Are Community Colleges “Home-School Friendly?”: An Exploration of Community College Web Sites as an Indicator of “Friendliness”

Abstract

With the popularity of home schooling strengthening at the secondary level, the prevalence of home schoolers now attempting to enter higher education is escalating. Community colleges, however, may be inadvertently closing our doors to home-schooled applicants. This content analysis study uses the Home School Legal Defense Association's recommended college admissions policies as an indicator of home-school friendly cultures in an inductive analysis of admissions information appearing on 105 community college Web sites in an 11-state accreditation region. Findings suggest that community college Web sites frequently do not provide information for home-schooled applicants, and home-school admissions policies often differ from college to college. Suggestions for improvement include customizing information to better meet the needs of the individual audiences visiting the site, adding a “doorway” or “landing page,” posting YouTube-type videos, and providing interactive functions—such as instant messaging and live online chat rooms—for students to communicate with admissions officers as they explore college options. Implications for community colleges and future research are also provided.