body and presents its concerns to the college administration, local, and national issues. Through the Student Government organizations the college provides students with essential leadership experience, and valuable connections with faculty, staff administration, students, and the Board of Trustees. Student involvement is usually based on criteria set by the institution; all students have the right as a student to participate in democratic process on campus. (from ASGA's entry of Bakersfield College)
Shared Governance
Shared governance is the set of practices under which college faculty and staff participates in significant decisions concerning the operation of their institutions. Colleges are very special types of institutions with a unique mission--the creation and dissemination of ideas. At the heart of shared governance is the belief that decision-making should be largely independent of short-term managerial and political considerations. Faculty and professional staff are in the best position to shape and implement curriculum and research policy, to select academic colleagues and judge their work; and The perspective of all front-line personnel is invaluable in making sound decisions about allocating resources, setting goals, choosing top officers and guiding student life.
For a more detailed explanation of governance at the community college, please see the AAUP's 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities and the 1998 statement on the same topic by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. These documents more clearly define those matters that are the responsibility of the voting faculty and those reserved to the governing body and its delegates. (From: http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2002/JA/Feat/Luce.htm)
Enrollment
In the United States, community colleges operate under a policy of "open admission." That is, anyone with a high school diploma or GED may attend, regardless of prior academic status or college entrance exam scores. Although community colleges have an open admission policy, students have to take placement tests before enrolling at the college, due to not all courses being open admission. In California and Minnesota, students who have reached the age of 18 are not required to have completed secondary education; instead, they must simply show an "ability to benefit" from a college's educational program. Under certain circumstances, community colleges will also accept high school students or dropouts.
The open admission policy results in a wide range of students attending community college classes. Students range in age from teenagers in high school taking classes under a concurrent, or dual, enrollment policy (which allows both high school and college credits to be earned simultaneously) to working adults taking classes at night to complete a degree or gain additional skills in their field to students with graduate degrees who enroll to become more employable or to pursue lifelong interests. "Reverse transfers" (or those transferring from a university) constitute one of the fastest growing new community college cohorts.
One threat to enrollment at community colleges has been the increasing popularity of for-profit e-learning and online universities, such as the University of Phoenix, now the 16th-largest university in the world. Higher education research and consulting firm Eduventures estimates that 10 percent of college students will be enrolled in an online degree program by 2008 Many community colleges have supplemented their offerings with online courses to stave off competition from exclusively e-learning schools. For example, Northern Virginia Community College's Extended Learning Institute has been offering distance learning courses for thirty-five years. Texas offers the Virtual College of Texas whereby a student at any community college in the state can attend classes from any of the state's 51 community colleges or four Texas State Technical College campuses, paying local tuition plus a VCT fee of around $40.
The Maricopa County Community College District in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area, is the largest community college district in the United States in terms of enrollment.
California has the lowest community college enrollment fees in the nation, currently set at $46 per unit for state residents.
In terms of enrollment demographics the American Association of Community Colleges (2015) 46% of all U.S. undergraduates are community college students. Other representations are as follows: first generation-41%, Native American-61%, Hispanic-57%, Black-52% and Asian/Pacific Islander-43%. While 50% of students are white at community colleges, that is 10% lower compared to 4-year institutions and a greater percentage exists of every non-white group at community colleges. More than half of Native American, Hispanic, and Black undergraduates are enrolled in community colleges, rather than 4-year institutions, a testament to their service to underrepresented populations. The average age of student is 28 compared to the 24-year-old 4-year institution average. Nearly 50% of students fall between the ages of 22-39, a much higher age range than the 4-year institution. There are slightly more women, 57%, than men, which may attribute to the greater amount of students with children and the women who return to school after becoming a stay-at-home mother (17% of students are single parents). 60% of students are enrolled in credit coursework, seeking degrees, while the other 40% is pursuing certifications. Over 70% of students apply for any kind of financial aid, while only 58% receive aid. This only increases the number of student's requiring some form of employment. When it comes to employment status the two highest populations are full-time students with part-time jobs and part-time students with full-time jobs. This is likely due to the necessity of work/school balance. As Katz and Davison (2014) state, "...community college students are more likely to be working class, ethnic minorities, over age 25, and from less educated families than traditional university students" (p. 308). Despite the added barriers and obstacles faced by community college students, research has found that these same students possess high aspirations, and have shown self-initiative, and resilience.
Educational offerings
Community colleges generally offer a range of programs.
Associate degree
In study towards an associate degree, a student takes necessary courses needed to earn a degree that will allow for entry into jobs requiring some level of college education but not a full four-year degree. The associate degree program also allows students who wish to eventually obtain a bachelor's degree at a four-year college to complete the necessary "core" requirements to attend the college of their choice. Some states have mandated that the community college's curriculum be structured so as to satisfy "core curriculum" requirements at the state's public universities or private universities.
Many community colleges have articulation arrangements with nearby four-year institutions, where a student obtaining an associate degree in a field will automatically have his/her classes counted toward the bachelor's degree requirement. For example, a community college associate degree in hotel and restaurant management, computers or accounting would count toward the four-year school's core requirement for a Business Administration degree. Some have gone one step further by arrangements with a four-year college for the student to obtain the bachelor's degree from the four-year college while taking all the courses via distance learning or other non-traditional modes, thus reducing the number of physical visits to the four-year school. One such example is College of DuPage (COD) in Illinois, who have implemented a program called 3+1. In this program, students can take three years of classes at the community college taught by COD professors and faculty, and in the fourth year attend classes on the COD campus, but taught by professors of nearby partner universities, such as Benedictine University, Concordia University, Governors State University, Lewis University, and Roosevelt University.
Certification
Certification in an area of training (such as nursing, computer repair, allied health, law enforcement, firefighting, or welding), which require preparation for a state or national examination, or where certification would allow for hiring preference or a higher salary upon entering the workforce. These courses are often geared toward the needs of the local or area business community.
Local services
Services of local interest to members of the community, such as job placement, adult continuing education classes (either for personal achievement or to maintain certification in specialized fields), and developmental classes for children. Some community colleges offer opportunities for high school dropouts to return to school and earn a high school diploma or obtain a GED.
Bachelor's degrees
A growing trend in the United States is for community colleges to begin offering bachelor's degrees. As of 2013, nineteen states have authorized their community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees with California passing authorizing legislation in 2014.
Many large community colleges, such as Miami-Dade College and St. Petersburg College, in Florida have even completely dropped the words "community" or "junior" from their names as they have added bachelor's degree programs in limited fields and have started their evolution into four-year colleges while retaining their local commitments. Even some smaller community colleges, such as Northern New Mexico College in Española, New Mexico, have dropped community from their names and now offer six or more bachelor's degrees. A few of the larger institutions, such as De Anza College in northern California and College of DuPage near Chicago, who both boast enrollment of over 25,000 students, continue to explore the cost-benefit analysis in offering 4-year degrees. In more rural communities, community colleges may host branches of the local state university, and community colleges with specialized programs may offer four-year degrees in conjunction with other schools, some miles away. For instance, Southern Illinois University offers aviation management bachelor's degrees at Mt. San Antonio College and Palomar College in Southern California.
Advantages of community colleges
- Community colleges are often geared toward local students and local needs. Students who could not afford campus or off-site housing at a four-year college, or for other reasons cannot relocate, can attend courses while staying in their local community (though some colleges do offer student housing). Also, community colleges can work with local businesses to develop customized training geared toward local needs, whereas a four-year institution generally focuses on statewide or national needs.
- Although an associate degree is, on average, less financially lucrative in the long term than a bachelor's degree, it can still provide a respectable income with much less student debt. In fact, new research into earnings shows that recent community-college graduates in certain specialties can make more than recent university graduates with a bachelor's degree. In spite of persistently high unemployment, there is still a demand for some skilled trades that often only require an associate degree or vocational training, such as registered nurses, paralegals, police officers, mechanics, electricians, and technicians.
- Community college professors are solely dedicated to teaching, and classes are generally small, about the size of a standard high school class. In comparison, a four-year college course may be taught to 300+ students by a teaching assistant, while the professor is concentrating on research. Outside of those teaching in the technical and vocational fields, most instructors at community colleges have master's degrees and many hold doctoral degrees. In addition, community college professors can help students achieve their goals, work more closely with them, and offer them support, while at a four-year college, a professor's primary mission is to conduct academic research, with most of their remaining attention focused on mentoring graduate students.
- A number of community colleges have athletic programs; certain colleges also serve as incubators for college athletes, particularly in baseball, basketball and football. A talented player who would not meet the academic or athletic standards of a major college program may be able to play for two years in junior college, establishing an academic record in the process, and then transfer to the major college.
Disadvantages of community colleges
- Transferring credits can sometimes be a problem, as each four-year college has its own requirements for enrollment. However, many four-year colleges (usually near the community college) have made arrangements, known as articulation agreements, allowing associate degrees to qualify for transfer, some cases allowing the student to complete the bachelor's degree via distance learning from the community college campus. Some states have passed rules whereby certain associate degrees in a field will automatically transfer to state universities as the core curriculum for specified bachelor's degrees. Minnesota, Alabama, and Oregon have created a statewide "transfer curriculum" allowing credits to be transferred to any other public university and almost all of the private colleges. The North Carolina system has a similar agreement, whereby specific courses are designated for mandatory transfer credit to all statewide public four-year institutions. Illinois's I-transfer program program aids students in transferring credits across the state. California has a system known as Assist, which labels course equivalencies between all California Community Colleges and California public four-year colleges. Texas has a similar system known as TCCN for labelling course equivalencies between all Texas Community Colleges and Texas public four-year institutions.
- It is frequent for many courses to be taught by part-time lecturers, adjuncts, or contingent labor, some with only a bachelor's degree in the field. Research conducted by the University of Washington's Labor Center suggests that community colleges' reliance on part-time (adjunct) faculty results in lower graduation rates than colleges with a full-time workforce. According to federal statistics, 42% of public community college freshmen take remedial courses, and further studies show that 79% of remedial courses are taught by part-time faculty.
- Research shows that individuals with associate degrees usually earn less than those with bachelor's degrees.
- While community colleges are open enrollment institutions, meaning they accept and enroll all prospective students as long as fees are paid and the student enrolls in classes, this open door policy is often seen as a revolving door, with many students, nearly 2/3 not completing their education.
- There is a historic connotation that community colleges and for-profit colleges are often considered schools of last resort, because of their open-admissions policies, which may reflect poorly upon students who were unable to receive admission to a college offering a wider variety of degree programs. Their open-admissions policies have been the subject of sarcastic humor in popular media.
- Criticism falls on the community college advisors for "cooling out" the common low-ability student who also has high aspirations. The community college deters students from bachelor's degrees, labeling them as overambitious goals. Students would likely intervene more if not for the easier path they are now on thanks to the rerouting.
Comprehensive community colleges
Many schools have adapted the term comprehensive to describe their institutions. These schools typically offer six facets of education:
- Transfer education - The traditional two-year student who will then transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a BS/BA degree.
- Career education - The traditional two-year student that will graduate with an associate degree and directly enter the workforce.
- Developmental - Remedial education for high school graduates who are not academically ready to enroll in college-level courses.
- Continuing - Non-Credit courses offered to the community for personal development and interest.
- Industry training - Contracted training and education wherein a local company pays the college to provide specific training or courses for their employees.
- eLearning - Distance learning occurs online using one's computer and proctored exams. Pell grants and federal aid apply to eLearning also. For example, studying Spanish in an eLearning environment is possible when a student is in another state and federal aid is applied to out-of-state tuition.
Within the transfer education category, comprehensive schools typically have articulation agreements in place that provide prearranged acceptance into specific four-year institutions. At some community colleges, the partnering four-year institution teaches the third and fourth year courses at the community college location and thereby allows a student to obtain a four-year degree without having to physically move to the four-year school.
There are institutions and organizations which provide community college research to inform practice and policy.
For background on U.S. community college libraries, see "Disposed to Consolidation and Innovation: Criteria for the Community College Specialization."
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