ED477914 2003-05-00 Enrollment Trends

in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Development Team

www.eric.ed.gov

Table of Contents

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Enrollment Trends in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest................... 1

DUAL-CREDIT AND DUAL-ENROLLMENT STUDENTS............... 2

REVERSE TRANSFER STUDENTS........................................ 3

NON-COMPLETERS...........................................................3

COMPLETERS.................................................................. 3

JOB RETRAINING STUDENTS.............................................. 4

CONCLUSION.................................................................. 4

REFERENCES.................................................................. 5

ERIC Identifier: ED477914

Publication Date: 2003-05-00

Author: Andrews, Hans A.

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges Los Angeles CA.

Enrollment Trends in Community Colleges.

ERIC Digest.

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT

ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC

Community colleges are rapidly adapting their policies, procedures and services to

accommodate new and growing groups of students. New community college student

ED477914 2003-05-00 Enrollment Trends in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest. Page 1 of 6
enrollment groups include (1) dual-credit and dual-enrollment students taking college

courses during their last two years of high school; (2) reverse transfer students, both

those who have attended a senior college without completing a degree, and those who

have completed one or more degrees; and (3) students needing or wishing to obtain job

retraining. Serving these students offers community colleges a way to meaningfully

address some major educational and employment concerns that have arisen today.

This digest presents key information and current research on these three expanding

categories of students enrolling in American community colleges at the beginning of the

21st century.

DUAL-CREDIT AND DUAL-ENROLLMENT

STUDENTS

Recently community colleges have begun to expand programs in which high school

students, mostly juniors and seniors, take college level courses. The senior year of high

school has been documented in a number of studies as a "waste of time" for many

students (Kirst, 2001). The dual-credit movement is offering secondary schools a viable

option to motivate and challenge their students in their last years of high school.

Andrews (2001) described these student enrollees as follows:

Dual-Credit Students: Secondary school students enrolled in courses that receive both

college credit and credit toward meeting secondary school requirements for graduation.

Dual (Concurrent)-Enrolled Students: Secondary school students enrolled in college

courses while continuing to be enrolled as high school students. The college courses

are only used for college credit.

Community colleges assess these students for proper course placement prior to

enrollment. Students often need to obtain support from parents, secondary school

counselors and administrators, and full-time high school and college faculty prior to

enrollment. Courses are offered on the community college campus or at the high

school. Full-time college faculty, adjunct (part-time) faculty and selected high school

faculty teach the courses using college syllabi and textbooks.

Bryant (2000) reported high school dual-enrollment increasing nationally from 96,913 in

1993 to 123,039 in 1995. A study by Oregon's Joint Boards of Education in 1997 found

31 states involved in dual-enrollment programs (Oregon University System, 1999).

Andrews' (2001) research found this number had grown to 48 states by 2001. Andrews

and Barnett (2002) reported a 406% growth in dual-credit and dual-enrollment students

between 1996-97 and 2000-01 in Illinois. Dual-enrollments may be approaching

500,000 in 2003 with very high program growth reported in Missouri, Oklahoma,

Virginia, Washington, Florida and several other states.

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Page 2 of 6 ED477914 2003-05-00 Enrollment Trends in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest.
State programs have a variety of titles: Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act in

Michigan and Ohio, Kansas Challenge to Secondary School Pupils Act in Kansas, and

Fifth-Year High School Program for Advanced Students in Colorado. These programs

exist in some of the states that have legislation that defines the rules for both secondary

schools and colleges for enrolling dual-credit students. Missouri is an example of a state

that responded to growth in dual-enrollment by developing statewide guidelines for

dual-credit students. This was needed to ensure transferability of dual-credits earned at

the community college to state universities and 4-year colleges.

REVERSE TRANSFER STUDENTS

Undergraduate "reverse transfer" students attend community colleges for two major

reasons. One group is "non-completers" of baccalaureate degrees and the other is

"completers" of one or more university degrees. Degree completers are much more

likely to be seeking career skills for new jobs or trying to improve their skills in a current

job than are non-completers.

NON-COMPLETERS

A study by Winter, et al., (2001) found that non-completers' goals were to complete an

associate degree, to improve their basic skills, to take courses to transfer back to a

university and to try to improve their grade point averages. The non-completers

averaged 29 years of age. Many of these students were not serious, or socially or

academically ready their first time in college. Some left for family-related reasons.

Academic failure, loss of funding, and a lack of continued family support previously led

to the dismissal or withdrawal of many of these students from their original university.

COMPLETERS

Completers usually enrolled to obtain career skills for new jobs or to improve their skills

in a current job. They attended colleges close to home and were older with an average

age of 37 (Winter, et al., 2001). Further describing degree completers, Reusch (2000) in

a study of 221 students from six community colleges in Illinois found that degree

completers were typically male, white, and married and averaged 38 years of age. They

had waited an average of 11 years from baccalaureate degree completion before

enrolling at the community colleges, and enrolled for employment-related reasons in

such fields as computer-related or health service-related programs. Female students

tended to enroll more frequently in health service programs.

Concerns have been raised about whether colleges should accept degree completer

reverse transfer students. Budgets, and therefore access, are tightening up as state and

federal governments are running heavy deficits and are cutting college state support

dollars. Colleges may be forced to decide if allowing degree completers access

jeopardizes access to students who have not yet had the opportunity to enroll in college

programs.

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ED477914 2003-05-00 Enrollment Trends in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest. Page 3 of 6
JOB RETRAINING STUDENTS

Community colleges became highly involved with workforce retraining during the mid- to

late-1990s. New federal legislation and federal and state financial support helped

stimulate this growth beyond what had been attempted in previous federal and state

supported programs. One example of legislation that has affected community college

enrollment growth is Welfare to Work programs, which can include short-term job

training and retraining as a way to move welfare recipients off of welfare and to work.

Job retraining has expanded in recent years as more American companies have moved

manufacturing jobs to Mexico, China and other foreign countries. Students often find

themselves training for positions that are significantly lower in pay and benefits than

ones they left. Those laid off from lower-paying jobs often find they are able to

command semi-professional and professional pay rates after completing high demand

career retraining programs. Accelerated growth in job retraining is the result of

companies sending their employees back to the classroom to learn the latest in

technological developments. The American Society for Training and Development

(ASTD) reported that in 1998 this type of retraining amounted to $63 billion dollars

annually (Workforce Economics, 2001).

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors (1995) examined changes that

were taking place in the country because of population shifts, growth, and workforce

needs. Projected trends were: (1) the labor force would incorporate more women,

minorities, and older workers; (2) continuing developments in technology requiring

on-going education; and that (3) the community college role in retraining would continue

to be substantial.

The state of Washington's Worker Retraining report (2000) presents an excellent

example of the impact of workforce retraining. Over 44,000 unemployed and displaced

workers since 1993 were served at 34 state community colleges. The state legislature

allocated over $27 million for classes and assistance to the workers during training at

the community colleges. Over 22,000 program completers were back in the workforce

with a job retention rate of 88% one year after program completion. Success was

demonstrated by the fact that 475 of the state's largest employers hired workers from

these programs.

CONCLUSION

This digest identified three major enrollment trends presently affecting community

colleges. The three types of students, dual-credit, reverse transfer, and job retraining

are likely to continue to grow in the near future. Dual-credit is exploding across the

nation. Initial national research by Andrews (2001) shows these programs to be very

successful in providing a much-needed academic stimulus for junior and senior

secondary school students. Reverse transfer provides for retraining for those students

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Page 4 of 6 ED477914 2003-05-00 Enrollment Trends in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest.
previously enrolled in or graduated from universities. Many enroll to develop new skills;

others enroll to keep themselves up-to-date in their jobs. Job retraining should also

continue to be a necessity with shifts in the American economy, shifting of jobs to the

international market, and the need for businesses to keep up-to-date with technological

changes in the workplace.

REFERENCES

Andrews, H. A. (2001). The dual-credit phenomenon: Challenging secondary school

students across 50 states. Stillwater, OK. New Forums Press. (ERIC Document

Reproduction No. ED 463 823).

Andrews, H. A., Barnett, E. (2002). Dual credit/enrollment in Illinois: a status report.

OCCRL In Brief, Champaign, IL.: University of Illinois. (ERIC Document Reproduction

No. ED 469 782).

Bryant A. (2000). Community college students: recent findings and trends. (ERIC

Document Reproduction No. ED 457 898).

Kirst, M. W. (2001). Overcoming the high school senior slump: New education policies.

Washington, DC: The Institute for Educational Leadership. (ERIC Document

Reproduction No. ED 455 720).

National Alliance of Business, Inc. (2001). Corporate training delivery: Dollars and

Sense. Unconventional wisdom. Workforce Economics, 7(1), 7-11. (ERIC Document

Reproduction No. ED 454 417).

Oregon University System. (1999) Oregon early options study. Eugene, OR: Office of

Academic Affairs.

Reusch, D. L. (2000). The nature and characteristics of post-baccalaureate reverse

transfer students and their utilization of career guidance. Unpublished doctoral

dissertation, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. (ERIC Document Reproduction

No. ED 458 930).

Trends of importance to California Community Colleges. (1995). Board of Governors of

the California Community Colleges. Sacramento, CA. (ERIC Document Reproduction

No. ED 394 604).

Winter, P. A., Harris, M. R. and Ziegler, C. R. (2001). Community college reverse

transfer students: A Multivariate Analysis. Community College Journal of Research and

Practice, 25(4), 271-82. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. EJ 626 827).

Worker retraining: sixth accountability report for the Worker Retraining Program. (2000).

Olympia: Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges. (ERIC

Document Reproduction No. ED 465 407).

ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

ED477914 2003-05-00 Enrollment Trends in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest. Page 5 of 6
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This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S.

Department of Education under contract number ED-99-CO-0010. The content of this

publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of

Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations

imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. ERIC Digests are in the public domain and

may be freely reproduced.

University of California, Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall, P.O. Box 951521, Los Angeles,

CA 90095

Title: Enrollment Trends in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest.

Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)

(071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);

Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. University of California

at Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall, P.O. Box 951521, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524. Tel:

310-825-3931. For full text: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/ERIC/eric.html.

Descriptors: College Bound Students, College Credits, Community Colleges,

Cooperative Programs, Degree Requirements, Dual Enrollment, Enrollment Trends,

High School Students, High Schools, Institutional Cooperation, Job Training, Reverse

Transfer Students, Two Year Colleges

Identifiers: ERIC Digests

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