Remedial Education As Ideological Battleground: Emerging Remedial Education Policies in the Community College

1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Remedial Education ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
State Level ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Urban Community Colleges

While remedial education has become an increasingly common aspect of all sectors of postsecondary education, recent ideological debates have resulted in state and system-wide policies that increasingly segregate remediation solely within the community college sector. This trend has profound implications for access to educational opportunity for large segments of the population, particularly the poor and minority students who are most often placed in remedial courses. This article first examines the ideological underpinnings of the current debate regarding the purpose and positioning of remedial education. Next, I utilize qualitative data on three urban community colleges to examine the ways in which the interplay between state- and institutional-level ideology and policy is reflected in individual colleges' remediation practices. The data suggest that community colleges respond quite differently to state-level remediation policies and can play an active role in shaping the implementation of these policies.

How Noncredit Enrollments Distort Community College IPEDS Data: An Eight-State Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Romano ◽  
Mark D’Amico
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
New York ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
System Level ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Full Time Equivalent ◽  
Education Data ◽  
State Study

A commonly used metric for measuring college costs, drawn from data in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), is expenditure per full-time equivalent (FTE) student. This article discusses an error in this per FTE calculation when using IPEDS data, especially with regard to community colleges. The problem is that expenditures for noncredit courses are reported to IPEDS but enrollments are not. This exclusion inflates any per FTE student figure calculated from IPEDS, in particular expenditures and revenues. A 2021 IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP #62) acknowledged this problem and moved campus institutional research offices a step closer to reporting noncredit enrollment data (RTI International, 2021). This article is the first to provide some numbers on the magnitude of this problem. It covers eight states—California, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Data on noncredit community college enrollments were made available from system offices in all states. In addition, discussions were held at both the system level and the campus level to verify the data and assumptions. Figures provided by states were merged with existing IPEDS data at the campus and state levels, and then were adjusted to account for noncredit enrollments. The results provide evidence that calculations using IPEDS data alone overestimate the resources that community colleges have to spend on each student, although distortions vary greatly between states and among colleges in the same state. The results have important implications for research studies and college benchmarking.

Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander Student Progression through Community College: A Disaggregated Transcript Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Federick Ngo ◽  
Jenna Sablan
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Pacific Islander ◽  
College Persistence ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Developmental Math ◽  
Transcript Analysis ◽  
Asian And Pacific Islander

Background/Context Research on the postsecondary education of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) students has typically focused on attainment within four-year colleges and neglected the experiences of API students in community colleges. However, many API students pursuing postsecondary education, particularly Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander (SEAPI) students, do so through U.S. community colleges. The progress and achievement of these students in community college remains largely unstudied, due in part to the limited availability of disaggregated data. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study (1) To what extent do API students, and specifically SEAPI students, achieve community college progress milestones, such as enrollment, completion of gatekeeper courses, and attainment of degree- and transfer-applicable credits? (2) How are these students progressing through developmental math? Research Design We examine the academic progress of API students using transcript data from a large California community college district. The disaggregated race/ethnicity data allow us to focus on oft-overlooked API subgroups. Focusing on SEAPI students, we analyze momentum towards key college persistence and completion milestones. We also track progression through developmental math education, one of the key barriers community college students face in completing community college. Findings In our disaggregated transcript analysis, we find that SEAPI students are less likely than their peers to achieve college milestones such as completing math courses and earning the degree-applicable units necessary for degree completion or transfer. Seeking explanations for these differences within the context of developmental education, we observe that SEAPI students are significantly less likely than their peers to attempt developmental math courses, though the data suggest they are more likely to complete courses when they do attempt them. These relationships hold after controlling for differences in the demographic characteristics of these students. Conclusions/Recommendations These findings point towards non-academic and institutional explanations for lower rates of college persistence and completion and offer direction for policy efforts and institutional practice to support these students.

Community College Infrastructure

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Uttam Gaulee
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Conventional Models ◽  
National Economies

The idea of community colleges serves to disrupt elitism in higher education by countering social stratification that is created and maintained by conventional models of education around the world. At a time when countries seek to redefine their education policies towards stabilization, prosperity, and democratization of opportunities, the idea of community college offers a powerful connective solution to community, industry, and national economies. The powerful but flexible idea of community college infrastructure is open for adaptations through a wide range of unique economic contexts around the world.

scholarly journals Inside the Math Trap: Chronic Math Tracking From High School to Community College

2020 ◽  
pp. 004208592090891
Author(s):  
Federick J. Ngo ◽  
David Velasquez
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Urban Community ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Transition To College ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Urban Community Colleges

Examining linked academic transcripts from urban community colleges and their feeder high schools, we identify math course-taking patterns that span sectors. We highlight stifled mobility and chronic repetition of math coursework in the transition to college, and we identify “math traps” from which students do not escape. Math mobility was limited, math repetition was rampant, and nearly half of students found themselves in math traps. All else equal, being trapped in math was significantly linked to race/ethnicity, suggesting that these forms of chronic math tracking across sectors expose previously undocumented forms of inequality in educational experiences.

scholarly journals Beyond BA Blinders: Lessons from Occupational Colleges and Certificate Programs for Nontraditional Students

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E Rosenbaum ◽  
Janet Rosenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Nontraditional Students ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Private Colleges ◽  
Career Preparation ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Certificate Programs ◽  
Student Difficulties

Postsecondary education mostly focuses on the four-year BA degree. Community colleges are often promoted as the first step toward the ultimate goal of a four-year degree. However, community colleges have extremely poor degree completion rates. There is evidence suggesting better results for their private, two-year counterparts—particularly for certificate completion. We will focus on occupational colleges—private accredited colleges that offer career preparation in occupational fields like health care, business, information technology, and others. These institutions challenge many of our preconceptions about college. They are less wedded to college traditions, which raises some interesting questions: Do private colleges offering certificates or AA degrees use different procedures? Should community colleges consider some of these procedures to reduce student difficulties and improve their completion rates? For many community college students, earning a more likely, quick sub-BA credential—perhaps followed by a four-year degree in the future—will be preferable to the relatively unlikely pathway from a community college program directly to a four-year BA. In sum, this paper suggests that nontraditional colleges and nontraditional credentials (certificates and AA degrees) deserve much closer attention from researchers, policymakers, and students.

Campus of Opportunity: A Qualitative Analysis of Homeless Students in Community College

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 190-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarrett T. Gupton
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Homeless Youth ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Homeless Students

Objective: Community colleges are gateways of access to higher education for many underrepresented students. One group that has received little attention in the community college research literature is homeless youth. The objective of this research is to address the following research questions: (a) What might be learned from the narratives of homeless youth and their experiences in postsecondary education? and (b) How might community colleges promote interpersonal and institutional resilience for homeless students? Method: Utilizing qualitative research techniques, this article reviews the experiences’ of homeless youth attending community college and explores the ways in which community colleges might serve as sites for fostering resilience and stability in the lives of homeless students. Results: The results of this empirical work suggest that although homeless students do benefit from enrolling in community college, some of the benefits are not salient to them and they are unable to take full advantage of institutional resources. Contributions: The findings from this study contribute to the literature on low-income students’ experiences in community college and add the voices and experiences of homeless youth.

scholarly journals Chicanas in IR: Data-Driven Advocacy for Latinx Students from Institutional Research Contexts in the Community College

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elvira J. Abrica ◽  
Martha Rivas
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
California Community College ◽  
Institutionalized Racism ◽  
College System ◽  
California Community College System

Various inequities and challenges facing Latinx students in community colleges continue to be documented. Yet, less documented are the challenges associated with advocacy efforts to support Latinx and other underrepresented Students of Color within the community college sector. There is not often pause to consider: who advocates for Latinx students? When and how does this advocacy take shape? In this article, we offer Chicana testimonios as institutional research (IR) professionals to highlight ways we experience, respond to, and challenge institutionalized racism and systemic obstacles to advocate for Latinx students in the California community college system. We situate our testimonios within a critique of the pillar of neutrality associated with the institutional research profession and argue for a critical examination of the ways in which IR may play an active role in the perpetuation or the dismantling of educational inequities in California community colleges.

The Impact of Full-Time Enrollment in the First Semester on Community College Transfer Rates: New Evidence from Texas with Pre-College Determinants

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby J. Park
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
State Level ◽  
Public High School ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Transfer Rates ◽  
Policy Lever ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Background/Context Recent developments in state-level policy have begun to require, incentivize, and/or encourage students at community colleges to enroll full time in an effort to increase the likelihood that students will persist and transfer to four-year institution where they will be able to complete their bachelor's degree. Often, these policies are predicated on the idea that full-time status is associated with greater engagement on behalf of the student, a concept that has been widely studied in higher education as it relates to student persistence and degree attainment. Purpose Building upon theory and observational studies, I seek to empirically test whether enrolling full time at a community college has a discernible effect on transferring to a four-year university. Research Design I follow four cohorts of first-time traditionally aged college students who graduated from a public high school in Texas in the years 2000–2003 and employ a propensity score matching procedure designed to reduce sample selection bias. Findings I find that enrolling full time increases overall transfer rates by at least 12%. These results are robust to the inclusion of many pre-college factors as well as to a sensitivity analysis, across four separate cohorts. Conclusions/Recommendations This study provides evidence in support of a key policy lever for increase transfer rates already in place in a handful of states: encouraging incentivizing, or requiring full-time enrollment. The key, however, will be to develop policy that results in more students enrolling full time while also maintaining the open access mission of community colleges. While requiring students to enroll full time may not be appropriate in all contexts, states should seriously consider other ways to incentivize or, at a minimum, support and encourage full-time enrollment, particularly for first-time traditionally aged students.

A Multilevel Analysis of Community College Students’ Transfer to Four-Year Institutions of Varying Selectivity

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Xueli Wang
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Community College Students ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Community College Student ◽  
Path Model ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Selective Institutions ◽  
Four Year Institutions

Background/Context Transfer from community colleges to selective four-year institutions is an issue that assumes great importance for the democratization of postsecondary education. Yet research on what influences transfer to selective four-year institutions is surprisingly sparse. Transfer research typically lumps four-year schools receiving community college transfers into one group. This approach neglects heterogeneity in institutional selectivity and fails to study forces underlying the varied pathways to four-year institutions. Purpose This research fills the gap in the literature by exploring the following question: What student and institutional factors are associated with transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions of varying selectivity? This study is aimed at identifying beneficial experiences to support community college students’ pathway to the baccalaureate, especially at selective institutions. Research Design This study drew upon several national data sources and a nationally representative sample of all first-time postsecondary students beginning at a public two-year college in 2003–2004. Based on the study's conceptual framework that depicts the relationship between transfer and various individual and institutional factors, I analyzed the hypothesized relationships using a multilevel path model. Findings The study shows that few community college students transferred to highly selective institutions. In terms of individual factors that distinguish those who transfer to highly selective institutions from their counterparts who transfer to moderately or less selective schools, holding baccalaureate expectations and transfer intent seems to benefit those who transfer to selective institutions much more strongly than those who transfer to less selective ones. Similarly, rigorous course-taking distinguishes not only those who transfer from those who do not, but also those who transfer to highly selective institutions from their transfer counterparts headed toward moderately or less selective colleges. However, integrative experiences and first-term GPA show no significant relationship with upward transfer. As for institutional characteristics, percentage of certificates and vocational associate degrees awarded is negatively associated with transfer to highly and moderately selective institutions, while it does not particularly affect chances of transfer to less selective institutions. Furthermore, employment of part-time instructional faculty and staff does not benefit or hurt community college students’ chances of transfer, and, overall, proximity to selective institutions does not appear to be influential either. Conclusions This study's findings reinforce persistent issues associated with access and transfer to selective institutions for community college students. Both education policy and research must continue to tackle challenges and create opportunities to help broaden community college student access to four-year institutions.

Experience as Textbook

2015 ◽  
pp. 176-196
Author(s):  
Katie L. Treadwell ◽  
Brian R. Mitra
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
College Education ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning From Experience ◽  
Community College Education ◽  
Urban Community Colleges

This chapter explores how experiential learning opportunities, specifically service-learning, foster career exploration, development of transferable skills, and readiness for employment and/or higher education among community college students. By drawing upon experiences leading service-learning opportunities, career development, faculty partnerships, and leadership development at urban community colleges, the authors present an approach to community college education rooted in experiential learning. The chapter proposes the use of Usher, Bryant, and Johnston's model of learning from experience to develop students' vocational practices and help “learners become more empowered to respond to their changing vocational environments” (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 68). These impacts are illustrated through the programs and student voices of a community college recognized for its service-learning opportunities. Colleges and corporations share responsibility to prepare citizens (Holton, 1998). Community colleges must take the lead in developing these partnerships and designing learning environments that benefit students and community, in turn creating a next-generation workforce.

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