Community College News

Community colleges have seen a significant rise in enrollment since the economic slowdown began, due in part to the need for retraining into careers that are more lucrative and recession-proof. As waiting lists for community colleges across the country continue to grow, some students are turning to vocational, for-profit colleges to meet their academic needs in the interim. Unfortunately, certain rather unscrupulous practices by these for-profit institutions have resulted in federal regulations that will negatively affect the community college environment as well.

What is the Gainful Employment Rule?

While community colleges offer associate's degrees in a wide range of subjects, they also provide specific job training in particular fields that takes less time to complete. For-profit institutions also offer these training programs to help students get through school and into the workforce as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, some of these training programs do not offer the necessary preparation in fields that are demanding new hires, leaving students without gainful employment and additional debt from their schooling that they cannot pay.

To address this concern, the Federal Department of Education has put forth a rule known as the Gainful Employment Rule. This regulation will discourage career colleges from providing misleading information about the employment prospects students can expect after completing their training. The rule targets predatory career colleges that purposely provide inaccurate industry information and encourage students to take out loans for career training that has little chance of producing a lucrative job –

Last year, President Obama announced his ambitious plan to graduate five million more students from community colleges by 2020. According to a report at WhiteHouse.gov, the President believes this goal is necessary to ensure the United States can continue to be a leader in the global economy. However, boosting graduation rates at community colleges nationwide may be easier said than done. To facilitate the process, California has developed a list of recommendations to increase graduation rates in that state, which could serve as a model for other states.

Room for Improvement

According to a Southern California Public Radio report, there is plenty of room for improvement in California community colleges today. A study by California State University, Sacramento, found that seven of every ten students do not complete a two-year degree or transfer to a four-year institution. Long Beach City College President Eloy Ortiz Oakley told the radio station, "We need to improve the education of our workforce rapidly, and community colleges are the gateway to the majority of that workforce in California."

This video explains how one community college uses data to increase graduation rates.

Finding Solutions

To help achieve that end, the Community College League of California has issued recommendations for community colleges to follow. The "Commission on the Future's 2020 Vision for Student Success" report outlines 17 recommendations designed

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

The Catch-22 of Community College Graduation Rates

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

For-profit colleges seem to face an uphill battle these days, both on campus and on Capitol Hill. Enrollment, which skyrocketed during the heat of the recession, is beginning to plummet. Some surveys are showing students from for-profit colleges unhappy with the education they received vs. the money they paid. Some for-profit colleges are even facing class-action suits for misleading advertising or an inability to deliver on their promises.

Perhaps it should be no surprise that these institutions are turning on their community college counterparts, releasing a recent survey conducted by Norton/Norris Inc. that found similar complaints with community colleges. The results of this survey were published on Business Wire and report that community colleges are also purportedly dealing in unsavory recruitment practices and providing low quality in terms of education. The results were released just prior to the summit on community colleges hosted by the White House earlier this month.

This video looks at the comparison of for-profit versus community colleges.

What the Numbers Show

The Norton/Norris survey found a lack of transparency in reporting important information like graduation rates, employment rates, and pass rates on certification examinations. The survey also found:

• Community colleges are not living up to their expectations in terms of course availability, the relevance of coursework, and schedule flexibility.
• The colleges are not providing high-quality education in their academic offerings.
• Many students leave community colleges due to