Is less choice a better option?
Do you think limiting a student's ability to assemble their own course schedule is an acceptable tool to increase completion rates?
I wonder how many of the 20 "extra" credit hours that "don't count" are related to developmental coursework and/or changes of major?
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Community-College Freshmen Get More Direction
Two-Year Schools Limit Course Choices to Create Clearer Paths to Degrees, Careers
By Caroline Porter
Dec. 13, 2013 7:27 p.m. ET
Source: The Wall Street Journal Online http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702303330204579248441748612968-lMyQjAxMTAzMDEwNDExNDQyWj
Instead, the schools are hoping to boost dismal completion rates by limiting students' choices to certain scripted paths to a degree—and even rewarding them along the way with certificates that have value on their own.
"Students are just radically confused by all the options," said Davis Jenkins, a senior research associate with the Community College Research Center at Columbia University. "There's more attention to making the path through education to careers clearer, because people cannot afford to spend time earning unnecessary credits."
Jordan Mitchell, a student at one of the City Colleges of Chicago who said he has wanted to be in law enforcement since seventh grade, expects to earn an associate degree in criminal justice in the spring of 2014. But after 15 credit hours toward his degree at Kennedy-King College, he can qualify for a basic certificate in criminal justice that would enable him to apply for some police-department jobs. "It's probably just a good thing to have," the 21-year-old said.
Under pressure from business leaders and the Obama administration to boost graduation rates and job readiness, many community colleges across the country are narrowing their focus and students are being asked to declare an area of interest at the outset.
Long plagued with low graduation rates, City Colleges of Chicago in 2011 began to realign its curriculum to focus on getting students ready for careers, with each of its campuses designated as hubs for particular industries. The graduation rate climbed to 12% in the 2012-2013 school year, up from 7% in 2008-2009.
Now, the school is mapping out sequences of courses for all 115,000 of its students enrolled on seven campuses and six satellite sites.
City Colleges wants to build all of its programming around distinct course sequences that earn students certificates along the way to an associate degree. "People can still make the same choices they want. We just want them to make informed choices," said Rasmus Lynnerup, the vice chancellor of strategy at City Colleges.
Backers of the programs say the new focus will eliminate waste in an education system where only about one in three students graduate from community college in three years. Students earn on average about 20 excess credits in their pursuit of associate degrees, according to an analysis last year of 34 states by Complete College America, a nonprofit focused on college graduation. Instead of the 60 credits expected, degree holders ended up with nearly 80 credits.
One potential downside is that students who complete a certificate without going on to an associate's or bachelor's degree could be cutting off their long-term earning potential. U.S. workers over the age of 25 earned median annual wages of about $41,000 with an associate degree, while those with some college but no degree earned about $38,000 in 2012, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics.
"A large number of people are just doing certificates and not coming back for higher degrees after they leave," said Tina Bloomer, who researches the community and technical college system in Washington state. The jobs that require only a certificate do not always pay as well, she says.
School officials say that earning any type of credential is better than allowing students to start college and leave empty-handed. Completion can be particularly difficult for community-college students, who are more likely to be working or face other distractions than students at four-year schools.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, about 53% of students who started at two-year public schools and attended full-time graduated in six years, while only 18% who attended part-time graduated in six years.
In the North Carolina Community College System, which recently narrowed its offerings to 32 curriculum standards from 77, most credentials can be "stacked" on the way to a higher degree.
"This allows them to have a leg up in the workforce but to still have a connection back to college to pursue their higher potential," said Scott Ralls, the president of the system.
Robert Smith, 46, a carpenter in Chicago, is hoping for a leg up by earning a certificate in carpentry at the Dawson Technical Institute by mid-December.
"I've been doing carpentry since I was 12 or 13 years old, but I didn't have any credentials," said Mr. Smith, who has four children. Depending on what type of financial aid he receives, he will move on to an associate degree in construction management. "My idea is, if you get the degree, nothing else can stop you," he said.
Write to Caroline Porter at caroline.porter@wsj.com
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I think you are correct in assuming that many of the extra hours are due to placement in developmental courses and changes of major. Many students who begin at Parkland are lacking college-level skills in reading, writing and/or mathematics and have no idea of which career path to follow. Some are attending because their parents are "strongly suggesting" that they be in school. As for the "freshman sampler" ... students who are uncertain of major are usually advised to take general education courses that would apply to a large variety of majors and/or might help clarify their choice of major. The alternatives are to tell students to hold off on college until they have determined which major they want to pursue (ha!) or forcing them to take "scripted paths" to a certificate or degree, which is fine ... until they discover they are not following the path that they really want. The result: "unnecessary," or "extra" credits.
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