Will Free Community College Put HBCUs Out of Business?

My colleague Sara Goldrick-Rab wrote a post saying "Short answer: No." But notes it might be because "HBCUs (both public and private) are allocated $10Billion in support under America's College Promise."  I confess to ignorance about the details of ACP, but it seems like something we should be paying attention to at tuition-driven SLACs.

See also AACC on America's College Promise Act and this brief from democrats on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Are the potential grants to Hispanic Serving Institutions driving some colleges to try to redefine their mission?  Here are a few notes from the above document:

In order to be eligible, MSIs must have a student body that is at least 35 percent low-income, including Pell-eligible students. Additionally eligible MSIs must commit to maintain or adopt evidence-based institutional reforms designed to improve student outcomes, and to set performance goals for improving those outcomes. Eligible MSIs that enter into articulation agreements with community colleges can also receive grant funds for eligible students who transfer from those community colleges to complete their baccalaureate degrees.

This is intriguing, but one would expect a bit of careful analysis about the costs, benefits, and implications of chasing this not-yet-existing funding.

Wisconsin Center for Education Research

Can Free Tuition to Community Colleges Put Historically Black Colleges and Universities Out of Business?

T. Ramon Stuart, Ph.D.

Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs,West Virginia State University

December 4, 2015 10 am - 11:00 am

During the 2015 State of the Union Address, President Barack H. Obama announced his vision to provide American citizens free access to higher education through community colleges. While President Obama failed to outline the details of his plan, there is no doubt that his plan could drastically increase the number of Americans with a college degree; however one very important detail that President Obama omitted from his statement was the cost of this initiative and the impact that funding it would have on other institutions of higher education - especially Historically Black Colleges and University. This study uses current IPEDS data to analyze the tuition cost of the 1890 land-grant institutions while also exploring the average tuition cost of the community colleges in the respective states to see if there is a substantial difference in tuition cost.

BAs at CCs

From the Sacramento Bee

California community colleges board approves 15 pilot bachelor’s degrees

BY ALEXEI KOSEFF

AKOSEFF@SACBEE.COM

01/20/2015 3:08 PM 

 01/21/2015 10:40 AM

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article7780146.html#storylink=cpy

Bachelor’s degrees in mortuary work, ranch management and consumer technology design will soon be coming to California community colleges.

Under legislation signed last fall by Gov. Jerry Brown, the system’s governing board on Tuesday tentatively approved four-year degree programs at 15 community college campuses that will be introduced over the next three academic years.

“This is an historic day in our system,” California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris said.

Changing technology and educational expectations have driven employers in fields such as dental hygiene, respiratory therapy and automotive technology – which once required only two-year associate degrees – to seek workers with a baccalaureate.

Advocates of community college bachelor’s degrees, which already are in place in 21 other states, have pushed for their introduction in California to generate up to an additional 1 million degrees in the state workforce by 2025. Senate Bill 850 allowed for up to 15 pilot degreesin majors not offered by the University of California or California State University, with the aim of meeting demand for highly trained workers in technical fields.

The community college system’s “core mission of job training means we have to change to four-year degrees,” Sen. Marty Block, D-San Diego, who authored SB 850, said at a news conference following the vote. “California should never be behind the curve, and now we are no longer behind the curve.”

A committee selected the 15 college programs from among “34 tremendously done proposals,” Harris said, considering labor market needs and the ability of colleges to deliver on their applications, as well as geographic, institutional and subject diversity.

The board will consider final approval for the plan in March, after consulting with UC and CSU. The pilot degrees must be carried out by the 2017-18 academic year and will sunset in 2022-23.

Following a vote of nine ayes and two abstentions, the audience at the meeting erupted in applause. Block and Constance Carroll, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, who led the push for community college bachelor’s degrees in California, were honored by the board for their efforts.

“This is a game-changer,” Carroll said.

Board member Thomas Epstein praised the rapid turnaround on applications that were first solicited in November. “It’s rare that something this important gets done this quickly by government,” he said

Call The Bee’s Alexei Koseff, (916) 321-5236. Follow him on Twitter @akoseff.

APPROVED PROGRAMS

▪ Antelope Valley College: airframe manufacturing

▪ Bakersfield College: industrial automation

▪ Crafton Hills College: emergency services and allied health systems

▪ Cypress College: mortuary science

▪ Feather River College: equine industry

▪ Foothill College: dental hygiene

▪ MiraCosta College: biomanufacturing

▪ Modesto Junior College: respiratory care

▪ Rio Hondo College: automotive technology

▪ San Diego Mesa College: health information management

▪ Santa Ana College: occupational studies

▪ Santa Monica College: interaction design

▪ Shasta College: health information management

▪ Skyline College: respiratory therapy

▪ West Los Angeles College: dental hygiene

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article7780146.html#storylink=cpy

Leaving the Transfer Issue Up to Others

About half of those who get bachelor's degrees start out at

community or junior colleges. At some four year colleges a significant portion of their tuition revenue comes from transfer students. The challenges of credit transfer have been known for years and yet most institutions devote few resources to "articulation agreements" and transfer policies. When efforts are made, faculty rarely find the task interesting enough or important enough to be involved, leaving the work to admissions or registrar staff.

Ironically, perhaps, faculty then complain at how much extra work advising students is as they try to pretzel themselves to get through general education and major requirements that are designed with four year students in mind.

There are strong practical (financial), pedagogical, and ethical reasons to get this right, but, perhaps, it will take state and federal regulation to move this ball down the field.

Continue reading at Chronicle.com

See Also

• Monaghan, & Attewell, The Community College Route to the Bachelor’s Degree