Due to demographics, issues of college affordability, and workforce expectations, there is an increasing demand for access to community colleges, according to a recent proceedings report, Transition Matters, from The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.

Approximately 1,200 community colleges nationwide serve more than 11.5 million students, or nearly half of all undergraduates. These institutions act as the initial access point to higher education for many Americans. Most community college students have been from populations that are "traditionally underrepresented, such as minority, first generation, nontraditional, and low-income students," according to the report.

The students, however, are running into problems. Data from a report by the Advisory Committee, Mortgaging Our Future: How Financial Barriers to College Undercut America’s Global Competitiveness (2006), shows that among the 1992 high school graduate cohort, only 20 percent of college-qualified low-income students actually attained a bachelor’s degree by 2000.

Financial Problems

Financial barriers to college access are significant obstacles for students under such circumstances, and increasingly, these students are turning to two-year colleges as a less expensive pathway to attain a bachelor’s degree.

"Increasing the number of students who attain the bachelor’s degree is critical to America’s global competitiveness because, over the next decade, more jobs will require at least some college education or a bachelor’s degree," according to the report.

Community colleges are more likely to feel the impact of political and economic change. As states assess budget shortfalls, community colleges are often hit hard, increasing costs to students. Because many of the students have low- and moderate-incomes, they are most sensitive to fee increases as well as to general economic hardships associated with economic downturns. Community college students often have to choose between basic necessities and educational advancement. Even small changes to federal or state loan and grant programs can make or break the chance enrollment and success for low-income students.

Three Transition Points

The Advisory Committee recognized the need to strengthen community colleges, noting three transition points through which students travel on their way to a bachelor’s degree.

Enrollment
• Community colleges face numerous enrollment-related challenges as a result of their multiple missions and varied range of students. Some of these challenges include helping students understand:
  • The benefits of a community college education, the availability of financial aid and how to apply
  • The purpose and need for developmental courses
  • The enrollment process
  • Enrollment services for nontraditional students
  For a variety of reasons, community college students often are not properly prepared for college, have little to no financial or parental support, lack enough information about enrollment, lack sufficient guidance on how to apply for financial aid, and encounter difficulty paying tuition, fees, and related educational and living expenses.

Persistence

• "Directing resources to improve factors affecting student persistence is more difficult for community colleges than four-year colleges," according to the proceedings report. State education formulas are often inequitable, typically funding two-year colleges at lower levels than four-year colleges. In addition to funding issues, community colleges face challenges in serving a population more complex than an average four-year college. This diversity means that appropriate support services for persistence will vary from college to college. Other issues, such as academic problems, lack of connection with faculty and students due to commuter-based campus, and obligations such as work and paying bills, contribute to persistence issues.

Facilitating Transfer

• "Low transfer rates can be attributed to the numerous challenges students face when attempting to transfer. Such challenges include inadequate transfer policies, insufficient academic preparation, and the need for financial aid," according to the proceedings report. Moreover, The Advisory Committee’s research has shown that student characteristics known to adversely affect persistence and attainment-- such as part-time enrollment, delayed enrollment, financial independent status, having financial dependents, single-parent status, working full-time, high school dropout status, or being a GED recipient--often prevent students from completing an education if specific policies impacting transfer are not in place.

Support

America faces major challenges that will require citizens to have a higher level of education. Overcoming these challenges will require improving access to and completion of a bachelor’s degree and the ability for students to transfer will be critical. With 31 percent of college-qualified low income students enrolled in community colleges in 2004, students need to be encouraged to complete bachelor’s degrees.

"Numerous institutions have taken it upon themselves to build partnerships that enable students to seamlessly transfer from a two-year to a four-year college," according to The Advisory Committee.

The transfer process is complex, but students’ chances of successfully transferring and completing a baccalaureate degree increase when two-year and four-year institutions work together to facilitate the process and reduce academic, social, informational, and complexity, and financial barriers to attaining a bachelor’s degree.

"Strategies currently used to facilitate transfer include: building partnerships, creating articulation agreements, developing support services, establishing public goals to increase transfer, and increasing financial aid for transfer students," according to the report.

By Michael Jones II
NASFAA Communications Intern

Posted 06/11/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.