How California Community Colleges Hope to Increase Graduation Rates by 2020

Recently, a debate has been raging in higher education after for-profit colleges launched attacks on community colleges. In the wake of the first and much anticipated White House Summit on Community Colleges, criticism has been circulating about the "unsavory recruitment practices" of these institutions, according to a report on Inside Higher Ed. Community colleges have also been accused of providing less-than-stellar academic quality, course availability, and individual attention to students. Now, community colleges are fighting against accusations, with a new study designed to highlight the differences between these institutions and their for-profit counterparts.

This video looks at the pros and cons of attending a community college.

Just How Similar?

The American Association of Community Colleges recently released a brief titled "Just How Similar? Community Colleges and the For-Profit Sector." The study focuses on the fundamental differences between community and for-profit colleges that make it difficult to compare the two types of institutions according to the recently used criteria. According to a press release on PR Newswire, while the post-secondary institutions may offer several standard programs, that tends to be where the similarities end. These institutions serve a widely different population, resulting in different outcomes and success rates.

Some of the differences noted in this study include:

• A higher ratio of minority students at community colleges. More than half of all Hispanic students and 40% of Black, Native American, and Alaskan Native

President Obama has shined a significant spotlight on America’s college graduation rates throughout his administration, and community colleges are feeling the pressure. According to the Hechinger Report, fewer than one out of five students at community colleges obtain their desired degree in three years or less. A recent study published by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) paints a similarly grim picture by indicating that high college dropout rates cost both state and federal governments billions of dollars yearly. However, do these numbers accurately depict what is happening in community colleges and four-year institutions nationwide? This article will explore the many reasons for high dropout rates, including flaws in how such data is collected.

What the Numbers Show

As shown in the graph above, National Center for Education Statistics data shows that only 13 percent of community college students graduate in two years. Within three years, approximately 22 percent of students graduate; within four years, the rate stands at 28 percent. Further data from AIR shows that only about 60% of college students graduate from four-year colleges and universities within six years. AIR vice president Mark Schneider claims that state and federal governments spend more than $9 billion annually on these students. Yet, all that funding fails to produce a college graduate who could bring those years of education to the country's workforce. While the AIR numbers are related explicitly to enrollment at four-year institutions,

During the recent economic slowdown, community colleges saw an exponential rise in enrollment as displaced workers sought out retraining to become employable once again. Unfortunately, many of those community college grads have no more luck finding a job than they had prior to their college experience. To compound the problem, many graduated with a significant amount of debt from tuition and other college-related expenses. President Obama is hoping to reverse that trend, with the launch of Skills for America's Future, a program designed to match potential workers and training with the industries that need them most.

What Is Skills for America's Future?

According to the Aspen Institute website, Skills for America's Future will serve as an umbrella under which businesses, labor unions and community colleges can work together to put workers back to work in this country. This organization will coordinate efforts between these entities to ensure workers are getting the necessary training to fill the employment positions that desperately need workers today.

The initiative was announced by the White House last month and will be housed within the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit research organization that fosters value-based leadership and provides a venue for discussing and acting on critical issues.

Skills for America's Future will primarily focus on identifying the most successful retraining partnerships around the country to use as a model for other colleges. Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, told the New York

Outsourcing has become a standard component of a free market system today, with companies heading to outside sources for everything from customer service to health care support. Now community colleges appear to be a part of the outsourcing model, with schools using alternative resources for instruction, curriculum and even grading papers!

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing

A research report from Stanford University, titled "Outsourcing of Instruction at Community Colleges," lists many of the advantages and drawbacks of using outside sources for educating college students. Some of the benefits of the practice include:

• Outsourcing can lead to more efficient and higher quality education.
• A standardized curriculum offers consistency in quality.
• A competitive market usually means a higher quality of product and service.
• There are cost savings between hiring additional faculty and outsourcing teaching services.

By the same token, opponents of the outsourcing concept cite some of the drawbacks to the practice:

• Profit-making industries present a conflict of interest with the public goals of colleges.
• Outsourcing could undermine the tenure-based employment system.
• The quality of teaching could be lower.
• There is a lack of control by faculty over curriculum and course design.

While the jury appears to still be out on whether outsourcing is a good idea for community colleges, many schools and companies are proceeding with plans to broaden the scope of higher education through sources outside the mainstream education sector.

This video offers an overview of teaching in a community college.