Running head: HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

The Community Colleges Struggles Maria Lauro Georgia Southern University

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Historical Analysis Paper Abstract

The community college has been presented with several obstacles since its inception. The purpose of a two year college is to provide a point of access to higher education for the student. This paper will speak to the beginning purpose of the community college and its metamorphous into todays business model. The shift from the untouchable pristine halls of learning to a viable business, higher education has been put under a microscope. As a point of access, the two year schools have often been viewed as a lesser than in the realm of higher education. The community college has been often dubbed as second best. A community college isnt always a students first choice. But, for the students who didnt make the grades or who didnt score high enough on the standardized test, an access school could be their only option. The stigmas placed on two year institutions, makes student involvement and school loyalty difficult. In addition, my research regarding graduation and retention will explore the fairness of holding a two year institution to the same standards as a four-year college. The paper will also examine how adhering to admissions deadlines could alleviate students academic pitfalls and provide them with great customer service.

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Community College The Community Colleges Struggles Purpose The time period from 1920-1945 ushered in a change in college accessibility. There was a shift away from being a scarce commodity and an elite experience to offering higher education to a more diverse population (Thelin, 2011, p. 205) .Upon inception, the community colleges were considered to be one of the success stories between the world wars because they provided affordable, geographic accessible college studies (Thelin, 2011, p. 250) . Legislation, tax payers and the war had spawned a new found appreciation for higher education. This appreciation was especially true for the community college. Community colleges began sprouting up nationwide. Since that time period, the two year colleges have undergone drastic transformations. Historical events, such as: war, the recession and pressures to contend in an economically driven society has contributed to the metamorphosis of the community college. As the text book author noted at one time, going to college was a rite of initiation that bonded student and alumni (Thelin, 2011, p. 164) . For most students their vision is to attend an elite school or a school that has a strong athletics department. As a point of access,

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the community college doesnt fit into that vision. At the two year level, sometimes the athletics department lacks funding for teams or the student interest isnt there. Although, having athletics would be an added attraction to the community college, it doesnt serve into the purpose of the entity. The purposes for the two year schools are to: remediated, educated and either transfer or graduate students. Often, students come to the access schools because their high school grade point average didnt qualify them for a four year institution. Testing is another reason why students start at the access schools first. Standardized testing is a tool used to gage a students achievements and abilities. However, if those scores arent were they need to be then a two year school is the next option. Access schools offer learning support classes to assist students in obtaining the skill level needed to succeed in college level courses. The Obstacles Two year schools have seen a growth explosion. By 1980, over one million students were enrolled at a two year college. This was a fifteen-fold increase over three decades (Thelin, 2011, p. 322) . Great, the students are admitted, now what? In an economically driven society, the bottom line is what matters. Schools have been be quested to change their daily operations to reflect that of a business. Community colleges are plagued with the challenge to produce numbers. It is extremely difficult to measure graduation and retention at the two year level. The data doesnt always ring true and the numbers are skewed. Some would say that its unfair to hold the two year institution to the same quantifying measures as the four year colleges.

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Second best is how some would see the two year institution. The four year institution cast a shadow of doubt on the preparedness and effectiveness of students who have transferred from the two year institutions. The first concern was that the junior college wasnt doing an effective job at retention. Therefore, population of transfer students declined. The second concern was the integrity of the education that the transfer student received at the two year school. Often the core education was substandard for students to succeed at the fouryear colleges. One way that the two year institutions have found to help increase the graduation retention rate is through the student service department. For example, at Georgia Highlands College, we have an academic prevention program that monitors a certain population of students, based on: grades, attendance and completion of classes. Those students are required to meet with the academic board at least one time during the semester and they must have an advisor register them for classes. The data on just how affective the program is has not been disclosed. Such precautionary measures have been used throughout the history of higher education. As indicated in the text book, resources had to go into a variety of support services to help undergraduates stay afloat academically (Thelin, 2011, p. 329) . Considerations Diversification of student population brings its own set of challenges. Access institutions are vying to keep up. The veteran student must be recognized and appreciated as a sector of the student population. The same post war student enrollment explosion that took place after the implementation of the GI BILL has been going on with the implementation of

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the POST 911 BILL. Student Support Services must find ways to accommodate veterans without budget allotments. Today, the economy has prompted employers to be more selective in choosing employees. Before hiring employees, companies are requiring their workers to return to school for a degree. In other instances, employees who have worked in a position for years are being required to go back to school. On the job experience is being replaced with a college degree. Dislocated workers and students who need education for work are another sector of the student population that may need additional tutoring and flexibility in class schedules. Title IV recipients make up the majority of the student population at access colleges. Special attention must be paid to their academic performance and their overall retention. The financial aid departments are doing more to educate the students on how failing classes or withdrawing from classes may cause them to owe money back or lose financial aid. Also, students who decide to make a career out of being a student are in jeopardy of reaching there maximum hours for financial aid. It is extremely important that this population be encouraged to graduate or transfer to a four year school. Implications External forces that have brought on the need for higher education to reevaluate status quo are: the economy, the consumer and the government. The economy has given the employer the upper hand to be more selective on who they hire. As such, more degrees and specialized training is requested of potential candidates. The tax payers and consumers want tangible results. Both the federal and state governments want the allotted educational funding

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to produce results. As the text mentioned, the twenty first century has placed higher education in defensive posture (Thelin, 2011, p. 363) . Americas education system realizes that certain aspects of the entity are broken or is in extreme disarray. The higher education system has begun to revisit and revamp regulations and daily operations. The expense of these changes has been largely funded by the colleges. Budget cuts are common place and are here to stay. The definition of the access school has been fluid and has gone through changes. The mission of the community college is to admit and retain students until time for transfer or graduation. Student service has taken this role seriously both academically and financially. Students who receive financial aid are warned of the impact that poor performance or withdrawing has on the Title IV funding. Unfortunately, the two year institutions are held to the same graduation and retention measures as the four year institutions. It places added pressures on the access schools to admit students. However, they must be selective, and so the access schools are retooling the admissions process. The Board of Regents recently made changes to how the COMPASS placement testing would be interpreted. Furthermore, with the changes, it isnt considered a placement test, but instead an admissions test. According to the Board of Regents website, students required to take the Compass exam and who earn scores placing them into all three areas of learning support (reading, English, math) are not eligible for admission to any USG institution (Student Affairs, 2010 ) . This leaves the student with the choices of attending a technical school or none at all.

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Conclusion As an administrator at Georgia Highlands College, a school that was recently granted permission to offer four- year degrees, I have witnessed the ramification of being a part of a second choice school. Admissions deadlines were never enforced and often the student service department would go above and beyond to register the late admit student. Our school has been so accommodating to the late admit student, almost to a fault. Sometimes, abbreviated orientations are held the first day of class. The ramifications of such practices appear later via the students academic success. As an institution, we are doing the late admit students a disservice, because they are rushed through the orientation and registration process. Additionally, the fluidity and inconsistency in adhering to deadlines have caused a heavy work load for the staff, which leads to backlash and to a negative work environment.

References
Student Affairs. (2010 , August ). Retrieved from http://www.usg.edu/student_affairs/students/admissions_enrollment/ls_requirements Thelin, J. R. (2011). A History of American Higher Education . Baltimore : The John Hopkins University Press .

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