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In the 1960s, expansion of the community college
system at a rate of nearly one per week provided greater access
to higher education. This new educational revolution was designed
to more adequately provide educational opportunities for the typically
underserved individuals. The community college heralded its new
image as the "open door." This concept presupposed that
any individual, regardless of level of academic preparedness or
college readiness, would be allowed to pursue a college degree.
Further, the community college would provide an affordable, accessible
education with adequate assessments and remedial and college-level
instruction that would effectively ensure a seamless transition
into either university transfer programs or directly into the
workplace.
The community college has successfully adapted
to the changing sociological trends as demonstrated by its significant
growth in population, academic programs, and physical size. In
fact, enrollment has doubled since 1970.42
In many states such as California, Florida, New York, Texas, and
Illinois, the community college system has evolved so rapidly
that systems have distinguished themselves by campuses. A campus
may have been created to attract a particular professional program
or a certain population, or may simply have been positioned as
a comprehensive institution in a new and growing community. As
it has attempted to become more responsive to the needs of its
constituents, the community college is widely recognized as the
community's college.
While the community college has prided itself
on its access, or rather its "open door," it has actually
been "a door" itself. In 2020, this door will be more
restrictive or may become a physical barrier for the new student.
By virtue of their work responsibilities, home obligations, constraints
of time and urgency to complete specialized job training and retraining
needs, students will seek short-term opportunities and distance
learning methods to accommodate their educational needs.
Data from a large community college system show
the steady changes reflected in the demographics of the new community
college students.43
Diversity is the most apparent demographic icon. Diversity in
ethnicity, age, gender, academic readiness, culture, and expectations
is a major reality. The influx of immigrants into major cities
has changed the face of the "majority" population generally
and the community college student population in particular. Students
are older, returning to college to retrain for a different career
after having entered the workplace or wanting to rectify the failed
first attempt at college. More women are starting college for
the first time after having raised a family or finding themselves
as a single parent with great responsibilities.
The following list summarizes a few demographics
of the new student:
• 69% of credit students are enrolled part
time (number tripled since 1970)
• 63% of credit students are Hispanics;
21% are Black non-Hispanics
• 42% of credit students are not U.S.citizens
• more than 41% of credit students are
aged 26 or older
• only 25% are the traditional college
age of 18 to 20 years old
• 33% of credit students are resident aliens
• 8% of credit students are refugee or
asylum categories
• while 58% are U.S. citizens, many of
these are naturalized citizens
• only 45% report a native language of
Spanish
• nearly 3,000 Haitian students report
Creole or French as their native language
• only 21% of incoming students test as
college-ready
• 10% of all students and 14% of Hispanics
test into ESL coursework
• 69% of all students need help in reading,
writing, algebra, or all three
In addition to the existing demographics, societal
trends reflected in the place or physical-setting needs of the
client will require special attention to instructional delivery.
Technology will be even more important. The home setting will
be different as determined by the client's parental situation.
Bicoastal marriages, multiple homes in multiple locations, and
shared custodians are new trends in our society. The thirty-year
mortgaged home in the same neighborhood and with the same family
structure will be sparse. Further, educators will be forced to
pay special attention to a variety of instructional delivery options.
The demands of individual needs, as influenced by a requirement
for employment mobility in the workplace, especially in telecommuting,
and the application of extended twenty-four-hour workdays and
of crosstraining and retraining mandates suggest that independent
learning will be a driving force.
Distance education is the viable resource. Offered
today by most colleges and universities, it enables clients to
access some courses for personal development, as well as a few
limited programs for professional growth. More and more, the availability
and utilization of RealVideo, Web-based support with shared resources,
virtual lessons, America Online Messenger for interaction, digital
media, visual imaging, and the incorporation of the telephone,
cable, and Internet will facilitate use of site, content, and
traffic for effective instructional delivery.44
In 2020, school as we know it will be more than
a facility. It will by necessity become a service, accommodating
and facilitating the learning process as mandated by the client.
The community college has begun to address the needs for individualized
instruction through programs such as independent studies, life
labs, or open college. The construction of the open courtyard
was thought to have provided students the opportunity to work
on their own time and on any subject in a single location. Unfortunately,
students were required to go to the community college campus in
order to access the equipment. There will be a need to provide
access to technology for students outside the structured facility.
Many institutions have begun to establish a technology fee, payable
along with course registration (and therefore, eligible for financial
aid), that allows the student access to a portable or laptop computer.
There will be a greater need for providing opportunities
for students to complete an entire program by attending classes
on weekends and evenings. Students will want to know how long
it will take them to complete a particular training. For example,
given the number of credits and hours as required by the appropriate
agency, state, or accrediting body, a student may earn an associate
in science degree in twenty-one weeks by attending classes on
Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays. Or the student may earn
an associate in arts degree in one hundred weeks by attending
evening classes, Mondays through Fridays. To respond to the demands
of this new student population, community colleges will need to
rethink their scheduling format from the horizontal twelve-to-sixteen
week schedule to a more vertical or intensive format (a four-week,
six-week, two-week, etc., format), which will allow students to
complete training in short periods of time.
Serious attention through a variety of distance
learning approaches will better equip educational institutions
to address the new concepts of time and place; i.e. same time—same
place, same time-different place, different time-same place, and
different time-different place.
The greatest challenges before the community
college in the year 2020 will be to move much more swiftly and
creatively to accommodate the rapid changes in demographics and
the individual needs of its students.
Additionally, employees who came aboard in the
rise of the community college system are now leaving the system
to retire, change careers, and so on. A new crop of faculty, staff,
and administrators will need to understand the concept of the
"open door" and demonstrate a commitment to serve the
under-prepared student. The new employees will need to mirror
the image of the new students in ethnic diversity. They will be
required to "wear several hats" to accommodate the needs
of students and be directed to work multiple shifts, a phenomenon
new to education.
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