THE EARLY MONTHS OF 2007 have been a bit treacherous for community colleges. Several reports have concluded that while these institutions must be admired for making higher ed accessible, they aren't ensuring that enough students graduate or transfer.
The Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy at California State University, Sacramento, released the report "Rules of the Game: How State Policy Creates Barriers to Degree Completion and Impedes Student Success in California Community Colleges." As authors Nancy Shulock and Colleen Moore note, only about one in four of the 60 percent of those students seeking a degree or certificate succeeds in transferring to a four-year university and/or earning an associate degree or certificate within six years.
The report decries state policy barriers, including a funding formula that rewards colleges for enrollment and fails to provide incentives for transfer and degree completion. "Most of the funding is based on the number of students enrolled by about the third week of the term," says Shulock.
Another report, "California Community Colleges: Making Them Stronger and More Affordable," blames the state's low tuition for restricting financial aid and student eligibility for Pell Grants. While it seems strange to raise tuition to help students stay in school, doing so would provide more funds for support programs and boost financial aid for students pressed by the costs of textbooks, child care, housing, and other expenses. A tuition increase should be matched by the state and go to programs that improve persistence, degree completion, and transfer, argues William Zumeta, co-author of the study and a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
Washington and Oregon have increased community college tuition and seen improved student persistence.
David Longanecker, executive director of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, agrees, noting Washington and Oregon as examples of states that have increased tuition and seen improved student persistence. "We're talking about serving the students who have the most significant educational deficiencies."
Administrators at two-year and four year institutions are also putting forth ideas for improving student persistence. Here are a few promising strategies that can help students reach out and grab success.
UNIFIED SERVICES
At the Community College of Denver, all first-generation college students receive the assistance of a case manager. Rather than have these students meet separately with aid officers, academic advisors, and career counselors, the case manager offers a unified front. Students may discuss everyday duties such as jobs or family that could keep them from persisting in school.
CCD subscribes to the idea that making services available isn't enough. Raising student expectations and requiring them to learn what success takes is better. "We consider it our main responsibility to increase graduation rates and help students transfer," says President Christine Johnson.
COLLEGE SUCCESS COURSES
"It's important to provide information in as structured a way as possible," says Thomas Bailey, director of the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. Bailey has researched student persistence at institutions around the country. He sees student success courses (also known as college success courses)-in which students learn the ins and outs of attending college and transferring or obtaining a degree-as crucial.
These basic courses may hold particular value for students from first-generation college families. "Preliminary research suggests that students who participate do as well as or better than students who don't," Bailey says. "There are different ways of providing structured guidance information to students. I don't think it's realistic to think it's primarily going to be done on a one-to-one basis."
DUAL ENROLLMENT
Allowing high school students to enroll in community college courses can teach them more about college expectations of them, says Bailey. At Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana-Central Indiana, more than 224 agreements have been signed with area high schools to offer dual enrollment opportunities. Free to students, the dual credit courses include content approved by Ivy Tech and offer an understanding of college requirements.
Community College of Denver advisors share office space with advisors from two four-year institutions.
