Changing Role of California Community Colleges...

                   The Changing Role of California Community Colleges

      
                                                      "The times they are a chang'in"
                                                                                       Bob Dylan

     How quickly the educational landscape can change. The mission of the community college used to be tied to being an open door to educational and vocational betterment, and pursuit of knowledge for knowledge's' sake.It was a place where anyone could further their education, and jump start a new career, or update their knowledge base. For me, the community college learning experience provided me with a wealth of information from many diverse subject areas, but more importantly, gave me a desire to go on and pursue a Masters in English.There weren't hoops that I had to jump through. I didn't need to meet with a counselor, or have a transfer plan in place to take classes.

     Times have changed. Given the dire budget constraints, and even worse cuts if Governor Browns' tax measures don't pass, perhaps the open doors to a community college education needed to be addressed. One of the latest changes being implemented in terms of community colleges is the new Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T/AS-T) pathway, that lets students earn an associate degree and a bachelor's degree with no wasted units. The Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act (SB 1440, Padilla) became law in 2010, and requires the California Community Colleges and California State University to collaborate on the creation of AA-T and AS-T degrees. Upon earning these degrees, students will be guaranteed admission to a CSU campus with junior standing. While not guaranteed admission to their campus of choice, students will be given priority consideration for admission to a CSU campus that offers a program that has been designated as "similar" by CSU. Currently, there are approximately 450 new associate degrees for transfer in 20 of the most popular transfer majors, and more are being added. 

      This new transfer pathway was designed to streamline the educational process for students. However, there are nuances to the pursuit of education that are lost, or minimized in this process. The educational process is becoming more goal oriented, and given the tough financial times we are in, I understand why. But, nevertheless, something intangible is being lost in the pursuit of a well-rounded education. For some students, in order to decide on a pathway, or career goal, or major, they need to be exposed to a variety of subject areas. This new transfer degree pathway doesn't seem to be the best option for those students. There is so much to be gained from being able to take courses from a large variety of subject areas.

    For example, I never wanted to major in history, art history, algebra, or economics, but I was deeply enriched by taking classes at the community college level in each of these areas. In addition, I was able to take piano and music literature, not with a transfer degree in mind, but for the sake of gaining knowledge. This used to be one of the core goals of the community colleges mission statement...personal development. Sadly, budget cuts are severely changing the role of the community college. Taking courses for personal enrichment will be difficult, if not impossible in less than 12 months. Repeating a course, for example a music class, will also be forbidden.

      The question arises, will the community college system ever be able to regain what it is losing? More importantly, will students and the population at large ever be able to reclaim education for the pure beauty of being educated? 

~Kathy~    *I welcome any and all comments or thoughts on this issue.*