It’s time to move beyond access to success
By Alfredo de los Santos, Jr.
Community College Times
January 5, 2007
U.S. community colleges can rightfully be proud of the access that they have provided to millions of students who otherwise might not have had the opportunity for a higher education.
With the open-door admissions philosophy, tuition and fees that are less than half what public four-year colleges and universities charge, locations so that more than 90 percent of students live within commuting distance and other critical components, community colleges enroll a student body that reflects the communities that they were created to serve.
Public two-year colleges enroll 45 percent of all U.S. undergraduates and first-time freshmen, including 47 percent of all African-American undergraduates. More than half of all Latino undergraduates and Native American undergraduates are enrolled in community colleges. In addition, about six in 10 community college students are female.
We should be proud of these indicators of student access. In fact, one could characterize the first century of the development and evolution of our community colleges as the “century of access.”
However, our problem has been and continues to be student success. When one looks at data of community college graduates by race and ethnicity, it is clear that community colleges have not helped some groups of students succeed in college. Asian/Pacific Islander and white, non-Hispanic students have earned the highest number and percentage of certificate and associate degrees awarded compared to African-American, Latino and Native American students.
It is clear that significant gaps exist in student success across racial and ethnic groups. These gaps have existed for a long time, but it is only recently that a growing number of community colleges are looking at the data. One of the major initiatives helping with this, is the Achieving the Dream, which was initiated by Lumina Foundation for Education.
The issue of college success among minorities will only grow more critical. In the coming years, these ethnic groups are projected to have the largest growth in terms of percentages of the U.S. population. By 2020, projections call for 37 percent of the working age group to be minorities. Thus, the projected population growth is among groups that are the least educated.
This is happening in an era when our country more than ever needs an educated, well-prepared workforce if it is to remain competitive in the global economic environment. For the U.S. to continue to be an economic world leader, we need to find ways to help racial and ethnic groups of all socio-economic levels succeed.
Community colleges have been leaders in a number of areas in the realm of higher education. Now we need to take the lead in this endeavor. It is a national imperative. It is an economic issue as well as an educational, moral and philosophical issue.
de los Santos, Jr. is a research professor at Arizona State University and a senior fellow of the League for Innovation in the Community College.
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