Preface
In a recent report focusing on the fiscal crisis in American higher education, the Council for Aid to Education's (CAE) Commission on National Investment in Higher Education issued a telling caveat:
"At a time when the level of education needed for productive employment [is] increasing, the opportunity to go to college will be denied to millions of Americans unless sweeping changes are made to control costs, halt sharp increases in tuition and increase other sources of revenue."
This fiscal issue in higher education calls for creative solutions. Traditional thinking, based on past experiences and marked by limitations, does not benefit millions of students who will need a baccalaureate degree, but cannot afford to attend a four-year university. Rather, consider community colleges -- which are capable of developing innovative ways of solving the challenges of rising demand, limited access, and increasing costs. The community college baccalaureate degree is a logical solution for this problem.
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In the next decade, American education will discover that the three C's -- collaboration, competition and cooperation -- will become driving forces in the decision-making process. Examples of collaboration include the university centers that already have been developed on such community college campuses as Macomb (Michigan) Community College, North Harris Montgomery Community College (Texas), and St. Petersburg Junior College and Edison Community College, both in Florida. In addition, on a broader, global scale, the British Open University is exploring partnerships with community colleges for the purpose of making baccalaureate degrees available through distance learning.
Competition is increasing rapidly from private nonprofit and private for-profit institutions that used to grant only certificates, but now award associate and baccalaureate degrees. The number of corporate universities has increased from 400 in 1988 to more than 1,000 today. Many of these onetime unaccredited institutions are now accredited by regional associations. Such competition from the private sector will continue to have a major impact on higher education.
If it is true, as the CAE report noted, that "widespread access to higher education is ... critical to the economic health and social welfare of the nation," then it is imperative that the vast system of community colleges play a major role, joining the mix by beginning to offer baccalaureate degrees. The facilities, faculty, staff and programs already are in place at convenient locations. Expanding the community college mission to include baccalaureate degrees -- while retaining the system's open-door philosophy as well as responsiveness to local needs -- is a logical option for addressing the increasing demands that now exist, in terms of access and affordability. This is not to suggest that community colleges be converted into four-year state colleges. On the contrary, in fact, it is essential that the local mission and governance of community colleges be maintained. Moreover, not all two-year schools wish to -- or should -- expand their missions. Still, the opportunity and authority for doing so should be available where situations, needs and desires exist.
The community colleges in the United States have a long history of adaptation to the educational needs of the times. When they were first founded, junior colleges primarily provided lower-division academic programs for students who would then transfer to four-year colleges or universities. After World War II, when servicemen returned to their families and communities, junior colleges modified their programs to meet the expanded demand for education. During the 1960s, U.S. Government funding helped community colleges expand their programs in vocational, technical and continuing education.
But these modifications in mission, programs and culture did not alter the fundamental philosophy of the community college. Equally unaltered as a result of all these changes was the local governance of the community college. Responsiveness to the changing needs of the society around it is basic to the essence of community colleges. The mission should be defined not by needs of a bygone era, but rather what is necessary -- through responsiveness, adaptation and growth -- to meet the changing dynamics of the communities the schools serve.
Adding baccalaureate degrees to the existing curricular offerings would enable community colleges to increase geographical, financial and academic access to higher education. It would promote cost efficiencies through the use of existing infrastructures. It would foster the opportunity for immigrant or returning students to succeed through smaller classes, less rigid sequencing and greater scheduling options. It would encourage upward mobility among students with associate degrees. It would stabilize family and employment relationships for students as they complete the four-year course of study. And it would maintain the historical community college commitment to economic and workforce development, and responsiveness to community needs for specialized programs.
Then, too, it makes economic sense to utilize the existing community college infrastructure for the purpose of meeting higher education needs at a time when students and parents increasingly are questioning the cost of higher education. Nearly half of all undergraduates attending public institutions are enrolled in community colleges; many would like to be able to complete their degrees where they began them.
In a recent survey of students at my school, Edison Community College, in fact, 80 percent of the respondents said that they would like to complete their baccalaureate degree at Edison. They gave as their reasons accessibility, lower costs and availability of the types of degrees they seek.
Besides this sense of familiarity sparking an interest in the creation of a baccalaureate degree for community colleges, let's look at adult, or continuing, education, which has taken on a new meaning as greater numbers of older students enter the community college system. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the average American worker will hold four to six jobs in two or three different career areas in the course of his or her employed life.
Where will these adults receive the training necessary to make these shifts? Regional universities do not always provide ready geographic, financial or academic access. The lower tuition costs and convenient geographical locations of community colleges would mean greater opportunities for significantly more of these students. For the adult learner who owns a home, is raising a family and also is working full-time, taking classes at a local college is often the only viable option. Nontraditional students need, and deserve, nontraditional baccalaureate degree access and choices.
In addition, community colleges have close ties with local businesses, and have the potential of being more responsive than the established four-year universities to local economic, demographic, social and political changes. This unique partnership linking community colleges and local businesses can offer students the opportunity to provide employers with a well-trained, educated workforce.
Education and income are inextricably linked to one another. The CAE's report stressed that "as service-related jobs have come to dominate the workplace, the college degree or at least some form of postsecondary education and training has replaced the high school diploma as the entry card into rewarding employment." As a result, as noted above, the report concluded that "widespread access to higher education is...critical to the economic health and social welfare of the nation."
For the vast majority of the American population, one of the crucial factors in U.S. education is access -- particularly as higher education takes on such heightened significance. Indeed, according to a publication of the Southern Regional Education Board, occupations requiring college degrees were the fastest-growing segment of the economy. Projections through 2005 were expected to continue. In fact, of the nearly 200 occupations anticipated to have above-average growth during the early years of the 21st century, 34 percent require at least a four-year college degree.
As we move into this new century, and as the "baby boomer" generation (persons born between 1946 and 1964) begins to retire, a smaller U.S. workforce is expected to compete in the global marketplace. From this perspective, higher education needs to be more generally dispersed among the populace in order to maintain our standard of living and to protect our democracy. Providing baccalaureate degrees at the community college level is an important tool for increasing access for minorities and disadvantaged students.
Several states -- among them Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Utah -- already have moved to create a community college baccalaureate degree. A case in point:
In Florida, a post-secondary Education Planning Commission's five-year plan for higher education, warning that the state's baccalaureate degree production will be inadequate to meet its economic goals and those of its citizens, projected that "by 2010 there will be in excess of 200,000 additional college-credit students enrolled in the state's institutions of higher education. Post-secondary sectors and institutions are not prepared for the projected increase in enrollments." As a result, the commission developed several responses for addressing this issue, including the recommendation to "authorize community colleges to offer selected baccalaureate degrees."
In November 1998, the Florida State Board of Community Colleges adopted its own five-year strategic plan, in light of "increasing employer demand for performance-ready graduates at the baccalaureate level." The board called for "a new practitioner-oriented 'workforce bachelor's degree' which emphasizes the competencies demanded in a contemporary business environment." This degree, the board stressed, "represents the natural and logical next evolution of Florida's community colleges."
The process continued. A committee of the Florida Council of Community College Presidents developed a course of action that would require approval of such baccalaureate programs by the local District Board of Trustees, the State Board of Community Colleges and the Postsecondary Education Planning Commission. Since then, both houses of the Florida legislature, with unanimity, passed a bill authorizing baccalaureate degrees at community colleges under certain conditions. The state governor signed it into law.
And now we have results. This year, the state's board of education authorized Miami-Dade Community College to grant baccalaureate degrees in education. It also authorized Edison Community College to offer a joint baccalaureate degree with Florida Gulf Coast University -- a four-year institution -- with the programs, in public service management and computer technology, available at the Edison University Center.
We cannot escape the fact that the needs of a technology-based society will drive major changes in higher education. And we cannot simply revise old strategies; we must create completely new ones. Competition from both the private for-profit and nonprofit sectors will impel public institutions to rethink their missions and their visions in the years ahead. State governments, spurred by the voters, will urge public universities, regional colleges and community colleges to find efficient, effective and accountable ways to meet the ever-increasing demand for affordable access to baccalaureate degrees. The answer may lie in the community college curriculum and degree process itself, with the needs and interests of students paramount.
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Kenneth P. Walker is president of Edison Community College in Fort Myers, Florida, and president of the Community College Baccalaureate Association. Copyright © 2000 Kenneth P. Walker.
