Universities Weblog

It's a familiar theme: a recent high school graduate wants to continue his education but isn't sure about where he wants to go or what he wants to study. Why invest thousands of dollars in a college just to experiment? he thinks. Instead, he opts to enroll at a community college, studies for one or two years, then transfers to a four-year college after amassing credits and saving money on tuition.

These days, that story has become even more familiar, and studies show that community colleges will become an increasingly popular option in the next decade. Two-year schools are even attracting traditional-age students who, in years past, might have gone straight to a four-year institution. As a result, the average age of students at some community colleges has decreased dramatically over the last ten years.

The downside, of course, is that these traditional students now compete for limited spaces with non-traditional students—working adults, low-income minorities, and first-generation college goers whom the community college system was ostensibly created to serve. Here's a snippet from the Washington Post:

Others worry that a Crush of young, middle-class go-getters could squeeze out the older and lower-income students whose education was the founding mission for community colleges. "It raises real questions about the access to opportunity," said Robert G. Templin Jr., president of Northern Virginia Community College, one of the nation's largest.

Community colleges "used to serve as an opportunity for the less well-prepared or first-generation students," Templin said. If admissions become competitive and budget cuts continue to reduce programs, "maybe they won't have a place now," he added.

I doubt community colleges will become bastions of privilege, but in the zero-sum game of college admissions, disadvantaged populations counting on guaranteed enrollment might someday be unpleasantly surprised.

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