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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Report Calls for Community College Redesign


President Kress is quoted in this April 27 Rochester Business Journal article.

By "
mailto:rbj@rbj.net" NATE DOUGHERTY

Rochester Business Journal

April 27, 2012

The American Dream is in danger. That is the conclusion of the American Association of Community Colleges, which this week published a report calling on college leaders to transform their institutions to better meet the needs of students and employers.


The report calls for a drastic redesign of the community college concept, putting a greater emphasis on student readiness and achievement as well as connection to the workforce.


Leaders of local community colleges have commended the report's call to action and note that the region is ahead of the curve in several ways.


"I think 'Reclaiming the American Dream' is a clarion call for us for the 21st century," said Anne Kress, president of Monroe Community College. "It reaffirms our access mission but also says that access isn't the be-all, end-all. It's all about students succeeding and competing."


The report also comes as national attention has turned to community colleges, noted James Sunser, president of Genesee Community College.


"This report is another testimonial to the idea of working hard to help students be successful and balancing access with supporting them," Sunser said. "That's something President Obama has been talking about for a long time, as well as other folks nationally and in the state. We certainly know that people with a credential or degree will do better than those who don't, and this report will help improve that picture."


The report speaks bluntly of the problems facing American community colleges, saying these institutions have fallen behind foreign competitors. Because the nation will need a highly educated population for future economic growth, it is up to community colleges to redesign their structure and priorities to meet this need.


"If community colleges are to contribute powerfully to meeting the needs of 21st-century students and the 21st-century economy, education leaders must reimagine what these institutions are-and are capable of becoming," the report states.


The report delves into the economic plateau the nation has reached over the last four decades. Median income was stagnant from 1972 to 2000, and since 2000 it has declined by 7 percent, the report states. At the same time, the younger generation of Americans will be less educated than their elders for the first time in the nation's history.
The United States, which traditionally led the world in degree completion rates, has fallen to No. 16 for completion rates among 25-to-34-year-olds, the report notes. These low rates, combined with the estimation that two-thirds of all American jobs will require a postsecondary degree or certificate by 2018, will imperil the economy, it adds.


To address these problems, the report made seven recommendations for community colleges. It called on them to increase graduation rates of students earning certificates and associate degrees by 50 percent over the next eight years, while preserving access, enhancing quality and closing achievement gaps associated with income, race and gender.


The report also called for a dramatic increase in college readiness among incoming students and putting a sharper focus on preparing these students for the job skills they will need upon graduation.


Improving readiness has been a focus at Finger Lakes Community College in recent years. The college has worked with 10 nearby school districts to assess students and identify those who might need remediation before entering college.


"Now we can tell them by the end of their junior year if they would need more work on their skills to be able to enter college," said Barbara Risser, FLCC president.


Other goals of the report included redefining institutional roles to meet 21st-century education and employment needs, increasing collaboration among institutions and partners in other sectors, encouraging more public and private investments, and promoting more transparency and accountability.


This too is a focus at FLCC, Risser noted. The college has strong partnerships with local companies, which give input on what skills should be priorities in the curriculum. For a new viticulture and wine technology degree, for example, the college sought input from local wineries on which skills students would need upon graduation.


The report's goals align well with SUNY's 2010 strategic plan, "The Power of SUNY," Kress noted. This plan called on all colleges within the state system to undergo a transformation, deepening relationships with community partners and creating a pipeline of more college-ready students.


Kress said she was pleased to see how well the report's goals fit in with MCC's strategic plan, which will take effect this fall. The college's plan focuses on improving student success and workforce education, which were emphasized in the AACC report.


"If you counted up the number of times workforce was mentioned in the report, it would be in the sixties," Kress said. MCC is also ahead on the goal of improving graduation rates. Its strategic plan calls for a 33 percent increase by 2015, which would put it more than halfway to the report's goal of 50 percent by 2020.


The college also has promoted readiness among students through initiatives with the Rochester City School District and other partners, Kress noted.


FLCC also is ahead of the curve, Risser said. The college ranks No. 2 among SUNY community colleges for successful outcomes, which include degree or certificate completions and transfers to other institutions.


This year both FLCC and GCC were among 120 finalists for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, a $1 million award. Finalists are the top 10 percent of community colleges nationally based on graduation rates, degrees awarded, student retention rates and equity in student outcomes.


Speaking from Orlando, where she was attending the AACC annual conference with 2,000 other community college leaders from across the country, Kress said the report has been met with enthusiasm. As the community college sector gets more attention, it has a better chance to preserve and increase its funding, she added.


Community colleges have not only been underfunded, the report states, but have received funding that did not adequately support enrollment growth. Funding has lacked incentives for promoting student success, hindering middle-class students and having a more drastic effect on low-income students and students of color, the report states.


Kress said she is optimistic about funding in the future. "We're excited about this and how critical our sector has become," Kress said. "We realize that in order for community colleges to realize a lot of the calls in this report, we will continue to need sustenance from funders. We need them to come together and support the good work we do."


The renewed focus from lawmakers has been manifest this year, Kress noted, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo worked with the state Legislature to restore funding cuts for the SUNY system. New funding to FLCC has helped the college raise outcomes among traditionally lower-performing student groups, Risser added.


"We started an initiative called Project Success, which focuses on low-income and first-generation students," she said. "We found those are the ones who struggle the most with performance in college, and with this federally funded project now we can focus on them from the very beginning and make sure we're meeting their needs."

Cynthia Cooper
College and Community Relations
05/02/2012