Community college

In Canada and the United States, a community college, sometimes called a county college, a junior college or a city college, is an educational institution providing post-secondary education and lower-level tertiary education, granting certificates, diplomas, and Associate's degrees. The name derives from the fact that community colleges primarily accept and attract students from the local community, and are often supported by the local community through property taxes.

Usage

Community colleges were at one time (before the 1970's and '80s) more commonly referred to as junior colleges, and that term persists in some parts of the United States. However, that term is more correctly used now to describe private two-year institutions, as opposed to the publicly-funded community colleges. The main governance body of community colleges changed its name in 1992 to the "American Association of Community Colleges" from the "American Association of Junior Colleges" in order to reflect the difference between the two.

In New Jersey in particular, community colleges are called county colleges, not merely in name but also in descriptive speech. This is because there is one community college, often with satellite branches, dedicated to each county of the state. Although this usage is best known in New Jersey, it is also used by some community colleges in Texas (where community colleges are funded by county residents via property taxes assessed by a special "community college district") and Illinois.

In several California cities (including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego), New York City, and Chicago, community colleges are often called "city colleges," since they are municipally-funded and designed to serve the needs of the residents of the city in which they are situated. The City College of New York is arguably the best known example of a municipally-funded community college system. The Los Angeles Community College District is the largest community college system in the United States.

In California, a large number of community colleges do not have the word "community" in their name, nor did they ever have the word "junior." This is because of Calvin Flint, who supervised the founding of three such colleges during his career and was famous for his stubborn opposition to "junior" or any kind of qualifier as unnecessarily pejorative. His colleges "would not be junior to anyone."Roberta Couch, Tom Jamison, Doug Stine, Susan Johnston, Rene Lynch, and Judy Sisk, Foothill College: 25 Years (Los Altos Hills: Foothill College, 1981), 10. Flint served as the first Superintendent and President of Monterey Peninsula College as well as both Foothill and De Anza Colleges. Flint Center at De Anza College is named in his honor.

In the United Kingdom, community college is sometimes used to describe further education colleges which, in addition to their primary mandate to provide training for 16 to 18 year olds, also provide part-time adult education.

In Canada, community colleges are usually simply referred to as "colleges".

See also discussion of the word "college."

History

Many events have contributed to the development and continued growth of community colleges. The social and economic climate of the early twentieth century led to vocal activists for a two year educational alternative to four year higher education institutions. Several different groups advocated for community colleges in the early twentieth century, including students and parents, educators, businesses, state universities, and government officials. Events like urbanization, industrialization, and economic development caused changes in society. One of education’s responses to a country in transition was the junior college.

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.

Many of the early community colleges were an extension of high schools, like the first established in Joliet, Illinois in 1901. These initial community colleges generally were very small, usually less than 200 students and focused on a liberal arts education with the goal of transferring students to four year institutions. They were more reflective of high school needs and lacked a definite identity. Many of the early community colleges were normal schools and prepared teachers. Primary emphasis was placed on traditional middle class values and developing responsible citizens.

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 and was used until after WWII. A two-year, terminal education, was seen as more socially efficient for students who could advance past high school but not attain bachelor's degrees. This national vocational movement was seen to give 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. After WWII, skilled jobs were needed and 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 WWII, community colleges were seen as a good place to house continuing education programs. The 1947 Truman Commission was a very important national document for community colleges. It suggested 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. Growth continued during the 1970s 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.

In recent history, a debate between the advocates and critics of community colleges has gained strength. Advocates argue community colleges serve the needs of society through providing college opportunity to students who may not otherwise go to college, training and retraining mid level skilled workers, and preserving the academic excellence of four year universities. Critics argue community colleges continue a culture of privilege through training business workers at public expense, not allowing working class children to advance in social class, protecting selective admissions at four year institutions for the nation's elite, and discouraging transfer through "cooling out." Whether community colleges give opportunity or protect privilege, their century-long history has developed a distinctive aspect of higher education. Although the growth of community colleges has stabilized in recent history, enrollment continues 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.

Governance

Most community colleges are operated either by special districts that draw property tax revenue from the local community, or by a division of the state university. In the first case, the special district is governed by an board of trustees that is elected by the local community and is subject to limited control by a state agency that supervises all community college districts.

Either way, the board or the state university selects a president, who then acts as the chief executive officer of the college and controls the faculty and staff.

Enrollment

In North America, 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.

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 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 college cohorts.

One threat to enrollment at community colleges is the rapidly increasing popularity of e-learning and online universities, such as the University of Phoenix, which is now the 16th-largest university in the world. Market research firm Eduventures estimates that 10% of college students will be enrolled in an online degree program by 2008 Golden, Daniel. "Online University Enrollment Soars" The Wall Street Journal. 15 May, 2006. Many community colleges have supplemented their offerings with online courses to stave off competition from exclusively e-learning schools. For example, 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 three Texas State Technical College campuses, paying local tuition plus a VCT fee of around $40.

Educational offerings

Community colleges generally offer three types of programs.

The first type of study is toward an associate's degree, in which 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's 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.

Many community colleges have arrangements with nearby four-year institutions, where a student obtaining an associate's degree in a field will automatically have his/her classes counted toward the bachelor's degree requirement. For example, a community college associate's 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.

The second type of study is towards certification in an area of training (such as nursing, computer repair, 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.

The third type offers 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. Community colleges often work with local employeers to develop specialized classes tailored toward their organization's needs.

Advantages of community colleges

Community colleges are geared toward local students and local needs.Irving Pressley McPhail, "Top 10 reasons to attend a community college," Community College Week 17, no. 11 (3 January 2005): 4-5. 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 state-wide or national needs.M.H. Miller, "Four-year schools should take more cues from community colleges, some educators say," Community College Week 17, no. 9 (6 December 2004): 3-4. Some community colleges have "concurrent enrollment" programs, allowing local high school students to "jump start" their college career by taking classes at the community college that count both toward their high school diploma and as college credit (mainly in core areas such as history and political science). Policies and classes offered vary with different agreements existing between the community college and high schools.
The "open enrollment" policy allows anyone to begin the goal towards future college education. The policy is highly beneficial to students with mediocre academic records in high school (or who dropped out and later obtained a GED), students "maturing" later in life who now see the benefits of college education, or students who could not attend college after high school but now have the chance to do so.
In North America, tuition and fees are substantially lower than those of a traditional four-year public or private institution. Students from low-income families, or those having to work to pay for their education, benefit from the reduced costs. Many colleges offer and accept scholarships or educational grants.
Community colleges have little or no time limits on when classes must be taken or a degree must be earned; in contrast, many four-year schools, tired of "professional students" taking up limited space, have imposed limits on when a degree can be earned. Students who cannot take a full-time load for whatever reason (family, job, etc.), are thus not under pressure to complete courses in a limited timeframe.
Four-year colleges often give priority to students transferring from community colleges, citing their demonstrated preparedness for junior and senior college-level work. Students who may not have been able to attend a particular college after high school (whether for academic, financial, or personal reasons) may now be able to attend the college of their choice. Several states have regulations requiring the associate's degree in a particular field to be automatically credited towards the core curriculum for a four-year degree at another state university.
Community college professors are solely dedicated to teaching, and classes are generally small. In comparison, a four-year college course may be taught to 300 students by a teaching assistant, while the professor is concentrating on research. Most professors at community colleges have Master's degrees and many hold doctoral degrees.
A large number of community colleges have successful athletic programs, where students have gone on to play for major colleges or the professional ranks. Others offer no athletic programs.
Research shows that there is no learning or income penalty for individuals who start at a community college and transfer to a four-year institution. Additionally, research indicates that students who begin their higher education career at a community college are more likely to transfer to a higher quality four-year institution than if they had started at a four-year college.

Disadvantages of community colleges

Transferring credits can sometimes be a problem, as each four-year college has its own requirements as to what is and isn't required 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, and in 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's degrees in a field will automatically transfer to state universities as the core curriculum for specified bachelor's degrees. Minnesota has created a statewide "transfer curriculum" allowing credits to be transferred to any other public university and almost all of the private colleges. Illinois' I-transfer program program aids students in transferring credits across the state. California has a system known as Assistwhich labels course equivalencies between all California Community Colleges and California public four-year colleges. In Arizona, the completion of the Arizona General Education Curriculum, or [http://www.az.transfer.org/cas/students/whatsagec.html AGEC, at any Arizona community college guarantees residents of Arizona admission to any public university in the state of Arizona.
It is frequent for many courses to be taught by part-time lecturers holding only a master's degree (or even only a bachelor's degree or associate's degree) in the field, although there is little evidence, other than anecdotal, to indicate that taking a class from a full-time college instructor leads to higher order learning outcomes.
Some community colleges lack on-campus housing (most common in urban-area colleges; rural-area colleges are more likely to offer such housing due to the overall lack of housing in such areas). This potentially makes participation in extra-curricular activities more difficult.
Research shows individuals with Associate's degrees earn less than those with Bachelor's degrees. Because a correlation exists between years of education and earnings, this says more about years of schooling than the value of Associate's degrees or certificates, which have a strong value in the workplace and are designed for students not desiring or needing a four-year degree in a field.
Community colleges typically have smaller libraries than universities, possibly reducing the research opportunities of their students (though libraries may be part of an interlibrary loan agreement with other libraries at universities).

Community college libraries

Community college libraries, sometimes called learning resources centers, have evolved over their existence. These libraries often include traditional library services such as book checkout, online research tools, and research help, but they also have included multimedia technology expertise, video centers, tutor centers and support services. Community college libraries play a significant role in the college curriculum by supporting information literacy across campus. The librarians spend a significant amount of their work week in the classroom teaching students to select research tools, to evaluate search results, and to use their results in papers, speeches, or in other projects. For this reason, community college librarians are considered full faculty members at most institutions. If sufficient funding is provided, community college libraries may be at the cutting edge of research services and may be able to change faster than their larger cousins at major research institutions.

Timeline of important events

1901 – Joliet, IL added fifth and sixth year courses to the high school curriculum leading to the development of the first public junior college.

1920 – American Association of Junior Colleges established.

1930 – First publication of the Community College Journal.

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 change their name to the American Association of Community Colleges.

External links

Notes

References

American Association of Community Colleges. http://www.aacc.nche.edu/

Baker, G. A. III (1994). A handbook on the community college in America: Its history, mission, and management. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Dougherty, K. J. (1994). The contradictory college: The conflicting origins, impacts, and futures of the community college. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Frye, J. H. (1992). The vision of the public junior college, 1900-1940. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Kasper, H. T. (2002). The changing role of community college. Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 46(4), 14-21.

Murray, J.P (2002). The current state of faculty development in two-year colleges. New Directions for Community Colleges, 118, 89-97.

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