Community college

Pasadena City College (PCC)

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.

Australia

Australia has had a system of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and Community Colleges for many years. Training is conducted under the National Training System, the Australian system for vocational education and training (VET) under the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF), in which employers, the States of Australia, and the Commonwealth Government, formalise a curriculum available for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to teach and assess the competency of students. Courses are part of the Australian Qualifications Framework.

TAFEs or their outlying schools are in most large towns, and cities.

Community Colleges Australia provide affordable education, training & lifestyle courses to their local communities. There are over 50 Community Colleges across New South Wales and Victoria. SGSCC - St George & Sutherland Community College is one of the largest colleges with a 30 year history, the college specialises in Disability, Leisure, Work Skills, School Age and English programs.

Canada

In Canada, the 150 institutions that are the rough equivalent of the US community college are usually referred to as "colleges" since in common usage a degree granting institution is almost exclusively a university. In the province of Quebec, even when speaking in English, colleges are called Cégeps for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning "College of General and Vocational Education". (The word College can also refer to a private High School in Quebec). Colleges are educational institution providing higher education and tertiary education, granting certificates, diplomas, associate's degrees, and bachelor's degrees. Each Province has its own system of Colleges reflecting the decentralization of the Canadian Education system as provided for in The Constitution Act, 1867. However virtually all of them began in the mid 1960's as a response to the shortage of skilled immigrants as the wave of post second World War II Europeans began to decline just as the Canadian economy was beginning to expand rapidly. The motivation was economic as opposed to the much earlier start in the United States of Junior and Community Colleges which was driven by an integrative social policy.

Canadian Community College Systems

• Nova Scotia Community College system
• Ontario Colleges
• Quebec CEGEPs
• New Brunswick Community College

Malaysia

Community colleges in Malaysia are a network of educational institutions whereby vocational and technical skills training could be provided at all levels for school leavers before they entered the workforce. The community colleges also provide an infrastructure for rural communities to gain skills training through short courses as well as providing access to a post-secondary education.

At the moment, most community colleges award qualifications up to Level 3 in the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (Certificate 3) in both the Skills sector (Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia or the Malaysian Skills Certificate) as well as the Vocational and Training sector but the number of community colleges that are starting to award Level 4 qualifications (Diploma) are increasing. This is two levels below a Bachelor's degree (Level 6 in the MQF) and students within the system who intend to further their studies to that level will usually seek entry into Advanced Diploma programs in public universities, polytechnics or accredited private providers.

Philippines

In the Philippines, a community school functions as elementary or secondary school at daytime and towards the end of the day convert into a community college. This type of institution offers night classes under the supervision of the same principal, and the same faculty members who are given part time college teaching load.^[1]

The concept of community college dates back to the time of the former Minister of Education, Culture and Sports (MECS) that had under its wings the Bureaus of Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Higher Education and Vocational-Technical Education. MECS Secretary, Dr. Cecilio Putong, who in 1971 wrote that a community school is a school established in the community, by the community, and for the community itself. Dr. Pedro T. Orata of Pangasinan shared the same idea, hence the establishment of a Community College, now called the City College of Urdaneta.^[1]

A community college like the one in Abuyog, Leyte can operate with only PHP 124,000 annual budget in a 2-storey structure housing more than 700 students.^[1]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, 'community' college usually refers to a Sixth Form college or post compulsory education institution and is where students can achieve the A-levels, Scottish Higher, or other vocational qualifications (such as a GNVQ or an HND for example) needed for University.

United States

Joliet Junior College Main Campus, in Joliet, Illinois the first Community College in the US.

Fullerton College the oldest community college (originally "Junior College") in continuous operation in California, having been established in 1913

In the United States, community colleges, sometimes called junior colleges, technical colleges, or city colleges, are primarily two-year public institutions providing higher education and lower-level tertiary education, granting certificates, diplomas, and associate's degrees.

After graduating from a community college, some students transfer to a four-year liberal arts college or university for two to three years to complete a bachelor's degree.

Before the 1970s, community colleges in the United States were more commonly referred to as junior colleges, and that term is still used at some institutions. However, the term "junior college" has evolved to describe private two-year institutions, whereas the term "community college" has evolved to describe publicly funded two-year institutions. The name derives from the fact that community colleges primarily attract and accept students from the local community, and are often supported by local tax revenue.

Comprehensive Community Colleges

Many schools have evolved into and adapted the term Comprehensive to describe their institutions. These schools typically offer five facets of education.

• Transfer Education – The traditional two-year student that will then transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a BS/BA degree.
• Career Education – The traditional two-year student that will graduate with an Associate Degree and directly enter the workforce.
• Developmental – Remedial education for high school graduates who are not academically ready to enroll in college-level courses.
• Continuing – Non-Credit courses offered to the community for personal development and interest.
• Industry Training – Contracted training and education wherein a local company pays the college to provide specific training or courses for their employees.

Within the Transfer Education category, comprehensive schools typically have articulation agreements in place that provide prearranged acceptance into specific four-year institutions. At some community colleges, the partnering four-year institution teaches the third and fourth year courses at the community college location and thereby allows a student to obtain a four year degree without having to physically move to the four-year school.

There are a number of institutions and organizations which provide community college research to inform practice and policy.

Community College Research

There are a number of research organizations and publications who focus upon the activities of community college, junior college, and technical college institutions.^[2] Many of these institutions and organizations present the most current research and practical outcomes at annual community college conferences.

• The American Association of Community Colleges^[3][4] has provided oversight on community college research since the 1920s.^[5] AACC publishes a research journal called the Community College Journal.^[6]
• The mission of the Community College Research Center^[2][7] from Teachers College at Columbia University is to "conduct research on the major issues affecting community colleges in the United States and to contribute to the development of practice and policy that expands access to higher education and promotes success for all students."^[8]
• The Community College Survey of Student Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin is used to measure various research aspects between faculty and students in the United States.^[9]
• The Community College Futures Assembly is an annual conference to showcase the best practices in community college administration. Focus groups convene at the conference to serve as a "think tank" to inform practice of community college board of trustees, presidents, and policy makers.^[10]

Additionally, several peer-reviewed journals extensively publish research on community colleges:

• Community College Journal of Research and Practice
• New Directions for Community Colleges
• Community College Review
• The Kellogg Community College Leadership Legacy Project, researching and reporting on the success of those bringing leadership to Community Colleges and who were supported in their doctoral programs by grants by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
• Journal of Applied Research in the Community College

See also

• Adult education
• Adult high school
• Articulation (education)
• College
• Continuing education
• Distance learning
• E-learning
• Folk high school
• Higher vocational education
• Lifelong learning
• Vocational university
• Vocational education

In Australia

• Technical and Further Education
• Workers' Educational Association also in the UK

In the Philippines

• Association of Local Colleges and Universities
• Local college and university

In the UK

• Further Education

In Guatemala

• Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

Notes

References

• Baker, G. A. III (1994). A handbook on the community college in America: Its history, mission, and management. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
• Cohen, A.M., Brawer, F.B. (2003) The American Community College, 4th edition. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
• Dougherty, K. J. (1994). The contradictory college: The conflicting origins, impacts, and futures of the community college. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
• Floyd, D.L., Skolnik, M.L., & Walker, K.P. , eds. (2005). The Community College Baccalaureate: Emerging Trends and Policy Issues. Sterling VA: Stylus Publishing.
• Frye, J. H. (1992). The vision of the public junior college, 1900-1940. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
• Kasper, H.T. (2002). The changing role of community college. Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 46(4), 14–21.
• Murray, J.P. (2002). The current state of faculty development in two-year colleges. New Directions for Community Colleges, 118, 89–97.
• Vaughan, George, Mellander, Gustavo, Beverly Blois (1997). The Community College Presidency. Washington,DC: The American Association of Community Coolleges.