Community Colleges in US Higher Education

1
Community Colleges in US Higher Education

• Thomas Bailey, Director
• Community College Research Center
• Teachers College, Columbia University
• How might the changing labour market transform
  higher education?
• OECD Expert Meeting   
• February 13, 2007
• Paris, France

2
For more information

• Please visit us on the web at http//ccrc.tc.colum
  bia.edu,
• where you can download presentations, reports,
• CCRC Briefs, and sign-up for news announcements.

Community College Research Center Institute on
Education and the Economy, Teachers College,
Columbia University 525 West 120th Street, Box
174, New York, NY 10027 E-mail
ccrc_at_columbia.edu Telephone [phone]
CCRC is funded in part by Alfred P. Sloan
foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education,
The Ford Foundation National Science Foundation
(NSF), Institute of Education Sciences of the
U.S. Department of Education
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International Context

• Dramatic growth of post-secondary education in
  most countries, resulting from growing and
  changing requirements for learning
• Much of that growth in sub-university or
  middle sector
• In most countries, these per student costs in
  this sector are lower than the university sector
• These sectors have many advantagescost, serving
  different needs and different students
• Potential disadvantages, particularly relating to
  opportunity and equity

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Examples

• Community collegesUS and Canada
• FachhochschulenGermany and Austria
• Institutes Universitaires de TechnologieFrance
• (Technical and) Further Education
  Colleges(Australia) and the UK
• HogscholenNetherlands
• Others in Finland and Norway

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Many Issues

• Institutional relationship between middle and
  university sector (ie. transfer?)
• Substantive content of each
• Relative costs and relative tuition
• Balance between broad educational and focused
  trade school missions
• Characteristics and goals of students

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Structure of US HE

• Majority of students in public institutions
• Hierarchy of institutions
• Sub-two-year institutionsprivate
• Community collegesmostly public
• Lower tier four-year collegespublic and private
• Prestigious research universitiespublic and
  private
• DegreesGraduate, Bachelors, AA, Certificate,
  non-credit

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Fall Headcount 1970 to 2000
7,000,000
Public four-year
6,000,000
5,000,000
Public two-year
4,000,000
Private four-year
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
Private two-year
0
1970-
1972-
1974-
1976-
1978-
1980-
1982-
1984-
1986-
1988-
1990-
1992-
1994-
1996-
1998-
2000-
71
73
75
77
79
81
83
85
87
89
91
93
95
97
99
01
Source U.S. Department of Education. (2002).
Digest of Education Statistics.
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Enrollment based on different definitions
(in thousands)
Source U.S. Department of Education. (2002).
Digest of Education Statistics.
U.S. Department of Education. (2002). IPEDS Fall
Enrollment survey.
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To Which Field of Study?
Source BPS89.
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Current Fund Expenditures (per student, 1995-96)
Source U.S. Department of Education. (2002).
Digest of Education Statistics.
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Tuition (2001-2002)
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States with the Largest and Smallest Two-Year
Enrollment
(Fall 2000)
Five states with most CC students
Public
Ratio of two-year
Four-year
Two-year
to four-year
1) California
551,871
1,375,900
2.49
2) Texas
436,530
460,004
1.05
3) Illinois
193,783
340,372
1.76
4) Florida
238,189
318,723
1.34
5) New York
336,003
247,414
0.74
Five states with fewest CC students
Public
Ratio of two-year
Four-year
Two-year
to four-year
46) West Virginia
69,967
6,169
0.09
47) Montana
32,059
5,328
0.17
48) South Dakota
29,882
4,975
0.17
49) Vermont
15,609
4,412
0.28
50) Alaska
25,396
1,163
0.05
Source U.S. Department of Education. (2002).
Digest of Education Statistics.
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Summary

• CCs account for 40-50 percent of PS enrollments
• CCs have much lower costs and much lower tuition
• The majority of students in community colleges
  are in occupational programs
• Structure of PS sector varies by state

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Economic Outcomes by Degree
Source NELS.
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Economic Value of CC Education

• Benefits of an Associate Degree (compared to a HS
  degree)
• Men earn 15 to 30 percent more
• Women earn up to 50 percent more
• Certificates
• Positive for women
• Uncertain for men
• Earnings benefit of an associate degree is at
  least half of the benefit of a BA

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Summary

• AAs and BAs have economic value
• CC education, on a per year or per course basis,
  has as high a payoff as BA education (at least so
  far)
• Certificates have uncertain value and rarely
  serve as lower rungs of educational ladders
• Education without degrees has value, but degrees
  have more value

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Providers of Non-Credit Job-Related Education
(1999)
Source NHES99
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High School Completion and Initial Postsecondary
EnrollmentEighth Graders in 1988
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High School Completion and Initial Postsecondary
Education by SES QuartileEighth Graders in 1988
20
Community Colleges and AccessCompared to
Students in BA Programs
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Percent Distribution by Total Credits Earned in
All PSE within Eight Yearsby Initial Institution
Type
22
CC First PSE StudentsPercent Distribution by
Highest Outcome in All PSE within Eight Years
(NELS)
23
CC First PSE Students in Various GroupsPercent
Distribution by Highest Outcome in All PSE within
Eight Years (NELS)
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Grubb and Sweet

• Emulate universities
• Collaborate with universities
• Develop a distinctive role independent of
  universities
• Providers of training at the sub-tertiary level