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The term Community College is used almost exclusively in the United States and Canada to describe an alternative post-secondary educational institution; similar institutions in other regions are known as Junior, technical, vocational or workers’ colleges. Depending upon location and philosophical mandate these establishments vary in programs and services they offer as well as the type of students they attract. Despite these variations, all such institutions share many commonalities; smaller in size and more focused on a core set of programs than traditional four-year universities, community colleges offer lower-level tertiary education, grant certificates, diplomas and sometimes offer Associate degrees.

See discussion of the word college.

History

Community colleges are phenomena that began in North America before becoming widespread throughout the world. Though there have been numerously different reasons for the creation of each individual institution, there appears to be general issues affecting the local and national community that contributed to the implementing of community Colleges. Such events as urbanization, industrialization, and economic development all lead to environments favoring community colleges.

In America, community colleges began as extensions of high schools, like the first established in Joliet, Illinois in 1901. These first colleges tended to be small, usually less than 200 students and focused on a liberal arts education with the goal of transferring students to four-year institutions. During the Great Depression, the need for developing a workforce, especially composed of “semiprofessionals” that were seen as individuals who could advance past high school but not attain bachelor level degrees, gained national attention. A move for more public two-year institutions along with a trend to separate such institutions from high schools and affiliate with higher education gained momentum, and junior colleges became encouraged to develop more credibility through the creation of professional criteria and use of scientific methods.

It was not until after WWII that community colleges became an important factor of higher education in America. The educational opportunities that the G.I. Bill presented, coupled with the rise in adult education in response to the demand for skilled jobs and President Truman’s 1947 Commission, which suggested a network of public community colleges that would provide education to a diverse group of students at little or no cost along with serving community needs through a comprehensive mission, all helped to foster the role of the community college. The Kellogg Junior College Leadership Program produced a series of grants during the 1960s and 1970s that helped to keep community colleges funded in addition to meeting the needs of the exponential increase in enrollment from the baby boom generation.

During the reconstruction of Europe after World War II, as economies and industries started to stabilize once again, junior and technical colleges became prominent. In The United Kingdom, community colleges were used to describe a system in which 16 to 18 year olds received training and adults received part-time education. In Germany, cooperation between the government, industry and educational sectors (especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall) gave rise to vocational schools called Berufsschulen. Some systems in Europe existed before WWII. In Finland, junior and vocational schools became an outgrowth of folk high schools, a Scandinavian tradition that dates back to the nineteenth century, wherein adults came to take classes for any period of time. During the twentieth century, the idea of folk high schools was expanded to include separate technical and vocational schools. European Junior colleges still emphasize balance between continuing education and “Cultural Education” .

After the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of independent Arabic states after World War I, such Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan took educational concerns very seriously. The government’s focus on primary, secondary and traditional postsecondary schooling shifted in the 1970s due to a large shortage of skilled labor. The community colleges that resulted are probably the most similar to American and Canadian schools found anywhere outside the North American continent. These schools offered Associate Degrees as well as vocational and technical training. Lebanon and Israel were other Middle Eastern countries that experimented with community colleges, although violence and instability hindered the impact of the community college in the 1970s and 1980s.

The industrialization of Asia in the mid twentieth century spurred the growth of vocational and technical schools in the continent. During the occupational period of Japan after WWII, previously existing institutions were turned into private Junior Colleges. These colleges had two distinct areas of focus: the first was to help prepare male students for any licensing and certification requirements needed to gain entry level positions in the Japanese economy; secondly, they encourage women to take the opportunity for an education before marriage. In China, provincial vocational universities were established in the 1980s to help industries at the local level meet their skilled labor requirements. Neither of these institutions viewed the community college as a stepping-stone to traditional education; hence, junior colleges were and still are primarily terminal institutions.

The growth of the community college was slower in Africa during the twentieth century then in the rest of the world, due to poverty, violence and political instability throughout the region. However, there are many examples of community colleges that have done well in the continent. In Ethiopia, the Commission for Higher Education recognized the need for technical and vocational colleges and started creating some during the late 1970s. Institutions for training peasants in more efficient agricultural methods were set up for several years . In Ghana, illiteracy among adults, especially women, gave rise to the Institute of Adult Education, an affiliate of the University of Ghana.

Governance

Most community colleges are operated either by special districts that draw property tax revenue from the local community, or by a division of the state university. In the first case, the special district is governed by an board of trustees that is elected by the local community and is subject to limited control by a state agency that supervises all community college districts. Either way, the board or the state university selects a president, who then acts as the chief executive officer of the college and controls the faculty and staff.

In Africa, community colleges tend to be expansions of larger universities, operating under the supervision of the national government agency in charge of education, which is primarily responsible for funding. In Asia, community colleges are governed differently. Local municipalities are solely responsible for funding and administering vocational colleges in their cities in China. Japanese Junior Colleges are governed directly by the National Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, but receive minimal funding, while others are privatized and must only meet governmental regulations. Community Colleges in Europe and some Middle Eastern countries also operate directly under national ministries and departments, receiving the majority of their funding and guidelines from the federal government.

Enrollment

In North America, community colleges operate under a policy of "open admission". That is, anyone with a high school diploma or GED may attend, regardless of prior academic status or college entrance exam scores.

The "open admission" policy results in a wide range of students attending community college classes. Students range in age from teenagers in high school taking classes under a "concurrent enrollment" policy (which allows both high school and college credits to be earned simultaneously) to working adults taking classes at night to complete a degree or gain additional skills in their field to students with graduate degrees who enroll to become more employable or to pursue lifelong interests. "Reverse transfers" (or those transferring from a university) constitute one of the fastest growing new community college college cohorts.

“Open admission” policies provide certain groups, such as women and adults, opportunities to seek out educational offerings they would not normally have in such regions as Africa and the Middle East. In these places, improving literacy among adults with little education has been a primary goal as has giving women a more equal opportunity to explore academic and vocational options. However, in some countries such as Japan, there is no “open admission” policy for Junior colleges. Eligibility is based upon entrance exams and test scores.

Educational offerings

Community colleges generally offer three levels of study programs.

The first level of study is toward an associate's degree, in which a student takes necessary courses needed to earn a degree that will allow for workforce entry into jobs requiring some level of college education but not a full four-year degree. The associate's degree program also allows for students who wish to eventually obtain a bachelor's degree at a four-year college to complete the necessary "core" requirements to attend the college of their choice.

Many community colleges have arrangements with nearby four-year institutions, where a student obtaining an associate's degree in a field will automatically have his/her classes counted toward the bachelor's degree requirement. For example, a community college associate's degree in hotel and restaurant management, computers or accounting would count toward the four-year school's core requirement for a Business Administration degree. Some have gone one step further, having arrangements with a four-year college for the student to obtain the bachelor's degree from the four-year college while taking all the courses via distance learning or other non-traditional modes, on the community college campus, thus limiting the number of trips to the four-year school.

The second level of study is towards certification in an area of training (such as nursing, computer repair, or welding), which require preparation for a state or national examination, or where certification would allow for hiring preference or a higher salary upon entering the workforce.

The third level of study offers services of local interest to members of the community, such as job placement, adult continuing education classes (either for personal achievement or to maintain certification in specialized fields), and developmental classes for children. Some community colleges offer opportunities for students to return and earn a high school diploma or obtain a GED. Community colleges often work with local employers to develop specialized classes tailored toward their organization's needs.

The Future of Community Colleges

Outside of North America and Europe, the future of the community colleges is far from secure. Junior college programs begin and end commonly in African nations due to monetary and political issues. Even in such places as Israel, where community colleges have been established for some time, there is serious consideration as to whether or not these institutions actually benefit society. Differing opinions on education will surely be a debate as long as there are educational systems. Those in favor of community college argue that they are “an investment that ensures both the social prestige and economic security of the country and its people”.

Certainly these institutions offer a ‘second-chance’ to those who were unable or unwilling to seek out such opportunity at an earlier time. They are also ‘doors’ for those unable to go directly into 4-year colleges after high school to the world of academia. The vocational and technical skills one can acquire at these institutions have been proven to help economies in Asia, and it certainly is desirable to have an educated workforce and society. Despite these benefits, there are those that still adhere to the traditional forms of higher education. Much of the cost of most community colleges must be subsidized since tuition is extremely low, and opponents believe that such money should help maintain the important research and prestige of traditional four-year schools. Universities, after all, have been around much longer, have become much more accessible and are capable of producing an educated workforce.

The future of community colleges will be determined by the economic, monetary and political aspects of each individual region.

External links

• American Association of Community Colleges
• Association of Community College Trustees
• Illinois Community College Trustees Association
• Association for Community Colleges - a new European movement
• League for Innovation
• The Instructional Role of the Two-Year College Learning Resources Center
• Center for Community College Policy
• The Economic Outcomes of Community College Attendance
• Building an Instructional Framework for Effective Community College Developmental Education
• The Role of Scholarship in the Community College
• Internationalizing the Community College: Examples of Success
• Community Colleges in the United States
• Institutional Effectiveness at a Community College
• Confessions of a Community College Dean (Blog)
• NISOD (The University of Texas)
• Encyclopedia of the Nations
• ERIC Digest Database

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

American Association of Community Colleges. http://www.aacc.nche.edu/

Baker, G. A. III (1994). A handbook on the community college in America: Its history, mission, and management. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Dougherty, K. J. (1994). The contradictory college: The conflicting origins, impacts, and futures of the community college. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Frye, J. H. (1992). The vision of the public junior college, 1900-1940. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Kasper, H. T. (2002). The changing role of community college. Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 46(4), 14-21.

Murray, J.P (2002). The current state of faculty development in two-year colleges. New Directions for Community Colleges, 118, 89-97.

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