The Open Access Dilemma: How Can Community Colleges Better Serve Underprepared Students?

REYNOLD ESSOR WAS SURE OF TWO THINGS when he got his high-school diploma last spring: he wanted to get out of Brooklyn, and he wanted to go to college. Earning a degree, his counselors told him, "can help get more money in your pocket. " So he headed to SUNY Adirondack, a public two-year community college in upstate New York that describes itself as "a leader in the region's workforce development, preparing the next generation of leaders for a bright future. " The bucolic campus included a comfortable residence hall, leafy grounds, a restaurant run by students, and even a zipline--all featured prominently on its website and brochures. Essor could apply for federal student-loan programs to help pay his tuition, and a non-competitive, open admission policy took the pressure off of his 2.6 GPA to win acceptance. Less prominent in the school's pitch were the relatively long odds of earning a degree in three years: about one in four at SUNY Adirondack, in line with the 21 percent average at all 1,462 community colleges in the United States. The national six-year completion rate stands at 39 percent, on average. Part of the reason is that community colleges, with their commitment to open access, admit millions of students each year who are unprepared for college-level work, even though they have earned a high-school diploma. For decades, despite those daunting statistics, the schools had a built-in base of students attracted to their open doors and relative affordability. But enrollment at public two-year college has dropped by about 10 percent nationwide in recent years. Decreases in state funding and widespread tuition increases have hit a stagnating middle class. And a new emphasis on outcomes-based funding is putting pressure on public colleges in some states to show results. Community College Enrollment in Context (Figure 1) (1a) After a decade of steady growth, the number of students attending public two-year colleges fell by 10 percent between 2010 and 2014, even as the number of four-year students grew. Undergraduates fall enrollment, by sector Millions For-profit Private nonprofit Public four-year Public two-year colleges four-year colleges colleges colleges 2000 0.4 2.2 4.8 5.7 2005 0.8 2.3 5.2 6.5 2010 1.7 2.5 5.8 7.9 2014 1.3 2.6 6 7.2 (1b) Black and Hispanic students make up a greater share of student enrollment at public two-year colleges and for-profit colleges compared to four-year colleges. Distribution of undergraduates, by sector and race/ethnicity, fall 2014 Other Asian White Hispanic Black Public two-year colleges 10 5 49 22 14 Public four-year colleges 11 7 58 13 11 Private nonprofit four-year colleges 16 5 58 9 11 For-profit colleges 21 3 37 5 25 NOTE: Undergraduates include postsecondary students who attended for-profit, public, and private nonprofit less-than-two-year, two-year, and four-year institutions, including both students who were and were not enrolled in a degree or certificate program. In Figure 1b, the other category includes American Indian, Alaska Native, and respondents having origins in more than one race or in a race not listed. SOURCE: Jennifer Ma and Sandy Baum, "Trends in Community Colleges: Enrollment, Prices, Student Debt, and Completion," College Board Research, April 2016 Note: Table made from bar graph. A hard look at outcomes raises questions about the mission and promise of community colleges, not to mention the meaning of a high-school degree. Would funding commmunity colleges based on outcomes lead them to serve students better? Or would they instead water down standards or ignore students most in need of a leg up? …