The Hard-Working Community College

I often think of the American community college as the single working mother of higher education. Without her there'd be no dinner, the kids would run 'round naked, and society would suffering. She's been around for a long time but is often taken for granted, dissed, or dismissed, and yet she keeps on trying, day in and day out. We expect a lot from her, but give her few resources to work with, and then compare her "outcomes" to those of folks from situations completely unlike hers-- middle-class two-parent homes with savings in the bank and time left for evenings and weekends.

Sure, there are some who value the community college-- but the vast majority of the U.S. really doesn't act like it. I can't think of too many parents who'd state their desire for their kid to attend a two-year school, or too many legislators or philanthropists who pay alumni homage to the community college where they began.

Today there was a bit of movement on this front. The Bernard Osher Foundation gave $25 million to create an endowment which will support $1000 scholarships for 1,250 students attending the 109 California community colleges. They plan to grow the endowment, and really hope to increase investment in those schools and their students.

Similarly, in December the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars was endowed with $175 million to distribute grants to low-income college students attending the 42 public two-year and four-year colleges across Wisconsin. The first cohort, entering this fall, will include 600 students attending two-year colleges who will each receive $1,800/year for up to 5 years. (Full disclosure: I am collaborating with FFWS on a research project to examine the impact of those grants.)

This is a good start. I hope the public sector picks up the ball soon, and doesn't use these private donations as substitution or an excuse to continue to under-invest in the single most accessible and affordable opportunity for higher education in America. Yes, there's a lot of room for improvement in the outcomes of our two-year colleges-- I'm the first to admit that. But it's unreasonable too much from colleges which receive per pupil funding comparable to k-12 funding than to spending in other institutions of higher education. As Norton Grubb notes in his excellent book Honored But Invisible: An Inside Look at Teaching in Community Colleges:

"Real funding per pupil in community colleges has been essentially stagnant--[during a period in which] more students have come...needing remedial/development education, guidance and counseling, and active and innovative teaching. Thus the disparity between stable funding and increased needs has become greater and greater... The basic political decisions about these institutions have provided access to higher education for larger numbers of students, but with considerably fewer resources compared to four-year colleges."

It's time to step up and put the resources where they are needed. If you've got it, send it to Bernard Osher-- they're matching $1 for every $2 the California Community Colleges system raises over the next 3 years!

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