2008 Woodie Awards
Are Community Colleges Failing Their Students?
New report says yes; faculty and administrators say no
Donald Bunce
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: News
News Analysis by Donald Bunce, Special to the Log
Are the community colleges in California preparing students to transfer to four-year universities or simply meet their academic goals? According to a new report, they are not-and it is costing California in education and money.
The new study, released by two researchers at California State University, Sacramento, shows that according to their research only 24% of students who enrolled at a California community college had reached their stated goal six years later-whether it was a two-year degree, transfer to a university for a bachelor's degree, or a certificate. For African-American and Latino students, the numbers are even worse. Black students transfer at a rate of only 15 percent, while Latinos are only slightly higher at 18 percent.
The authors of the paper, Nancy Shulock and Colleen Moore, suggest a number of reasons why the system is not working-colleges not providing necessary guidance to students, regulations on what percentage of funds must be spent on direct instruction for students, restrictions on hiring that prevent colleges from hiring more part-time instructors when needed; and the constant emphasis on getting and keeping "FTE's" or full-time equivalent (the typical full-time student) due to the fact the state funds community colleges on how many FTE's they have enrolled.
"Without big gains in educational attainment, especially among the growing Latino population," Shulock and Moore write, "the state's per capita income will soon fall below the national average and the average education level of the California workforce will decline."
Those involved in student instruction see it differently. In a letter that went out to the community colleges, California Community Colleges Chancellor Mark Drummond made it clear he does not agree with the report's conclusions, saying that according to their data 51 percent succeed in either transferring, getting their AA degree, or earning their certificate in six years. David Pelham, the president of College of the Siskiyous, a community college located at the base of Mount Shasta, says in the Mount Shasta News that he is offended by the suggestion that the pursuit of FTE's overrides everything else. Pelham also points out that their mission is different than the CSU or UC system, saying that some students go to community college for different reasons than the aim of transferring to one of the state's four-year schools.
Are the community colleges in California preparing students to transfer to four-year universities or simply meet their academic goals? According to a new report, they are not-and it is costing California in education and money.
The new study, released by two researchers at California State University, Sacramento, shows that according to their research only 24% of students who enrolled at a California community college had reached their stated goal six years later-whether it was a two-year degree, transfer to a university for a bachelor's degree, or a certificate. For African-American and Latino students, the numbers are even worse. Black students transfer at a rate of only 15 percent, while Latinos are only slightly higher at 18 percent.
The authors of the paper, Nancy Shulock and Colleen Moore, suggest a number of reasons why the system is not working-colleges not providing necessary guidance to students, regulations on what percentage of funds must be spent on direct instruction for students, restrictions on hiring that prevent colleges from hiring more part-time instructors when needed; and the constant emphasis on getting and keeping "FTE's" or full-time equivalent (the typical full-time student) due to the fact the state funds community colleges on how many FTE's they have enrolled.
"Without big gains in educational attainment, especially among the growing Latino population," Shulock and Moore write, "the state's per capita income will soon fall below the national average and the average education level of the California workforce will decline."
Those involved in student instruction see it differently. In a letter that went out to the community colleges, California Community Colleges Chancellor Mark Drummond made it clear he does not agree with the report's conclusions, saying that according to their data 51 percent succeed in either transferring, getting their AA degree, or earning their certificate in six years. David Pelham, the president of College of the Siskiyous, a community college located at the base of Mount Shasta, says in the Mount Shasta News that he is offended by the suggestion that the pursuit of FTE's overrides everything else. Pelham also points out that their mission is different than the CSU or UC system, saying that some students go to community college for different reasons than the aim of transferring to one of the state's four-year schools.
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