By Jonathan Turk
Living in the DC area means I rely heavily on the Metrobus system to commute to work and get around the city. The other day, before I could get my earbuds in, I noticed that transit authority had come up with a new way to raise revenue: audio advertisements on the bus. My first reaction was, “Great, my 40-minute commute to ACE is now going to be one long infomercial.”
But the second ad that came on caught my attention. “Some people still think an education from Northern Virginia Community College is just . . . settling,” the narrator said incredulously. The ad went on to talk about Northern Virginia Community College’s (NOVA) excellent faculty, lower tuition prices, and the connections between our local labor market needs and their educational offerings.
While the ad was clearly trying to encourage more students to enroll at NOVA, it was also doing something more—challenging misperceptions about the quality and value of the education students can receive at their local community college. The ad was taking on the community college stigma.
Those in the community college sector are no strangers to the myths and misconceptions that lead many students and their families to view community colleges as second-class institutions. I won’t spend any of my limited space here rehashing them. Rather, let’s focus on some key facts about community colleges and then discuss how we can dismantle this harmful stereotype.
Fact 1: Community colleges serve more students than any other single sector of higher education.
In 2016, community colleges served nearly half (46 percent) of all undergraduates enrolled in higher education. That’s over 8.5 million students. Public four-year colleges and universities enrolled 31 percent, followed by private nonprofit four-year institutions at 15 percent, and for-profit institutions at 8 percent.
Fact 2: Community colleges provide excellent educational opportunities at a lower price.
Community colleges provide opportunities for students to learn and acquire the skills necessary to be competitive in today’s workforce. By providing access to high-quality faculty, smaller class sizes, and a variety of postsecondary credentials, community colleges prepare students for good jobs and—for those who desire it—a pathway to a bachelor’s degree.
Community colleges do this and so much more while also keeping tuition costs lower. According to the College Board, the average published in-district tuition and fees charged by community colleges in 2017–18 was $3,560. Public four-year institutions charged $9,980, private nonprofit four-year institutions charged $34,700, and for-profit institutions charged $14,000.
Fact 3: Almost half (49 percent) of all students who earn a bachelor’s degree first enroll in a community college.
Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, Two-Year Contributions to Four-Year completions, 2017 https://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/SnapshotReport26.pdf
Fact 4: Community college graduates have greater employment outcomes and earn more than non-graduates.
Original source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2016 5-Year Estimates (2012–16); featured in Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report (table 11.6)
How to end the stigma
With the facts on the table (or on the bus, as it were), what can be done to promote community colleges and remove the stigma? I don’t have all of the answers, but here are some suggestions.
Promote community colleges as a first choice
Take a closer look at the messages students in elementary and high school receive about community colleges. Too many students are made to think of community colleges as a second or fallback option. Instead, high school counselors and others in the education sphere should share the facts about community colleges with students and their families to demonstrate that these institutions provide both a quality education and a good value.
The national student-to-counselor ratio is now almost 500 to 1, double what is recommended by the American School Counselor Association. These numbers mean school counselors are often unable to provide all of their students with comprehensive college and career counseling. But even when a school district has more counseling resources, it’s not clear that the counselors are fully equipped to help students consider their community college options.
According to a recent report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, while high school counselors felt generally prepared to advise students about community colleges, many felt less knowledgeable about transfer policies at local four-year colleges and the pros and cons of community colleges versus for-profit colleges. This is a major problem, especially given the much lower cost of attending a community college and the role community colleges play in transfer.
We need more professional development for counselors around community college admissions and transfer. But it’s not the only solution. Classroom educators can also help support the career exploration of their students. Teachers should look for opportunities to integrate college and career exploration activities into their existing course content and assignments. Empower students to begin research and consider a wide variety of potential professions and education options. Educators who attended a community college themselves should share their stories as yet another way to reinforce the value of a community college education. Don’t miss an opportunity to show students a real-life example of the success a community college education can provide.
Eliminate barriers to transfer
For those that attend community college, after six years only about a third transfer to a four-year institution. Why? A recent study from the Government Accountability Office found that students lost 43 percent of their credits when transferring from one higher education institution to another. That works out to an average of about 13 credits lost per student. Even more, when credits are accepted, they may only be applied as elective credit as opposed to major credit.
But transferring colleges is not uncommon among today’s students. According to the National Student Clearinghouse, almost 40 percent of all students enrolled in higher education transferred at least once within six years of first enrolling. If we want students and their families to have confidence in the quality of a community college education, then higher education leaders across all sectors need to promote transfer pathways that accept the credits earned at community colleges. This will require greater collaboration among community colleges and four-year institutions to produce better and more efficient transfer and articulation policies.
Reject educational elitism and better support community colleges
As a society, we need to have a discussion about inequality and elitism in education. Where an individual grows up, their race, and how much money is in their bank account still play an unacceptably high role in their access to high-quality education at all levels. As the recent high-profile college admissions scandal makes clear, our society equates exclusivity and large sticker prices with quality. The more expensive the tuition and the fewer individuals admitted, the better the quality—or so the logic goes. This mindset, which contributes to the idea of community colleges as inferior, is the same line of thought (along with a sense of unbridled entitlement) that led dozens of individuals to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to fraudulently ensure their children a place at a highly selective university.
Community colleges accept 100 percent of applicants with a high school diploma or equivalent credential and offer high-quality educational opportunities, all while keeping their tuition low to maximize access. This should be viewed positively rather than with skepticism. We need to rethink our higher education finance policies to adequately fund our community colleges and other public less-selective and open-admissions colleges and universities. Policymakers should do more to end elitism by supporting and rewarding institutions that provide the greatest access to low-income, first-generation, and other underserved student populations. Help these institutions develop additional capacities to continue to serve and better serve students of all backgrounds.
Northern Virginia Community College got it right: an education at a community college isn’t settling. But the millions of students that could be best served by a community college need more encouragement than just an ad on a bus. They need real support from their counselors, from four-year colleges and universities, from policymakers, their families, and from society as a whole.
It’s easy to tune out calls for community colleges to receive that support, but it’s harder to ignore the facts. Let’s acknowledge that a real solution to so many of our challenges around affordability, access, and success lies in our community colleges.
Holly McKenna
This article made so many great points to share with everyone. I have been pushing community colleges for years as a parent and educator because it is a logical choice for many students and the colleges deserve our continued support and promotion. Thank you for writing this article as student debt grows and scandals arise. Community colleges certainly do deserve more than a bus ad.
Gillian Backus
Let’s add to this conversation the stigma of being a community college faculty. My graduate school advisor clearly thought that teaching at a 2-year college was beneath my degree (and an affront to his reputation and training). But I love teaching at a Community College! It allows me to focus on researching the pedagogy of teaching, an art and a science unto itself. How can we get graduate advisors to acknowledge that community college teaching careers are viable, high-quality, and respectable ways to share our knowledge?
Laura Orgon MacCarthy
Proud NOVA adjunct faculty member here! Love my job and my students – and truly believe in community college’s ability to change lives!
Clifford Barr
My professional career was equally divided between service as a faculty member/administrator at private, residential, four-year liberal arts colleges (2) and public two-year community colleges (2). I have tremendous respect for both type of institutions. BOTH are doing excellent jobs of serving the students who choose to enroll.
Dawn Sanford
As a non-traditional student, I felt more welcome at the community college level (my fondest memories are of my community college professors). I went on to transfer to a four-year institution and was treated as an outcast for being a non-traditional student. Community colleges get a bad reputation but without community colleges, I think many students would not take the step to attend college. Through affordability and accessibility, community colleges provide local citizens with opportunities to reach goals and attain a better life for their families!
Bryan Reece
Jonathan, thank you for taking the time to write this important post. As a life-long community college educator, I have been fighting this stigma for nearly 3 decades. Many community college employees feel this stigma and many students do as well. This is an important issue to address because community colleges, more so than their colleague institutions, work with students from historically under-served communities; from cycles of low income and poverty; from recent immigrant histories; from families with no college-going tradition; and more. These students already have the academic odds stacked against them and to add a stigma to their efforts is a national problem we need to address. I’ve been trying to address these issues as well at http://www.bryanreecephd.com.
Angelo Kendrick
Jonathan, thank your for your insight on the necessity to erase the community college stigma. I attended the community college that I am currently employed with, as a recruiter. The college provided me a strong educational foundation. Your article shed light on some great points that I will incorporate in my recruiting activities. Great post.
Sandra Adlawon
What an insightful article! Community colleges have a huge role to play in tackling the dearth of skilled workers in US manufacturing sector, because these colleges empower communities with important skills at the grassroot levels. This makes them capable enough to contribute towards the whole economy.
TS Bray
Part of the reason I enjoyed my CC experience was because of non-traditional students. My classes were a mix of young, fresh-out-of-high-school kids and older people with life experience. I learned so much from just talking with people who had returned to college to change careers or simply better themselves. It was the best thing for me as a young person. It expanded my world view in so many powerful ways.
chlo
TS Bray I agree with you on this! I’ve learned so much from my classmates young and older.
Eric Einhorn
Although I have neither attended nor taught at a community college, I believe they are an essential part of the US higher education system. I served as a faculty transfer students advisor for many years. My impression of AA/AS students transferring into U. Mass. Amherst was very positive. Many were older and more mature and had a clearer sense of what they wanted to study and accomplish. Like most public universities, U.Mass has a transfer “pact” with state community colleges. We are also very liberal in accepting advanced placement and transfer credits in general.
Especially in the East, but to a great extent nationally, the “model” of college is the “Joe/Jane College” example from films, TV, and literature. Harvard and U. Texas are great places for many students who have the credentials and financial resources. Yes, students enjoy college sports, extracurricular activities, parties etc, but they come at a price. And in moderation they also are available to community college students.
Another small but expanding model is making community (and four-year undergraduate) college courses available to qualified high school students. More is needed.
David
Excellent points made here and now very timely with President Biden’s birth-to-college plan. As a parent and former CC student, I worry mostly about the stigma that is noted below. Unless there is some pact between a particular CC and 4-yr institution, how are those admissions officers- especially at the selective schools– viewing that resume and transcript? Worse, when applying to a graduate degree program or med or law school, how will 2 yrs of CC be valued compared to someone who could afford 4 yrs at a traditional 4-yr university? Those gatekeepers and their institution’s desire to be “ranked” higher is a big concern as I weigh options for my son who graduates next year..
Rich Brown
I had the extreme misfortune of attending and graduating from a community college and I wouldn’t wish my horrendous experience on my worst enemy. It was a complete waste of time, money, and effort.
I graduated with a 3.0 GPA, but was not able to transfer to a four year college, in my home state, because as an incoming junior, there was no space available for me in my major course of study. I attempted to transfer to three four year colleges, and received the same response. I could however, change my major, which I didn’t want to do, or I could transfer to an out-of-state four year college and lose up to 50% of my credits, which would have cost me more money and time.
There is no alliance for transferring from a two year college to a four year college in my state. It’s better to go straight to a four year college and earn the B.A./B.S.
I had to apply to an out-of-state college in order to earn my B.A. but my credits were transferred as elective credits, so I had to retake my major credits again and could not pursue elective classes that I would have liked to have taken. Also, I lost 43 credits due to having earned them at a community college. Bottom line: DON’T GO TO A COMMUNITY COLLEGE.