To my relief, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article focused on an advisory committee to examine how the government measures success rates of community colleges. The 15 member advisory committee, The Committee onhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Measures of Student Success, is comprised of college officials, scholars, and policy experts. They have spent the last year exploring ways that community colleges can follow the new federal requirement that degree-granting institutions report graduation rates. What caught my eye about the article was that The Committee on Measures of Student Success is also charged with exploring alternative methods for measuring community college student academic success.
I was encouraged by the advisory committee’s acknowledgment of the variations of community college student success that often do not include graduation. Although The Committee on Measures of Student Success recommends the graduation rates of degree-seeking, part-time students and students placed into pre-college level courses be included in reports to the Department of Education, they recommend caveats to the reporting guidelines such as reporting students in remedial courses separately from those in college level courses. The most impactful caveat related to the aforementioned inclusions would be the recommendation that students be reported who are still enrolled past the legislated time limits for graduation.
One aspect unmentioned by the article that I deal with frequently is the length of some two-year degrees at community college which are much longer than two years particularly some health care related fields. For instance, the Associate’s Degree in Nursing, an Associate’s of Applied Science degree, requires 4 semesters of biology before entering the nursing program which is 5 semesters long. The biology courses are sequential in nature requiring the students to enroll in one biology course at a time. Extending the time even further are the remedial courses most students must complete before being allowed to enroll in the college level biology courses. Therefore, an Associate’s Degree in Nursing could potentially take a student 4-5 years to complete.
However, I did appreciate The Committee on Measures of Student Success consideration of the vast diversity of the community college population. The current graduation rate survey of the Postsecondary Education Data System fails to collect the completion rates of part-time, non-degree seeking, and noncredit students who make up the majority of the community college population and the group recommends them in the reporting. The advisory committee also recommends the reporting of the significant number of transfer students. The term transfer students would include students who transfer; to other community colleges, to 4-year institutions, and students who are “substantially prepared” to transfer. The criteria for “substantially prepared” were still under review by the advisory committee at the time of the article’s publication.
I am so grateful that at least a few of the unique characteristics of community college students are on the radar in relation to the new federally mandated reporting guidelines. Success for a community college student can be achieved in many ways that do not include walking across a stage to collect a degree within a prescribed amount of time. The definition of success can be the completion of a few reading and English classes for a Burma refugee student. Taking a year off from college to take care of a sick child for a single working mother of four may mean success because she is waiting to continue her education in order to avoid the potential for withdrawals or failing grades. The struggling university student who attends a community college to build their skill and improve their GPA for one semester before returning to the university has achieved success. Success for a community college student can look many different ways but despite reporting mandates, one is no less important and integral to a student’s ultimate academic goals than another.
Finally, a view of one measurement does not fit all. As I was reading this blog I kept reminding myself this topic was looking at community colleges as I was hoping a similar committee may be set for all institutions.
ReplyDeleteI believe this move to modifying reporting and looking at other successes besides graduation is a great start to seeing the effectivness and success rates of community colleges.
However, I do hope in the back of my mind that similar consideration is given to other spaces of higher education. I believe these alternative measures of success could also be implemented at four year universities.
For example, while at work last week we had a student come in and simply say he was in our major because he felt a few of our classes could help him in his mission work. His goal was not a four year degree but to gain specific knowledge offered at our university and then move on to mission work.
Then I thought to our fall address and the strong emphasis on retention...how do we address the idea of retention if we do not consider a similar approach at four year institutions.
I believe this is a quality step in assessing the different types of success students can have at community colleges.
Thanks for this post Janet! I really appreciate your view of community college. It seems like thinking about success in a different way is difficult for everyone. Even in society, it is hard to measure success because it looks completely different for everyone.
ReplyDeleteOne question I had, is a community college student who transfers to a 4-year institution without obtaining an official associate's degree considered a dropout or a success?
You are most welcome, Margaret. I so enjoy your perspective in class by the way and it was very cool working with in the smalll group this weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt is not counted as a "completion" because the student did not earn a degree or certificate from the community college. That is one of the reasons our completion rates are so dismal.
Like Karla, I was reading along and thinking how I hoped that similar segmentation and caveats to reporting could apply for 4 year institutions too! I blogged earlier about a movement by a non-profit funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation & Carnegie to include part time students in college completion data (see www.completecollege.org). I think that you'd find this interesting, although they are totally focused on degree attainment as a measure for success (as the name implies...) they do include statistics on part time students and also go out to a 4 year time-frame for 2-year program completion rates.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, also in response to Margaret's question re. the community college student who transfers to a 4-year institution prior to completing a degree at the CC--- there are some 2 and 4 year institutions who have partnerships with one another such that a student who transfers to the 4 year school can retroactively be awarded his/her associates degree if he/she completes the credits required for the degree once at the 4-year institution. As such, the student would earn the associates degree a few semesters into the bachelors program. See http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/06/grcc_and_universities_sign_pac.html for an article about this happening in Michigan. There is at least one similar program being explored here in Colorado. I'm sure that the tracking of this would be a nightmare- but it would honor the role of the community college in preparing the student for transfer to and success at a 4-year institution.