Fulfilling the Democratic Mission of the Community College Through Student Civic Engagement

Community colleges are inherently democratizing institutions. Through their open access policies, immersion in their local communities, and mission of preparing students for transfer or the workforce, they are positioned to produce graduates who have the skills to become change agents in their communities. Incorporating civic engagement within the community college setting often presents steep challenges as a result of funding models, a national narrow-focus on completion and credential production, and the barriers their own students face. Yet despite these challenges, community colleges across the country are increasingly focusing on methods of encouraging the civic engagement of their students and are participating in high-impact practices. Research confirms that students who are engaged civically do better academically. By assessing their civic programming, community colleges can shine light on the value of civic engagement as a fundamental outcome of a community college education. Only then will these institutions fully realize their mission as America's democracy colleges.

Noncredit Education Enrollment and Outcomes: Exploring the "Black Box" of Noncredit Community College Education

Representing approximately two in five community college students, noncredit education is an important but understudied segment of the higher education population. In an effort to help open the "black box" of noncredit education in community colleges, the present study uses an established noncredit course typology (occupational training, sponsored occupational training, personal interest, and precollege remediation) to better understand the predictors of noncredit enrollment and outcomes in Iowa. Using a sample of more than 181,000 records, we employed a series of regression analyses to discuss variables associated with enrollment in the noncredit course types, the number of completions, and the number of contact hours. Nuanced findings and implications were associated with race/ethnicity, gender, institutional mission as captured through Carnegie Classifications, and career fields based on the 16 career clusters.

Understanding Inclusion and Equity in Community College Education Abroad

This study explores the extent to which community college study abroad is exclusive, meaning that opportunities are restricted only to certain students, or inclusive, meaning that education abroad is available to all that express interest. We administered a survey collecting both quantitative and qualitative data to leaders in community college education abroad to gain insight into inclusion in education abroad programming at their institutions. This survey was designed with an eye towards understanding how access is realized and the ways in which diversity in education abroad is supported (or not). Our results indicate that community college study abroad is neither entirely inclusive nor entirely exclusive. We conclude with a call to action for community college leaders to build a new, inclusive narrative surrounding education abroad.

The Returns to Education at Community Colleges: New Evidence from the Education Longitudinal Survey

I use nationally representative data from the Education Longitudinal Survey (ELS) to update the literature on returns to community college education. I compare the experiences of the ELS cohort that graduated high school in 2004 with those of the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS) cohort that graduated high school more than a decade earlier, in 1992. I estimate that community college students from the ELS cohort were more likely to be employed, and that those who were earned about 21 percent more than comparable peers with only a high school education. This estimate is at least as large as that observed for the NELS cohort, though I find some evidence that the value of an associate's degree is smaller for the more recent cohort. I compare these results with those from the burgeoning body of research using state administrative data to answer similar questions.

Community College Education Abroad Health and Safety Concerns

There has been a good deal already written about health and safety with education abroad at four-year colleges and universities. Although the authors found significant publications with a university focus, they found no published literature that specifically addresses community college overseas health, safety, and legal issues. The purpose of this chapter is to review what the literature already says about health and safety challenges and apply it to community colleges. In so doing, they bring forth US court cases and real-life examples at community college education abroad programs in order to ground recommendations and strategies for responding to today's challenges. In the same way that community colleges implement “on campus” policies and procedures to both limit and respond to student health and safety crises, community colleges should also implement policies and procedures to limit “study abroad” risks to students and be prepared to act if issues arise overseas. This chapter provides essential strategies to improve health and safety and legal standards for community college education abroad programs.

Is Free Education Really Free?

The cost of college is remarkable. Shelling out thousands of dollars for some knowledge and a receipt claiming you paid is, in a few words, the modern American college system. Perhaps unsurprisingly, policies have been proposed to reduce the cost of college, even making it free in some instances. On Jan. 9, 2015 President Obama unveiled a plan to make “two years of community college free for responsible students across America.” Given the Republican control of Congress, the idea stands little chance of being passed, but it is still interesting to consider. Under the President’s plan, all Americans, regardless of income, would have access to two years of free community college education provided the student maintains a 2.5 GPA and part-time status. Though the benefits would be numerous, so would the costs.