The Problem of the Community College
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009by Christina Miller
Community colleges are often looked at as the redheaded stepchild of higher education, and for good reason. Their retention rate is fairly low, among those who do stay academic achievement is lukewarm, and the graduation rate is nothing to write home about, according to this article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. In the article, author Kay McClenney argues that the primary failing of community colleges lies with the institutions themselves and that if the powers that are would just rise to the occasion and expect more of the students, the students would follow.
However, Ms. McClenney fails to address that this problem with community colleges represents a problem with the students as well as the faculty. As a community college graduate, I can attest to how much of a difference the students make in how well the college succeeds. The students I met who were dedicated and committed—not even necessarily brilliant—tended to stick out hard classes, graduate on schedule, transfer to four-year schools and graduate in a timely manner. Unfortunately, they were in the minority. Many of my classes halved in size from the first day to the final exam. Several students that I knew simply dropped out of school and went God-knows-where. Others remained at this two-year college for three, maybe even four, years. From the statistics Ms. McClenney cited, this seems a nationwide phenomenon. Is it any wonder the professors at community colleges don’t expect much of their students?
Professors can offer. From my experience as a community college student, professors do offer. But if the students aren’t receiving, offering does little good. The problem of community colleges is a symptom of problems throughout all of education—a lack of learning and focus rather on diversity, indoctrination, and self-esteem. 10 years of this is impossible to undo overnight. If we want students at community colleges to succeed, we’ll have to fix the school system from the bottom up.
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April 24th, 2009
In CA, the tuition at JCs is so low that there is very little loss to the students if they drop out of a class. As a result, many directionless high school grads go to a JC simply because they don’t know what else to do, and it’s a way to at least temporarily satisfy their parents. When the mid-term of Final exam comes, and they know that they will get a bad grade, they simply drop the course, since it didn’t really cost them much money in the first place. Maybe the JCs should charge more money per course up front, and then rebate some of it conditional on their final course grade.
E Anderson
April 24th, 2009
Christina good for you. Like you I graduated from a Community College then was recruited by UC San Diego’s Science College but chose to go a different university for financial reasons. Student’s get out of any class only what they put into it. I have seen this played out on a yearly basis in my High School Science classes. Those who want to do well find a way, those that don’t will parrot every excuse in the book. Good luck in your future.
Walter Daniels
April 25th, 2009
Much of what you say is probably correct, but you ignore some things. 1) Not everyone can afford to attend classes “full time.” That means they may take Four or more years to get an “Associates Degree (2 year).” Especially if they must work full time to pay living and college expenses. 2) They may not be at all sure “what they want to do.” In which case they may be “sampling” degree curricula. 3) They may be taking classes for persona, and or job enrichment that *do not lead to degrees.*
Four year Colleges and Universities are for those sure of what they want, and Bachelor Degree Programs. Not everyone needs, and or wants such programs.
Tom Gearing
April 25th, 2009
There is no such entity as “The Community College” – there are many hundreds of different Community Colleges, each with its own unique teachers and students. I have taken classes at two and taught at three different campuses, and none of your generalizations are accurate across the board. The “article” you are reacting to isn’t really a scholarly article: it is clearly marked as “Commentary”. If you want to contribute something useful to the discussion, why not do a real research article on the subject?
Christina TM
April 25th, 2009
Walter Daniels,
You raise some excellent points. I should have been clearer: I was referring to “kids” (for want of a better term), not adult/non-traditional students. I found that the adult students, even those who took a long time to finish their degree due to the responsibilities you mentioned, were much more diligent students overall.
Florida resident
April 26th, 2009
Dear participants of the discussion, dear Ms. Christina TM !
Somehow all your discussion is about how well the teachers have taught a student (be it in Community College or during previous 12 years), how persistent is the student. Here is my comment on this, augmenting your discussion.
Charles Murray (of “The Bell Curve” fame) in his recent short book “Real Education” emphasizes that we do not live in Lake Woebedgon (of Prairie Home Companion radio show), where “all children are above average”. Unfortunately, exactly 50% of kids are below average. I have observed this on kids, including the kids of people, whom I love and consider close friends of myself.
Respectfully, Florida resident.
Florida resident
April 27th, 2009
Clarification:
When I said “Unfortunately, exactly 50% of kids are below average,” I meant below average with respect to abilities, or to be even more precise, innate abiliites and qualities.
The 4 statements that Ch. Murray makes in the “Real Education” book are:
1. Abilities vary.
2. Half of all children are below average.
3. Too many people are going to college.
4. the future depends on how we educate the academically gifted (here he means not how we technically educate them, but how we challenge them to become wiser persons). I really advise everybody to get this book and to read it; it is reasonably short and it is $14.21 + about $4.00 S. and H. on amazon-dot-com .
Respectfully, Florida resident.
Christina TM
May 2nd, 2009
Florida resident,
You are very much correct. There is an idea in education today that all children are equally brilliant, and if we just tell them so enough their performance will reflect it. Unfortunately, that isn’t true. As Russell Kirk said, we are all equal before God but there will always be a hierarchy of talents and abilities.
By denying the variety of abilities we force kids into college who don’t belong there, thereby devaluing the diploma. Our country would be much better off if we simply recognized that some people are not meant to be A students and stop forcing these students into college.
Florida resident
May 4th, 2009
Dear Ms. Christina TM !
Thank you for your very valid comments.
Respectfully, Florida resident.