Community College Mission Research Articles

Exploring the Lived Experiences of Faculty of Color Seeking Full-Time Employment in Rural Community Colleges

The mission of community colleges is to create affordable pathways for students to enter the workforce or transfer into 4-year universities . However, community colleges have not been successful in efforts to assist Students of Color in completing an associate degree or transferring . Therefore, efforts have been made to increase the number of faculty of color in community colleges as they are influential in student success but faculty of color experience systematic oppression in higher education. Faculty of color in rural community colleges experience discrimination but do not want to share their concerns for fear of retribution in the conservative environment This study explored the experiences of faculty of color in rural community colleges as they transitioned from adjunct roles into tenure-track or tenured positions. An interpretivist phenomenological study using semistructured interviews was conducted on ten participants across three rural California community colleges. The findings from this study show that the participants had negative experiences in obtaining full-time employment in rural community colleges. However, they were able to obtain more experience and education during their pursuit of a tenured position. In addition, the participants saw themselves as agents of change in creating a more positive experience for students of color.

Competing, Coordinating, or Collaborating: Perspectives on the Community College Baccalaureate Within the Context of Mission Differentiation

ABSTRACT Today, half of all states authorize at least one community college to offer bachelor’s degree programs. In the past five years alone, eight states have authorized community colleges to offer baccalaureate programs. Given the momentum behind this movement, we sought to qualitatively explore higher education leaders’ perceptions of the role of community college baccalaureate (CCB) programs in the U.S. system of higher education. To do this, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 senior leaders at community colleges, state higher education agencies, and higher education associations. Our sample also included leaders in locations that currently authorize CCB programs and those that do not. We asked leaders to share their perspectives on the mission and role of community colleges and public universities, and to reflect on how CCB programs complement or complicate these missions and roles. While leaders offered differing views on CCB programs, what they shared were insights into the blurring of a once sharp dividing line between community colleges and public universities. Emerging from the interviews were interesting perspectives on inter-institutional collaboration, coordination, and competition in the era of the CCB. We conclude our study with recommendations for policy and practice.

Funding Community Colleges in Nepal: Issues and Mitigation Measures

The regular development grants provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to community colleges are the most important financial support to them. UGC is also supporting its faculties and students through fellowship and scholarship schemes which are another milestone to foster the mission of community colleges. Besides, local governments, individuals, student fees, donations, alumnae support, and income from religious works are also sources of funding. These qualitative and empirical methods based on secondary sources with the eyes of social justice theory in education aim to investigate the funding modality of UGC and its impact on access to higher education. It also aims to point out some of the problems, and issues and highlight the implications of funding, in the Nepalese context. It was found that the input-based funding modality which was based on the indicators such as several students, location, programs, pass rate, and many more was insufficient to promote the access, quality, and relevancy of higher education in community colleges in Nepal.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on allied health programs at the University of the District of Columbia Community College (UDC-CC): an analytical case study

The overall mission of community colleges encompasses several key components and principles, such as being cost-effective, accessible, serving as a pathway to four-year institutions, and preparing students for the workforce entry-level positions. However, 1,167 community colleges in the United States of America have been facing one of the worst threats to humanity in the 21st century, the coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 is a communicable sickness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (World Health Organization, 2022).1 The viral outbreak took the entire world by surprise with paralytic consequences on health, economy, and education. Millions of people lost their lives related to the COVID-19 infection. Worldwide, individual and public lifestyle changes, such as wearing facemasks, travel bans, and quarantines became mandatory due to the fast virus outbreak. Actions were taken worldwide to contain and slow down the spread of the virus and its adverse effects. On March 13, 2020, US President Trump declared a national coronavirus emergency.2 People were mandated to stay and work from home in isolation. In the United States, specifically in the academic sector, instantaneous unscheduled closures of schools were implemented. Faculty and students were forced to stay at home and convert to remote learning. Reviewing the impact of COVID-19 on community college faculty and students, we conducted a literature search of hundreds of publications on the impact of COVID-19 and its effects on health and education, and surveyed several students, faculty, and staff in our division. We found multiple publications on the consequences of the pandemic on education, healthcare providers, university staff, and students. This article presents the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the faculty and students in the division of Nursing, Allied Health, Life, and Physical Sciences (NAHLPS) at an inner-city HBCU Community College.

Theories supporting board reform

AbstractThis chapter reviews social and organizational theories that influence governance to contextualize new ways to think about the roles of boards of trustees. This chapter discusses how various organizational theories help define the roles of boards of trustees, the CEO, and other stakeholders with respect to governance. Using this backdrop, reforms to advance thinking about board operations that advance the mission of community colleges are presented. For example, student success and equity are at the forefront of challenges facing community college leaders and their boards. Understanding more fully how board actions and relationships can help advance this work is critical, and more research on governance and trustees is needed.

Partnering for a Promise: Institutional Logics and a Community College District’s Response to a Promise Program Partnership

ABSTRACT The college promise – or free college – movement is rapidly expanding throughout the United States; however, there is much to learn about community colleges’ organizational responses to promise programs and corresponding partnerships with nonprofit organizations that are involved in some programs. Using institutional logics to frame this qualitative case study, I explored one community college district’s relationship with a nonprofit promise program partner, and revealed the ways in which this community college district preserved and blended their dominant logics with that of their nonprofit partner. The findings from this study shed light on community college professionals’ perceptions of promise programs, their organization’s response, and the college’s relationship with their nonprofit partner. Findings revealed that individual community college actors used dominant community college logic to make meaning of their partnership and maintain their commitment to the community college mission despite blending logics through incorporation of practices associated with dominant nonprofit logics. These findings have implications for the roles of community colleges and nonprofit partners in the implementation of college promise programs, as well as considerations for community college leaders.

“There’s So Much That We’re Doing”: How Florida College System Institutions Address Basic Needs Insecurity Among Students

Research Question: A sizable portion of college students experience food and housing insecurity, which poses a roadblock to fully and successfully engaging in higher education. In light of these complex challenges, we ask: How do Florida College System (FCS) institutions meet the basic needs of their students? Methods: To answer the question at hand, we conducted an embedded single case study of the FCS. Between 2014 and 2019, researchers traveled to 21 Florida colleges on one or more occasions to speak with college presidents, administrators, faculty members, advisors, academic support staff, and students. In total, we gathered data from 1,379 people through 213 focus group sessions and 20 individual interviews. Results: From these data emerged evidence of the extensive services and support programs provided by FCS institutions, ranging from food and housing assistance to clothing, transportation, and childcare. Such initiatives aim to meet the chronic, daily needs of students and their families, as well as acute needs that arise out of local disasters and crises. Contributions: The findings of this study contribute to the literature on the mission of community colleges. While these support programs address needs traditionally considered non-academic, participants suggest that they are essential to fostering student success. By meeting students’ physiological and safety needs, institutions can better accomplish their academic goals of remediation, transfer, vocational training, and contract education, particularly among students who have been traditionally excluded from higher education. The findings also highlight the importance of acknowledging the needs of students’ families when providing support.

Celebrating the Last 10 Years of Community College Internationalization

Celebrating the Last 10 Years of Community College Internationalization

The Impact of Community College Attributes on the Earnings of Their Students

ABSTRACT As the cost of higher education has continued to rise, public interest in the proportional economic return on investment in higher education has also grown. While research associating the quality of education and institutional attributes with graduate earning potentials exists in the university sector, fewer studies have focused on earning potentials of community college graduates. This study investigates the relationship between community college attributes, including fixed, compositional, and financial characteristics, and the mean earnings of former community college students. Of 53 variables, 12 had a significant impact on mean earnings including the socio-economic conditions surrounding the institutions, student demographics, percentage of students who complete within 2 years, net tuition, and share of students who receive either a Pell Grant or a federal loan. Changing demographics of community college students, the increased cost of a community college education, and the need for additional support for two-year degrees/certifications will continue to be a challenge to the overall mission of community colleges.

Making a Case for Social Justice

Community college has had an important role in United States history far beyond its most obvious place in any discussion of education. From the earliest discoveries, summaries, and finding made in the 1947 Truman Report, to the current discussions on community college expansions into baccalaureate offerings; it has had a significant impact in society. In fact, one of the major intentions of the community college was to act as a vehicle to motive social change. This paper seeks to examine how successful the community college has been in that endeavor, and what can be done to help ensure that aspect of the community college mission is met.

Making a Case for Social Justice and Its Role in Community Colleges

The social contract does not support the progression of women and minorities, but community colleges have been an institution of social change by providing access and opportunities for advancement within the community. Over time community colleges have created opportunities that prepared minorities to become a respected member of society and a potential contributor to the community’s wealth. As time has progressed, the mission of community colleges has not evolved. As a gateway to success for urban communities, community colleges must continue the work on ensuring that the priority is not only access but student success.

A Model of an Integrated Research and Education Program in Space Weather at a Community College

AbstractCommunity Colleges provide a great opportunity to diversify the space sciences or other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields due to their large population of underrepresented students. However, since the primary mission of community colleges is teaching, there is a challenge to support undergraduate research training and promote undergraduate research opportunities. Undergraduate research experiences are one of the leading high‐impact practices (HIPs) to encourage students to pursue STEM majors, graduate degrees, and careers. Space weather provides the opportunity to engage undergraduate students in real‐world research due to the accessibility of space mission data sets within open access data repositories. Space weather's impact on Earth's geospace environment, life, and society also provides a compelling real‐world hook to engage students in activities that have a number of impacts including (1) long‐term integration of space weather into the undergraduate curricula; (2) experience in analyzing large geospace data sets, which increases students' computational, critical thinking, and analytical skills, useful for any career; and (3) increase in students' interest in and motivation to study STEM, as well as preparing them for choosing a career path in space science and related fields. The model presented below has the potential to increase the retention, graduation, and transfer rate of community college students to four‐year STEM programs, as well as increase representation and inclusion in space sciences and other related STEM fields.

Equality, Efficiency, and Developmental Education Reform: The Impact of SB 1720 on the Mission of the Florida College System.

ObjectiveCommunity colleges have long made higher education more accessible to students from diverse academic backgrounds, particularly those who are academically underprepared and require remediation. In light of developmental education (DE) reform, our article answers the following questions: How do campus personnel articulate the unique mission of Florida’s state colleges, formerly known as community colleges? Furthermore, how do they perceive the mandates of reform to have shaped their ability to carry out this mission?MethodThis work is based on an embedded case study of 10 Florida College System institutions. Qualitative data were gathered between 2014 and 2018 from 544 college presidents, administrators, faculty, staff through 92 focus groups and 8 interviews.ResultsCampus personnel strongly affirmed the mission of the Florida Colleges System as one of democratic equality. However, many were concerned that DE reform, namely Senate Bill 1720, prioritized efficiency over equality in the pursuit of cost savings. Specifically, participants expressed frustration that reforms accelerated DE coursework to an unmanageable pace and ignored the presence of a digital divide. Opinions of DE reform improved in the 4 years following implementation, but some concern persisted.ContributionsOur findings highlight the centrality of democratic equality to the community college mission for campus personnel. They also suggest that equality and efficiency need not always be opposing goals in education reform. Finally, they call into question social policy that universally promotes accelerated and computer-based courses without considering that some students may require accommodations.

The Price of Mission Complexity: A National Study of the Impact of Community College Baccalaureate Adoption on Tuition and Fees

The traditional mission of community colleges is rooted in the provision of sub-baccalaureate education at a low price, but a total of 19 states have changed their legislative policies and currently allow community colleges to offer community college baccalaureate (CCB) degree programs. This study examines the impact of CCB adoption on the tuition and fees at CCB-adopting institutions. We leverage a novel national dataset and employ a difference-in-differences regression approach to find that CCB adoption is associated with increases in tuition and fees at public community colleges.

The Moving Missions of Community Colleges: An Examination of Degree-Granting Profiles Over Time

Objective: Despite extensive debate about the curricular mission of community colleges, prior research has not sufficiently analyzed differences in the kinds of degrees (i.e., the field of study and award level) community colleges produce. Therefore, we explore both the fields of study and the levels at which public community colleges grant degrees and analyze how this has changed over time. Method: Multilevel latent class analysis is used here to estimate latent degree-granting profiles, and colleges are allocated into the profiles based on their observed degree-granting behaviors from 1987 to 2012. Results: The analysis shows that public community colleges can be allocated into five distinct degree-granting profiles over the period of study. A small minority of colleges have and continue to engage almost exclusively in a vocational mission. The two degree profiles that increased in prominence over time suggest an overall shift toward the simultaneous pursuit of transfer and vocational missions. However, a majority of colleges (68%) exhibited stable degree-granting behaviors between 1987 and 2012, indicating a relatively high level of stability in degree-granting patterns across community colleges during this period. Contribution: These patterns highlight variation across colleges and both stability and change within institutions over time. This suggests that public community colleges are simultaneously situated in strong institutional and technical environments and, thus, are subject to constraints and incentives that shape not only their stated policies but also their actual degree-granting behaviors.

Who Wants to Teach a Diverse Student Body? Community College Missions and the Faculty Search Committee

ABSTRACTThe increasing diversity of the student bodies of community colleges calls for faculty who are motivated and equipped to educate them. This diversity is a product of the common theme community colleges share in their missions that espouses providing access to education for all members of their local communities. The faculty search committee plays a crucial role in identifying candidates for full-time faculty positions, and further awareness of the implications of their missions for the search process is warranted. The steps that faculty search committees navigate are reconsidered with an eye toward the impact that consideration of the community college mission could have on the process.

Social Justice and the Community College Mission

AbstractThis chapter describes the community college challenge to support all learners to succeed in college and enter the middle class as citizens, parents, and workers.

The Evolving Transfer Mission and Student Mobility

AbstractThis chapter explores the changing nature of how students experience postsecondary education that results in a considerable amount of “swirl” between institutions. Although the traditional notion of “vertical” transfer from a community college to a university continues to be an important aspect of the community college mission, the varying patterns of mobility between institutions will have significant implications for students, the costs they incur, and their ultimate success.

Making Sense of Multiple Missions

AbstractThis chapter highlights key ideas about multiple and competing community college missions and the leadership required to address them.

National Shifts in Adult Basic Education: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Ability to Benefit, and High School Equivalency Tests

AbstractAn important aspect of the community college mission is to educate working adults including those without a high school diploma or its equivalent. Three important changes are forcing community colleges to reevaluate how these services and activities are delivered as well as policies that govern this critical work. These shifts provide a new opportunity for community college leaders to reenvision how they engage local employers, working adults, and underprepared college students.