In the United States, community colleges (once commonly called junior colleges) are primarily two-year public institutions of higher education. After graduating from a community college, some students transfer to a university or liberal arts college for two to three years to complete a bachelor's degree, while others enter the workforce.
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Before the 1970s, community colleges 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. As such, the main governance body of community colleges changed its name in 1992 from the "American Association of Junior Colleges" to the "American Association of Community Colleges".
In New Jersey, slightly more than half of the state's nineteen community colleges are called county colleges, not merely in name but also in descriptive speech. This is because there is one community college, often with satellite branches, dedicated to each county of the state. The term is also used by some community colleges in Texas (where community colleges are funded by county residents via property taxes assessed by a special "community college district"), Michigan and Illinois. The City University of New York is a well known municipally-funded community college system, although the system includes both junior and senior (4-year) colleges, in addition to graduate programs.
In several California cities (including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento), and in other large cities, New York City, and Chicago, community colleges are often called "city colleges," since they were municipally-funded and designed to serve the needs of the residents of the city in which they are situated. The Los Angeles Community College District is the largest community college system in the United States. The Maricopa Community College District in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area, is the largest community college district in the United States in terms of enrollment.
Many events have contributed to the development and continued growth of community colleges. The social and economic climate of the early twentieth century led to vocal activists for a two year educational alternative to four year higher education institutions. Several different groups advocated for community colleges in the early twentieth century, including students and parents, educators, businesses, state universities, and government officials. Events like urbanization, industrialization, and economic development caused changes in society. One of education’s responses to a country in transition was the junior college.
Several different movements supported the creation of community colleges, including local community support of public and private two year institutions, the expansion of the public education system, increased professional standards for teachers, the vocational education movement, and an expanding demand for adult and community education. Numerous colleges and universities advocated for the development of junior colleges. Leadership felt small, private liberal arts colleges and high schools could provide the first two years of college while larger universities could focus resources on research and junior and senior level students.
“The two-year college has been a distinctively American creation, and nowhere else has it attained such prominence.”[2] J. L. Ratcliff.[3] suggests one perspective for the presence of American two-year post secondary institutions of the past century: they began in the private sector after the Panic of 1894. J M Carroll, president of Baylor University, made a pragmatic suggestion to solve the problem of too many Baptist colleges with insufficient funds and not enough students to support them: reduce the smaller Baptist colleges’ curriculum to the freshman and sophomore years. After this preliminary period, Baylor University would accept the two year students and provide the junior and senior years of their academic plan. Dr. Carroll believed this fragmentation of a student’s degree seeking path could remedy the depressed college situations by requiring a smaller group of faculty and fewer resources for the first two years of higher education. Such planning would not reduce the existing number of institutions or the roles they had developed in the communities where they were founded—only the length of enrollment on the campuses. This measure was a proactive response to accommodate a continued trend analysis of low enrollment and assure the economical operation of all the Baptist institutions. Also, the catastrophic economic repercussions to the industries and businesses of the towns where the smaller colleges were located would be minimized.
Before this innovation of two-year campuses with transfer missions in the private sector, a few public institutions before 1850 offered two years of college: Lasell Junior College in Auburndale, Massachusetts and Vincennes University of Vincennes, Indiana. Dr. Helland cites a section from the 1899 Vincennes University catalog, in which these statements are found: “The Vincennes University occupies a unique position in the educational field. It is half-way between the commissioned high school and the full-fledged college: it is in fact a junior college.”[4] Many of the early public community colleges were an extension of high schools, like the first established, Joliet Junior College, in 1901. This was a two year system compared to one year high school extension. These initial community colleges generally were very small (usually fewer than 200 students) and focused on a liberal arts education with the goal of transferring students to four year institutions. They were more reflective of high school needs and lacked a definite identity. These examples of two year structure innovations with transfer missions in the private and public sector provided a pragmatic approach for the preservation of existing institutions.
Many of the early community colleges were normal schools and prepared teachers. Primary emphasis was placed on traditional middle class values and developing responsible citizens. Normal Schools began in Massachusetts in the 1880s as extensions of local high schools. They were originated to meet the need for teacher preparation. For example, in Saint Joseph, Missouri, a Normal School was added to the local high school to provide a career track for women who wanted to teach. Mr. Whiteford, the area’s district superintendent, inquired of the University of Missouri to determine if credits from Saint Joseph Normal School could transfer into a baccalaureate program. The University’s President Dr. Hill acknowledged the request and provided for the articulation. Coincidently, Dr. Hill was actively involved in the American Association of Universities and calling for the establishment of junior colleges for this purpose. In Minnesota, St. Paul’s Public School District established a “City Training School” for preparing teachers.[5] The 1883 school’s mission was to provide certified teachers and substitutes for the district. Mrs. M. E. Jenness from the Normal School at River Falls, Wisconsin was the St. Paul School’s first principal; Mrs. N. F. Wheaton was the Director of Practice. Wheaton had been employed at the Oshkosh Normal School in Wisconsin. In Minneapolis, a Normal Training School was instituted in the fall of 1887. Miss Adele Evers of Manchester Normal School in New Hampshire was appointed the first teacher; she was one of six candidates for the position. Evers’ references included work at Martha’s Vineyard and Saratoga.[6]
During the 1920s and 1930s there was a shift in the purpose of community colleges to developing a workforce, which was influenced by wide unemployment during the Great Depression. Developing "semiprofessionals" became dominant national language to describe junior college students. The notion that engineers and supervisors make primary decisions about what and how activities were to be done in the workplace provided the origins for employees needed to carry out their decisions. This need for a class of workers to implement the decisions of the theoreticians demanded an educational delivery system other than the traditional four-year college or university. The closed shop of the artisan which had initially provided workers was no longer the educational program of choice. Nationally, a new two-year vehicle for educating the industrial worker found its launching within the secondary public school system under the leadership of local school districts.
Baltimore’s Manual Training High School opened in 1884, was the first separate secondary school for education that was specifically work orientated.[7] The Maryland institution was unique as a stand-alone campus. Other examples of sub-baccalaureate programs were the University Preparatory School and Junior College of Tonkawa. The result of the two- year schools founded in Oklahoma Public School Secondary System in 1902, both institutions later merged in 1914 and became the Oklahoma Institute of Technology. Dean Schneider of the University of Cincinnati developed an alternative high school with a cooperative plan where students spent one week in an occupation and the other in school. Industry provided the shop experiences and the classroom facilitated the academic.[8] There were also non-cooperative high schools; two examples were the Girl’s Vocational High School in Kansas City, Missouri and the Delgado Trade School in New Orleans. A two-year, terminal education, was seen as more socially efficient for students who could advance past high school but not continue to attain bachelor's degrees. This national vocational movement was seen to give junior colleges a target population, but numerous students wanted more than a semiprofessional education; many maintained a desire to transfer. Throughout this time period, there was a move for more public two-year institutions along with a trend to separate from high schools and affiliate with higher education. With the change in affiliation came a new status which encouraged junior colleges to develop additional credibility through the creation of professional criteria and use of scientific methods.
After World War II, the G.I. Bill afforded more educational opportunity to veterans which resulted in increased enrollments. Another factor that led to growth was the rise of adult and community education. After World War II, community colleges were seen as a good place to house continuing education programs. The 1947 Truman Commission was a very important national document for community colleges. It suggested a network of public community colleges that would provide education to a diverse group of students at little or no cost along with serving community needs through a comprehensive mission.
This national network exploded in the 1960s with 457 community colleges and the enrollment of baby boomers. A series of grants through the Kellogg Junior College Leadership Programs helped train many community college leaders during this decade. Growth continued during the 1970s when many enrolled to escape the Vietnam era draft. The 1970s also marked a shift to faculty development, including more instructional training for the unique student body and mission of community colleges. During the 1980s, community colleges began to work more closely with high schools to prepare students for vocational and technical two year programs.
By the end of the 20th century, all two-year institutions were playing important roles in higher education as access mechanisms. They became an integral feature for those persons who were attending higher education for the first time or as non-traditional students. Brint and Karabel[9] have recognized the change that transpired from 1920 when fewer than 2 percent of all college freshmen were enrolled in a two-year college to the late 1980s when over 50% were matriculated. Junior colleges once located in high schools had left their origins to develop their own campuses and were called community colleges and still retained the transfer access mission. High school normal schools matured into teacher colleges or colleges of education within universities offering bachelor and graduate degrees. Industrial institutes integrated with local junior colleges to make these campus’s programs more comprehensive community colleges. Along with this growth and legitimization of two-year mechanisms for the delivery of higher education, the emergence of two-year institutions provided an epistemological debate that divided the river of education flowing into the early 20th century into three streams of educational natures. “In the process of this struggle and adjustment some colleges will grow stronger, some will become academies, some junior colleges; the high schools will be elevated to a still more important position than that which they now occupy. The general result will be the growth of a system in the higher educational work of the United States, where now no system exists.”[10]
In recent history, a debate between the advocates and critics of community colleges has gained strength. Advocates argue community colleges serve the needs of society through providing college opportunity to students who otherwise cannot go to college, training and retraining mid level skilled workers, and preserving the academic excellence of four year universities. Critics argue community colleges continue a culture of privilege through training business workers at public expense, not allowing working class children to advance in social class, protecting selective admissions at four year institutions for the nation's elite, and discouraging transfer through cooling out.[11] Whether community colleges give opportunity or protect privilege, their century-long history has developed a distinctive aspect of higher education. Although the growth of community colleges has stabilized in recent history, enrollment continues to outgrow four year institutions. A total of 1,166 loosely linked community colleges face challenges of new technological innovations, distance learning, funding constraints, community pressure, and international influence.. Some of the issues currently faced are explored in community college resources compiled by the Association for Career and Technical Education.
1901: Joliet, Illinois added fifth and sixth year courses to the high school curriculum leading to the development of the first public junior college, Joliet Junior College.[12]
1920: American Association of Junior Colleges established.
1930: First publication of the Community College Journal.
1944: Passage of the Federal G.I. Bill of Rights
1947: Publication of Higher Education for American Democracy by the President's Commission on Higher Education (the 1947 Truman Commission).
1965: Higher Education Act of 1965 established grant programs to make higher education more accessible.
1992: The American Association of Junior Colleges changed their name to the American Association of Community Colleges.
State Governance
The higher education governance structure landscape in America is very diverse; they are not intended to be precise organization charts. According to the Education Commission of the States there are three major types of higher education governance systems in the states; they are Governing Board States, Coordinating Board States and Planning/ Regulatory/Service Agency States. (from: http://www.ecs.org)
The Governing Board States (GBS)
State-level governing boards are distinguished according to whether they are responsible for consolidated systems or multi-campus systems. Consolidated systems are composed of several previously independently governed institutions that were later consolidated into one system. Multi-campus systems developed primarily through extensions of various branches or campuses.
Coordinating Board States
Coordinating boards vary significantly in formal authority and informal power and influence from state to state. Generally, there is a state level board governing universities, colleges, and community colleges. Each university and community college district will have its own board that is accountable to a state-coordinating agency.
The Planning/Regulatory/Service Agency States (PRSA)
The PRSA states have limited or non-existent formal governing or coordinating authority, which carry out regulatory and service functions such as student financial aid.
For a comprehensive list of American community colleges and their state level governing boards: http://www.utexas.edu/world/comcol/state/
A more thorough description of state level college and university governance models can be found at: Models of Postsecondary Education Coordination and Governance in the States
Local Governance
Most community colleges are operated within special districts that draw property tax revenue from the local community, as a division of a state university, or as a sister institution within a state-wide higher education system.
In all cases, community colleges are governed by a board of trustees, appointed by the state governor, or the board is elected by citizens residing within the community college district. In some instances, as with the City Colleges of Chicago, the board of trustees is appointed by the presiding local government. In Chicago, it is the mayor who appoints the board.
Depending on the operational system, the board of trustees may directly govern the college or may govern the college through a university or system-level office. Depending upon the locus of control, the board may or may not be subject to control by a state agency that supervises all community college districts or all higher education institutions within the state.
The board of trustees selects a president or chancellor of the community college to serve as the chief executive officer and lead the faculty and staff.
Multi-College Community College District
Multi-College Community College Districts include several individually accredited community colleges within one district. Each college is independent with distinct local administration, but they share a single board of trustees and report to a non-instructional central administrative office.
The Contra Costa Community College District is an example of one of the largest multi-college community college districts in California. The District consists of Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College, Los Medanos College, San Ramon Campus, and Brentwood Center, and annually serves almost 62,000 students.
Multi-campus Community College District
Multi-campus systems share a single accreditation. Local administrative governance varies. Extension campuses report to the main campus administration or a central administrative office.
Faculty Governance
Faculty Senate/Faculty Council
A faculty senate, or faculty council as this body is sometimes referred to, is the representative body of all faculty who participate in the governance processes of the community college. As with all governing bodies, the faculty senate is usually governed by a constitution and a set of bylaws specific to the college. Membership in this body varies from college, with most restricting voting rights to tenured and tenure track faculty, and others allowing a wider array of members to include full-time, adjunct, continuing education, technical, and adult basic education faculty. (modified from: http://www.pima.edu/facsenate/)
Though this is not an exhaustive list, the mission of the faculty senate at the community college usually includes: matters concerning curricular decisions; strengthening the concept of the faculty as a college entity; promoting the gathering, exchanging, and disseminating of faculty views and concerns regarding college matters; promoting mutual accountability between the college faculty and the faculty representative to any college committee; advising the Chancellor and other administrators of faculty views on college matters; bringing the concerns of the Chancellor and other administrators on college matters to the faculty; promoting the involvement of all faculty members in the establishing, staffing, and functioning of college committees, task forces, or other initiatives; and participating in the policy review process of the college.
Collective Bargaining Units/Agreements
Most community college faculty are bargained for employees. While unions and their respective collective bargaining agreements serve to protect faculty rights and working conditions, collective bargaining agreements, or union contracts, provide faculty with a defined set of rules and regulations they must follow as a condition of employment. Collective bargaining swept into higher education on the coattails of legislation authorizing public employees to negotiate. As these laws were passed in various states in the 1960s and 1970s, employee groups ranging from refuse collectors to prison guards gained union representation and began negotiating contracts (Cohen & Brawer, 2008, p.147)
Collective bargaining units exist for all divisions of community college faculty; however, participation by faculty groups differs from college to college.
Student Governance
There is a student government organizational presence on close to every community college campus in America The Student Government organization is the official voice of the student body, a vital link in effective student participation in all areas of student concern in relationship to the college’s administration. By advocating student rights and services, the organization represents the student body and presents its concerns to the college administration, local, and national issues. Through the Student Government organizations the college provides students with essential leadership experience, and valuable connections with faculty, staff administration, students, and the Board of Trustees. Student involvement is usually based on criteria set by the institution; all students have the right as a student to participate in democratic process on campus. (from: http://www.asgaonline.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=SGDB02&mod=SG+Database%3A%3ASGDB02+-+SG+Details&mid=68BCEFA4D2534435852F8A4C82C52108&tier=3&id=5C55958317E64A358D4A063D53867385)
Shared Governance
Shared governance is the set of practices under which college faculty and staff participates in significant decisions concerning the operation of their institutions. Colleges are very special types of institutions with a unique mission—the creation and dissemination of ideas. At the heart of shared governance is the belief that decision-making should be largely independent of short-term managerial and political considerations. Faculty and professional staff are in the best position to shape and implement curriculum and research policy, to select academic colleagues and judge their work; and The perspective of all front-line personnel is invaluable in making sound decisions about allocating resources, setting goals, choosing top officers and guiding student life.
For a more detailed explanation of governance at the community college, please see the AAUP’s 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities and the 1998 statement on the same topic by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. These documents more clearly define those matters that are the responsibility of the voting faculty and those reserved to the governing body and its delegates. (From: http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2002/JA/Feat/Luce.htm)
In North America, community colleges operate under a policy of "open admission." That is, anyone with a high school diploma or GED may attend, regardless of prior academic status or college entrance exam scores. Although community colleges have an open admission policy, students have to take assessment tests before enrolling at the college, due to not all courses being open admission. In California and Minnesota, students who have reached the age of 18 are not required to have completed secondary education; instead, they must simply show an "ability to benefit" from a college's educational program. Under certain circumstances, community colleges will also accept high school students or dropouts.
The open admission policy results in a wide range of students attending community college classes. Students range in age from teenagers in high school taking classes under a concurrent, or dual, enrollment policy (which allows both high school and college credits to be earned simultaneously) to working adults taking classes at night to complete a degree or gain additional skills in their field to students with graduate degrees who enroll to become more employable or to pursue lifelong interests. "Reverse transfers" (or those transferring from a university) constitute one of the fastest growing new community college cohorts.
One threat to enrollment at community colleges is the rapidly increasing popularity of for-profit e-learning and online universities, such as the University of Phoenix, which is now the 16th-largest university in the world. Higher education research and consulting firm Eduventures estimates that 10% of college students will be enrolled in an online degree program by 2008[13] Many community colleges have supplemented their offerings with online courses to stave off competition from exclusively e-learning schools. For example, Northern Virginia Community College's Extended Learning Institute[14] has been offering distance learning courses for thirty-five years. Texas offers the Virtual College of Texas whereby a student at any community college in the state can attend classes from any of the state's 51 community colleges or four Texas State Technical College campuses, paying local tuition plus a VCT fee of around $40.
California has the lowest community college enrollment fees in the nation, currently set at $36 per unit for state residents.
Community colleges generally offer a range of programs.
In study towards an associate's degree, a student takes necessary courses needed to earn a degree that will allow for entry into jobs requiring some level of college education but not a full four-year degree. The associate's degree program also allows students who wish to eventually obtain a bachelor's degree at a four-year college to complete the necessary "core" requirements to attend the college of their choice. Some states have mandated that the community college's curriculum be structured so as to satisfy "core curriculum" requirements at the state's public universities or private universities.
Many community colleges have arrangements with nearby four-year institutions, where a student obtaining an associate's degree in a field will automatically have his/her classes counted toward the bachelor's degree requirement. For example, a community college associate's degree in hotel and restaurant management, computers or accounting would count toward the four-year school's core requirement for a Business Administration degree. Some have gone one step further by arrangements with a four-year college for the student to obtain the bachelor's degree from the four-year college while taking all the courses via distance learning or other non-traditional modes, thus reducing the number of physical visits to the four-year school.
Certification in an area of training (such as nursing, computer repair, allied health, law enforcement, firefighting, or welding), which require preparation for a state or national examination, or where certification would allow for hiring preference or a higher salary upon entering the workforce. These courses are often geared toward the needs of the local or area business community.
Services of local interest to members of the community, such as job placement, adult continuing education classes (either for personal achievement or to maintain certification in specialized fields), and developmental classes for children. Some community colleges offer opportunities for high school dropouts to return to school and earn a high school diploma or obtain a GED.
A growing trend in the United States is for community colleges to begin offering bachelor's degrees. At least fourteen states have authorized them to do so and others are considering the issue.[15] Many large community colleges, such as Miami-Dade College and St. Petersburg College, in Florida have even completely dropped the words "community" or "junior" from their names as they have added bachelor's degree programs in limited fields and have started their evolution into four-year colleges while retaining their local commitments. Even some smaller community colleges, such as Northern New Mexico College in Española, New Mexico, have dropped community from their names and now offer six or more bachelor's degrees.[16] Others such as Manatee Community College, in Florida, have chosen not to go beyond the associate's degree.[17] In more rural communities, community colleges may host branches of the local state university, and community colleges with specialized programs may offer four year degrees in conjunction with other schools, some miles away. For instance, Southern Illinois University offers aviation management bachelor's degrees at Mt. San Antonio College and Palomar College in Southern California.