Community colleges across the nation are in the throes of a system-wide reinvention.
With 13 million students served by more than 1,132 community colleges, topping the list for reforms is improving completion rates.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, at two-year, degree-granting institutions, 31 percent of full-time, first-time undergraduate students who began their pursuit of a certificate or an associate degree in fall 2008 attained it within 150 percent of the normal time required to do so (or within three years). This graduation rate was 20 percent at public two-year institutions, 51 percent at private nonprofit two-year institutions and 62 percent at private for-profit two-year institutions.
At the same time, the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) 21st-Century Commission has pledged to add 5 million college degrees to the global economy by 2020.
To meet that goal it will require groundbreaking change that takes time, planning and optimal use of existing resources, say college officials and advocates for community colleges.
Students must be convinced that investing in their education will pay off by helping them succeed in their career goals, administrators say.
