And this is indeed what many community colleges are doing quite well. They are often the only chance for postsecondary education for many adults and high school graduates. They have dedicated faculty who teach to student needs and who excel in pedagogy. And they provide a supportive environment for the educationally disadvantaged, making it possible for students who were not prepared for college in high school to acquire the skills and motivation they need to transfer to four-year institutions. The argument has been made that four-year institutions need to realize their debt to community colleges and to start to regard them as equal partners in the process of providing higher education to the nation's adults.
Community colleges take pressure for admission off the baccalaureate institutions.
Examples of positive collaboration do exist. Currently, several consortia are operating which encourage institutions to pool resources and equipment, to co-teach courses, to expand curricular opportunities and to increase research opportunities. The Central Florida Consortium of Higher Education, composed of one university and five community colleges, has organized to share resources and has held workshops on a variety of topics. The Community College Consortium, composed of three universities and 75 community colleges in 18 states and Canada, evolved to address issues of institutional effectiveness, leadership, strategic management, teaching and learning. Community colleges serve a diverse and growing population, performing critical and often disparate functions while laboring under heavy constraints.