Career Builders: Community Colleges

Total Enrollment at Twoand Four-year Colleges

Community colleges are unique in America’s landscape of postsecondary institutions, and the range of services they provide makes them a vital resource for developing the human capital of high-poverty communities. The American Association of Community Colleges describes the community college’s role as offering postsecondary education to “all who desire to learn, regardless of wealth, heritage, or previous academic experience.”¹ There are more than 1,100 community colleges in the United States, and the number rises to more than 1,600 if branch campuses are counted.

For students with limited financial resources, community college is a practical alternative to a bachelor’s degree program. Tuition is less expensive at community colleges, and by carrying a full load of credits each semester, students can complete an associate’s degree program in two years, half the time required for a bachelor’s.  Graduating with an associate’s degree does not preclude pursuing a bachelor’s degree afterwards; many students use community college as a stepping stone to a more advanced degree.

In addition to educating students in traditional academic subjects, community colleges offer postsecondary credentials in numerous job fields. Workforce development programs at community colleges attract both recent high school graduates and older workers looking to develop their skills or move into a different line of work altogether. Much of the vocational training done in the United States takes place in community colleges. Community colleges are as important to the nation’s workforce development agenda as any of our learning institutions.

Community colleges perform another important function by providing remedial education, such as a GED, often in preparation for postsecondary education. People growing up in high-poverty communities often get a poor education in primary and secondary school and find themselves ill-prepared for college-level work. A survey by the National Commission on Adult Literacy found that 88 million U.S. workers lack basic skills needed to obtain a postsecondary credential.² At a community college, it is possible for students who lack college-level writing, reading, and math skills to strengthen these skills while still obtaining a credential that expands their employment opportunities.

A postsecondary credential is crucial to finding a job at a wage that will support a family. At the beginning of the 20^th century, the United States committed itself to providing every student with free secondary education. Within a few short decades, U.S. economic growth rates dwarfed those of many other countries. After World War II, the G.I. Bill made a similarly bold commitment to provide vocational training and a college education to veterans, fueling a postwar economic boom that lasted for decades.

College completion rates began to plateau in the 1970s, partly because so many students in community colleges do not finish their degrees. Enrollment at community colleges is increasing at twice the rate of four-year colleges,³ but only half of students who start at a two-year college make it through their second year. Of all students who have entered community college since 1995, nearly two-thirds have not completed a credential.

Community colleges are one way for people already in the workforce to gain new skills.

There are nearly 50 million people in the United States aged 18-44 with a high school diploma or less.⁴ To find them, simply look at communities with high poverty rates. If education lays the groundwork for future economic success, the last, best chance some people have to build a solid foundation for themselves is at a community college. The Workforce Alliance, a national group of employers, unions, and education and training providers, estimates that 8 out of 10 jobs in the United States are out of reach to workers without a postsecondary credential.⁵ Two-thirds of all new jobs in the next decade will require some postsecondary experience—for example, in the new green industries of solar and wind power, energy efficiency, and waste management. For most of these jobs, a four-year college degree is not required.

In the laboratory setting of economic theory, anyone can see that a college education is a wise investment. Almost every low-income child says he or she would like to go to college. It’s as clear to them as it is to anyone reading this report that college leads to opportunities that wouldn’t exist otherwise. Unfortunately, economic theory does a poor job of accounting for the constraints low-income students face, such as being forced to choose between college and earning income that their families need. Other barriers include the unavailability of loans for higher education, not having a car or access to transit, and lack of affordable childcare. When the entire risk of attaining a postsecondary education falls on the individual, it’s understandable when people don’t take that risk.

On average, community college students are older than students at four-year colleges and more than twice as likely to be employed.⁶ Juggling job and family responsibilities, community college students are less likely than four-year students to attend full time, even with the lower tuition costs. Community college students tend to come from lower socioeconomic classes than four-year college students.⁷ Two-thirds of all Hispanic college students and nearly half of all African American college students attend a community college.

The economic development of high-poverty communities ultimately depends on the human capital in these communities. Being dependent on government transfer payments is not a sustainable solution to poverty. The assumption that government can’t do more or shouldn’t do more to support low-income postsecondary students needs to be challenged. Low-income students have a much harder time completing their degrees than higher-income students. Yet students at community colleges are less likely than students at four-year colleges to receive financial aid in the form of grants. In part this is due to the lower tuition costs, but it’s also because more community college students are attending part-time. Students who choose to attend part-time because of the need to support their families should not be automatically ineligible for federal tuition assistance.

Community colleges receive most of their financial support from states and localities.⁸ The federal government has dramatically underinvested in community colleges, spending $2 billion per year compared to $20 billion on four-year public universities and $60 billion on grades K-12.⁹ President Obama intends to increase federal spending on community colleges by an additional $12 billion over 10 years. For their part, community colleges should do more to ensure that students stay in school and obtain a credential. Colleges, both two-year and four-year, have not been asked to prove that they are making efforts to raise student completion rates. Instead, all government support has been based on enrollment. The new investments in community colleges should come with a goal of strengthening performance.

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