Community College News

Community colleges have become a major focus of post-secondary education since President Obama made them one of his top focus areas over the first two years of his administration. Last year, the first national community college survey was conducted to determine what impact community colleges might have on adults and industries nationwide. The Pearson Foundation's data share insight into who attends community college today and some of the major challenges these institutions and their students face.

Who is Attending Community College?

One part of the survey looked at the types of students community colleges frequently see today, and the results were reported in the Washington Post. This information can help colleges determine the best courses, faculty, and schedules to accommodate their student body demographics. The Pearson Foundation study found:

• One-third of the student population at community colleges enrolled right after graduating from high school.
• One-third were returning to college from the workforce, presumably to get additional training for their current jobs or the education necessary to switch careers.
• One-third were taking community college courses for self-improvement or enjoyment purposes.
• Half the students surveyed were age 26 or older.
• About 60 percent were planning to transfer to a four-year university after completing their community college degree program (the actual transfer rates are much lower).

Most community college students are much older than those attending a four-year university. In addition, many community college students have already been in the workforce; many are married and have families. This changes the

During the current economic slowdown, more adults are heading back to community college to get the necessary retraining for more lucrative careers. High school graduates that cannot afford a four-year university right away are looking at community colleges as a less expensive route to the education they need. It sounds like community colleges are the perfect answer, right?

Unfortunately, community colleges are not the white knight that many struggling in a sluggish economy would hope. These institutions are facing diminishing financing themselves, at a time when enrollment demand for a community college education is at an all time high. Many community colleges across the country are facing the inconceivable reality of turning students away at the door because there is simply no more room in the classes to accommodate them. One of the states that has been hit hardest with the community college overload is California – and it doesn't look like there is any relief in sight.

Long Wait Lists and Less Support Available

According to a recent report at the Los Angeles Times, more than 140,000 students were turned away from community colleges in California during the last academic year. This year, the number of students who can't get into classes is predicted to be double. At Cypress College, around 6,200 students were on wait lists for courses last year, with 13,000 more waiting at Bakersfield College and as many as 80,000 in the Los Rios

Community college enrollment is gaining steam across the country, thanks in part to the current administration's focus on these educational institutions. However, some community colleges are growing faster than others due to the programs they offer and other significant factors. We will look at some of the hotbeds of community college enrollment growth and the key factors impacting the sudden popularity of these institutions.

Reasons for Growth

There are many reasons why community college enrollment continues to grow at an astronomical pace around the country. According to a report in Community College Week, the biggest reason for the growth is the Great Recession of 2007, which put many adults in this country out of work and sent them back to school to get training in a more lucrative profession. It is no secret that an economic slowdown can increase college enrollment. However, the current economic conditions, due to the degree and longevity of the problems, have strained community colleges past the point of being able to adequately serve all the students coming to them for an education.

The Obama Administration has also played a role in the increase in community college student bodies. President Obama has called on this country to produce another five million college graduates by 2020 in response to news that the United States has fallen to 10^th among industrialized nations in terms of educational attainment. Colleges have been scrambling to answer the call as federal funding has come

Social media and social mores have once again collided in a Midwestern controversy involving a community college and four of its nursing students. A lawsuit was filed in Kansas last week by one of the nursing students, Doyle Byrnes, charging that Johnson County Community College dismissed her without due process after she posted photographs of herself with a human placenta on her Facebook page. The college said the students behaved unprofessionally, and the school's decision to dismiss them as appropriate under the circumstances. We will take a look at both sides of the controversy in this article.

How it Happened

According to a report on Inside Higher Ed, the nursing students from the college took a trip to nearby Olathe Medical Center in November. The purpose of the trip was to learn about the functions of the placenta, the organ that supplies life-sustaining nutrients to a growing fetus inside the womb. The medical center provided a donated human placenta as an example for the lesson.

During the lesson, Byrnes and three of her classmates asked the community college instructor, Amber Delphia, if they could take photographs of the placenta in question. According to a report at the Courthouse News Service, Byrnes also told Delphia she intended to post the photographs on Facebook. Byrnes said that Delphia allowed them to take the pictures, after ensuring no indentifying information about the patient would be included in the photos. When Byrnes told her about the Facebook intentions,

Community colleges have seen a significant rise in enrollment since the economic slowdown began, due in part to the need for retraining into careers that are more lucrative and recession-proof. As waiting lists for community colleges across the country continue to grow, some students are turning to vocational, for-profit colleges to meet their academic needs in the interim. Unfortunately, certain rather unscrupulous practices by these for-profit institutions have resulted in federal regulations that will negatively affect the community college environment as well.

What is the Gainful Employment Rule?

While community colleges offer associate's degrees in a wide range of subjects, they also provide specific job training in particular fields that takes less time to complete. For-profit institutions also offer these training programs to help students get through school and into the workforce as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, some of these training programs do not offer the necessary preparation in fields that are demanding new hires, leaving students without gainful employment and additional debt from their schooling that they cannot pay.

To address this concern, the Federal Department of Education has put forth a rule known as the Gainful Employment Rule. This regulation will discourage career colleges from providing misleading information about the employment prospects students can expect after completing their training. The rule targets predatory career colleges that purposely provide inaccurate industry information and encourage students to take out loans for career training that has little chance of producing a lucrative job –