Report: America's Community Colleges are Failing

Report: America’s Community Colleges are Failing

A report has criticized the low retention and graduation rates of community college students and noted that most enrollees opt for low demand fields.

Mark Bauerlein comments on a recent report from the American Association of Community Colleges entitled ‘Reclaiming the American Dream: Community Colleges and the Nation’s Future.’

The report is highly critical of the colleges’ low rate of student retention and notes that only a small proportion of students actually go on to degree programs. In addition 60% of community college students require remedial course work.

Walter Bumphus, president of the association said, “We’ve had our time in the sun. We’ve had a lot of recognition. With that has come more scrutiny and accountability.” The commission, co-chaired by three community-college veterans, disappointingly said, “The evidence on student success in community colleges is distressing. Six years after entering college, most students haven’t earned a degree or other credential.”

The 1,100 community colleges in the US account for roughly 44% of US undergraduates and have previously been widely regarded as a vital stepping stone for students on their way to a four year college degree. They provide education with low-cost tuition and if working successfully would undoubtedly provide a vital service.

The report does offer some recommended responses to address results which would indicate the community college experiment is failing. These include: focusing on student success, not merely student access; adapting the curriculum to be less fragmentary; and having faculty members think more collectively. However, Bauerlein notes that these ‘solutions’ are all intramural. His answer to the problems plaguing community colleges is simple; bring the workplace to the college and integrate it into the curriculum:

Let the students know a job awaits them after graduation, and accept the fact that for the majority of community college students, workplace readiness is the cardinal principle of learning.

Currently, as the report notes, the majority of students opt to enroll in courses for which there are very few jobs available and the courses which provide access high-demand fields are largely ignored.

“Estimates indicate employment opportunities for just 3% of students planning on enrolling in fields such as personal services, employment-related services, regulation and protection, crafts, and the creative and performing arts.”

Mark Bauerlein is a former Director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts and current Professor of English at Emory University. He is also author of ‘The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30)’.

Comments

Joe

April 27, 2012 at 12:43 am

I don’t see what the issue is. The colleges are failing because students are using them for vocational education? That is exactly what they should be used for. We should stop trying to pretend that for most people who enroll these will act as a stepping stone to a 4-year degree and just start training them to enter the job market after two years.

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Linda Brees

April 27, 2012 at 12:46 am

It is hardly the fault of the colleges that many of their students require remedial work. Most CCs have an open enrollment policy which means they have to take everyone who walks through the door. This often means students who are unprepared to attend four-year colleges due to inability to handle the coursework. Remedial education is a huge chunk of what community colleges are there for.

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mcp_43

April 27, 2012 at 5:09 am

Students select their majors based on what they want to do. In some areas it is difficult to get a job. Students have the freedom to choose one of those areas. It is their free choice.

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- Linda Brees
  
  April 27, 2012 at 8:20 am
  
  Fine, but we can hardly claim that it’s the community colleges that are to blame when the students subsequently drop out or fail to get jobs.
  
  Reply
Report: America’s Community Colleges are Failing | International Education News | Renascence School International | Panama City | private preschool, elementary school, middle school

April 27, 2012 at 11:49 am

[...] rates of community college students and noted that most enrollees opt for low demand fields.”(more) Comments (0) Go to main news [...]

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Jay

June 3, 2012 at 3:38 am

Seems like a not so subtle call for LOWERING standards to get these kids through with a degree. I’m sorry, but these students arrive at Community College woefully unprepared to even attempt to read the material they are engaging with. Much of the problem is lack of motivation caused by years of being socially promoted. Many believe that they will get by even without attending class or handing in assignments. That’s not going to turn around in a semester or two. The result is students who simply don’t understand what the level of effort is and eventual failure.

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