Community Colleges: General Information and Resources. ERIC Digest.

The community college is defined as any institution accredited to award the associate in arts or science as its highest degree. There are 1,024 publicly supported community colleges in the United States. Most offer a comprehensive curriculum including the following programs:

o vocational/occupational programs leading to a certificate or

an associate degree in applied science

o transfer/liberal arts programs designed for students who plan

to obtain a baccalaureate degree; these programs lead to an

associate degree in science or the arts

o community education and personal interest courses which do not

award academic credit

o developmental/remedial programs designed to prepare students

to enter degree or certificate programs by improving their

communication or mathematical skills.

In addition, there are 445 private two-year institutions, including accredited proprietary institutions.

WHO ATTENDS PUBLIC COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES?

o Approximately 42% of the first-time, full-time freshmen in the U.S. enroll in a community college.

o Credit course enrollment totaled 1.9 million full-time and 3.5 million part-time students in Fall 1991.

o The average age of the student is approximately 32.

o The modal age of the student is 19.

o Women make up 57.5% of community college enrollments.

o In terms of ethnicity, 72.2% of community college students are Caucasian, 9.2% are African-American, 8.3% are Hispanic, 4.5% are Asian, and 1.1% are Native American. Approximately 1% are nonresident aliens. Approximately 46.7% of all minorities enrolled in higher education are attending two-year colleges.

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FACULTY?

o 253,711 faculty members teach in two-year institutions.

o About 53.4% are part-time instructors.

o 64.9% of the faculty have a master's as their highest degree.

o There are 11,819 administrators in community colleges.

o The average salary for instructors in public two-year colleges in 1992 was $36,000.

HOW ARE COMMUNITY COLLEGES FINANCED?

o State appropriations, tuition, and local funds comprise most of the operating funds.

o State appropriations accounted for 46% of the operating revenue for public two-year colleges in Fall 1992.

o Tuition accounted for 20% of the revenue in Fall 1992.

o Local funds accounted for 18% of the revenue in Fall 1992.

o Average charges in 1994 for tuition and fees were approximately $1,200 at public community colleges and $6,100 at private two-year colleges. Median tuition at public community colleges was $1,171.

WHAT ORGANIZATIONS ARE CONCERNED WITH COMMUNITY COLLEGES?

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American Association of Community Colleges

President: David R. Pierce

One Dupont Circle, N.W., Suite 410

Washington, DC 20036-1176

Internet: <finitialname>@aacc.nche.edu

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American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges

President: Karen Sharp

Mott Community College

1401 East Court Street

Flint, MI 48503

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Association of Community College Trustees

Assistant Executive Director: Marilyn Blocker

1740 N. Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20036

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Center for the Study of Community Colleges

Research Director: Florence B. Brawer

1749 Mandeville Lane

Los Angeles, CA 90049

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Community College Consortium

Managing Director: Patricia Carter

311 School of Education Building

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259

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Community College Humanities Association

President: David A. Berry

Essex County College

303 University Avenue

Newark, NJ 07102

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Community College Leadership Program

Director: John E. Roueche

University of Texas at Austin

ollege of Education, EDB 348

Austin, TX 78712-1293

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ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges

Director: Arthur M. Cohen

3051 Moore Hall

University of California

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Internet: eeh3usc@mvs.oac.ucla.edu

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League for Innovation in the Community College

Executive Director: Terry O'Banion

26522 La Alameda, Suite 370

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

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Many other groups formed around curricular areas and special interests are active in the two-year college field.

WHAT PERIODICALS FOCUS ON COMMUNITY COLLEGES?

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Community College Journal

American Association of Community Colleges

One Dupont Circle, N.W., Suite 410

Washington, DC 20036

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Community College Journal of Research and Practice

Taylor & Francis, Publishers

1010 Vermont Avenue N.W., Suite 200

Washington, DC 20005

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Community College Review

North Carolina State University

Box 7801

Raleigh, NC 27695-7801

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Community College Times

American Association of Community Colleges

One Dupont Circle, N.W., Suite 410

Washington, DC 20036

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Community College Week

10520 Warwick Ave., Suite B-8

Fairfax, VA 22030-3136

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Journal of Applied Research in the Community College

New Forums Press, Inc.

P.O. Box 876

Stillwater, OK 74076

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New Directions for Community Colleges

Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers

350 Sansome Street

San Francisco, CA 94104

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WHAT INTERNET RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE?

LISTSERVS

COMMCOLL provides a forum for all community college practitioners. To subscribe, send the message "sub commcoll <your name>" to listserv@ukcc.uky.edu.

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DEOS-L discusses all forms of distance education. To subscribe, post the following command to listserv@psuvm.psu.edu: "subscribe deos-l <your name>".

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STWNet is an electronic forum for all aspects of the school-to-work transition, including educational reform, work partnerships, and national skill standards. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to majordomo@confer.edc.org with the command "subscribe stwnet" in the body of the message.

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GOPHERS

gopher.faytech.cc.nc.us and select "Community College Gophers".

A collection of school-to-work transition information is located at cccins.ccc.neb.edu.

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USENET NEWSGROUPS

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o alt.education.distance

o alt.education.research

o alt.education.disabled

o misc.education.adult

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WHERE CAN I OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?

Baker, George A., III (Ed.), and Others. A Handbook on the Community College in America: Its History, Mission, and Management. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.

Cohen, Arthur M., and Brawer, Florence B. The American Community College. Second Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1989.

Cohen, Arthur M., and Brawer, Florence B. (ed.) Managing Community Colleges. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1994.

Dougherty, Kevin James. The Contradictory College: The Conflicting Origins, Impacts, and Futures of the Community College. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994.

Hull, Dan. Opening Minds, Opening Doors: The Rebirth of American Education. Waco, TX: Center for Occupational Research and Development, 1993.

Kalick, Rosanne (Ed.). Community College Libraries: Centers for Lifelong Learning. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1992.

Lombardi, John. Perspectives on the Community College: Essays. Washington, DC: American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, 1992.

O'Banion, Terry, and Associates. Teaching and Learning in the Community College. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges, 1994.

Roueche, John E. and Baker, George. Access and Excellence: The Open-Door College. Washington, DC: Community College Press, 1994.

Witt, Allen, Wattenberger, James L., and Gollattscheck, James F. America's Community Colleges: The First Century. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges, 1994.

Vaughan, George. The Community College Story: A Tale of American Innovation. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges, 1995.

The statistics cited were gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics.