Community Colleges

Community colleges are regionally accredited postsecondary educational institutions that provide technical, vocational, and lower-division college courses. They grant associate degrees and certificates and provide the first two years of baccalaureate education. Today there are over 1,200 public and private community colleges in the United States, and there are growing numbers of community colleges in other countries. Today it is commonly accepted that education is essential not only to enhance individual opportunity, but also to preserve freedom and to improve understanding of both people's differences and their commonalities. However, education, especially beyond high school, has not always been widely available.

The first community colleges were founded over a hundred years ago as “junior college” extensions of high schools. Students who successfully completed lower-division coursework could then transfer to upperdivision universities to complete their baccalaureate degrees. The idea of increased access to higher education [Page 251]through these junior colleges gradually spread from state to state as a grassroots movement. As the colleges added vocational education, community service, and developmental education programs to their academic curricula, they evolved into today's comprehensive community colleges. They also serve their communities by providing contract education to local businesses and by acting as cultural centers for their communities.

In some states, the colleges started as technical colleges and later added academic transfer, developmental, and community service courses. Although today's community colleges are overwhelmingly public, funded by a combination of state appropriations, local tax support, and student fees, many of the early community colleges were private. Depending upon state and local preferences the colleges are called community colleges, technical colleges, junior colleges, or some combination, although the missions are similar.

Higher education in the United States was dramatically redefined in 1947 as a result of the work of President Harry S. Truman's Commission on Higher Education. The Truman Commission report changed the course of the academy from educating only the elite to providing opportunities for every citizen to pursue higher learning. While the first junior college was founded in 1901 and other early forms of community college were founded subsequently, the Truman Commission report marked the first general use of the term community college and emphasized the need for colleges that would be accessible and responsive to community needs for education.

As noted by the Commission on the Future of Community Colleges in 1988, from the beginning, these “people's colleges” zealously pursued an egalitarian mission. While other institutions of higher education may define excellence in terms of exclusivity, community colleges have sought excellence in their service to the many. Community colleges are generally open to all who wish to attend, although some courses or programs may have prerequisites. Student fees are generally kept low as a means of providing access to higher education regardless of financial status. While traditional colleges and universities too often have been isolated islands that do not participate in broader community life, community colleges have built connections beyond the campus.

Providing access to affordable and high-quality higher learning is one of the most important goals of the community college movement. Students do not have to leave home to attend college because the colleges and educational centers are in their communities. The campuses and centers are located within commuting distance of over 90 percent of the population of the United States. And a growing number of community colleges are making learning even more accessible by delivering courses through distance education (for example, online courses and classes offered on television).

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