Defending the Community College Equity Agenda (review)

The research contained in Defending the Community College Equity Agenda, edited by Thomas Bailey and Vanessa Smith, won the 2007 Outstanding Research Award from the American Educational Research Association Division J-Postsecondary Education. This tribute is a testament to the important contribution this volume makes about the continued role of community colleges in educating half of all college students.

The book relies primarily on data collected via field work for the national field study at 15 community colleges throughout the country. The states selected represent those with large community college enrollments and variety in their state governance coordination. States in the study included California, Washington, Texas, Illinois, Florida, and New York. The colleges themselves were in rural, suburban, and urban areas.

The recent focus by both state and federal government on community colleges as a critical lever in economic development and for individual improvement calls into question the role of open access. Indeed, the editors' claimed goal for their book is to "assess the role played by community colleges in promoting student success and equity in higher education, analyze the strength and implications of emerging challenges to the equity mission, and make suggestions that could be used to strengthen that role" (p. 4).

Over time, shifts in educational goals occur regarding open access versus quality and accountability of student learning. This volume explores this tension, with its various authors centering on the shift of student success from an input model based on student enrollments to an output model that measures student graduation rates and learning.

The first chapter, authored by Bailey and Morest, identifies three components of equity: college preparation, access, and college success. This information provides a good background against which to situate the more detailed chapters that follow. Particularly useful for those less familiar with community colleges is its general overview of the role played by two-year colleges in the spectrum of educational institutions.

The first part of the book looks at issues confronting the equity agenda, including the multiple missions of community colleges, performance accountability, competition from for-profits, and implications of distance learning. The second section focuses on developmental education, student services, and dual enrollment. Finally, the last portion of the book focuses on providing suggestions to address the above challenges.

Morest's chapter describes the multiple pulls on the community college to provide vocational, academic, and noncredit training to various constituents. Several examples from the fieldwork substantiate the portrait created. Kevin Dougherty and Esther Hong present an overview of the accountability systems in the states that the study includes, specifically, the impact of accountability programs on institutional mission. Next, Bailey reviews the competition from for-profits for community colleges. He draws on information beyond the study data to conclude that community colleges tend to see four-year for-profit programs as more complementary than competitive.

Another threat for community colleges raised in the literature has been the proliferation of distance education. Rebecca Cox concludes, on the one hand, that distance learning can open access for students but, on the other, notes that the mere placement of scripted lecture notes in an online format does little to advance student learning—in particular, for developmentally challenged students.

Jim Jacobs and W. Norton Grubb investigate the use of information technology certificates as a predictor for future educational offerings. The opportunistic nature of addressing industry needs may impede an equity agenda since students receiving training end up with a limited skill base versus broad-based academic preparation that allows for future job flexibility.

Delores Perin and Kerry Charron review the developmental role of community colleges, highlighting the vast number of students entering college unprepared for college level work and covering the organizational location of developmental units, student progression through course work, and ultimate effectiveness. Grubb's chapter on the role of counseling in community colleges also relates to developmental needs. His chapter stresses the need for comprehensive career, academic, personal, and financial counseling...