SIC 8222
JUNIOR COLLEGES AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTES



This classification includes junior colleges and technical institutes offering academic or technical courses and granting Associate degrees, certificates, or diplomas. The minimum requirement for admission is a high school diploma or equivalent general academic training. Schools having junior college grades in conjunction with secondary grades are classified in SIC 8211: Elementary and Secondary Schools.

NAICS Code(s)

611210 (Junior Colleges)

Industry Snapshot

By the late 1990s, more than 1,500 institutions in the United States offered courses at the junior, community, or technical college level to more than 6 million students. This type of institution is often referred to as a two-year college, though this designation only pertains to establishments that provide students with an Associate's degree. Students at these institutions pay relatively low tuition rates compared to amounts charged by colleges and universities. Federal, state, and local appropriations and grants support public community colleges, which account for the majority of these schools, while private community colleges receive funds from a variety of sources.

Community and technical colleges are considered more convenient for students because they offer options for full-time, part-time, day, evening, weekend, and co-op Associate degree programs, which are especially helpful to those with full-time employment and family obligations. In fact, the majority of students at these institutions are enrolled part-time. The open-door policy of these colleges (admission is open to individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent) provides higher education to people whose circumstances might otherwise prevent them from obtaining a degree. In addition to the comparably lower tuition fees, two-year college students' expenses are usually lower due to savings on room and board costs, since many students live at home rather than on campus.

Organization and Structure

Community colleges and technical institutes are either private or public. Among private schools, many are administered by religious groups. There are also independent nonprofit institutions and proprietary institutes that are owned by individuals or groups. Since the funding for these schools does not come from public funds, they are relatively free to set their own priorities and form their own curricula. If they wish to receive accreditation from the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC), however, they must fulfill specific requirements.

Most community colleges are public. Federal funding for community colleges comes in the form of either appropriations or grants. The Vocational Education Act of 1963, Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 established appropriations to be awarded to schools. Federal grants are awarded to students for tuition and other needs. Forms and amounts of state and local funding vary widely. The amount of money the federal, state, or local community provides is a constant matter of controversy, along with the degree to which programming decisions are tied to funding. Members of a local school board may believe that they possess the greatest understanding of student needs and interests in their community, but when the state provides funding there is often a state board of education that exercises authority.

There are at least five functions performed by community colleges: academic transfer preparation, vocational education, continuing education, remedial education, and community service. Academic transfer preparation programs are designed for students whose academic performance in high school did not meet four-year college admission standards. These programs offer students an opportunity to prove their academic abilities and develop in a particular field of study, with the goal of gaining admission and transferring to a four-year college to earn a Baccalaureate degree. Some schools have established honors programs within academic transfer programs for those students who demonstrate high academic potential.

Vocational or technical education is designed for students who have a particular career goal in mind; subjects ranging from cosmetology to word processing are taught in these programs. Usually, the two-year degree offered by the community college will be the culmination of a vocational student's educational career.

Continuing education is designed for adults who are interested in taking courses for career or academic reasons. Continuing education students often maintain full-time jobs while attending community college. Remedial education is designed for students with developmental or learning disabilities, or students who received an inadequate secondary education. Community service programs consist of short courses, workshops, and non-credit courses.

Background and Development

The community college is a strictly American phenomenon. It is the most substantial element of the nation's educational system that is not based on an European model. The first junior college was established in 1896 as a division of the University of Chicago by William Rainey Harper, the result of an idea that first emerged from the frustration of many university administrators who were concerned with devoting valuable class time to freshman and sophomores. Subsequent development of the junior college, however, occurred more at the grassroots level than within the university community. During the first decade of the twentieth century, some high schools began offering courses for graduates who remained in the area instead of attending college. As the idea spread from state to state, private junior colleges predominated over public ones and, depending on the region, certain colleges emphasized agricultural or industrial education. The two years after high school were regarded as the final stage in the transition into adulthood and, for that reason, many educators felt these years were best spent in the home and in the community.

The democratic ideal that education should be available to all who seek it fueled what became known as "The Junior College Movement." After World War II, many veterans took advantage of the GI Bill by pursuing a government-sponsored education without leaving their communities. As baby boomers reached the ages of 19 and 20 during the 1960s, they filled junior colleges beyond their capacity, which resulted in a simultaneous growth in the budgets and staffs at these institutions. With this growth, public junior colleges overtook private ones in number and size. California became the first state in the nation to establish a statewide junior college system. By the 1976-77 school year, there were 1,030 public junior colleges in the United States, compared to 203 private ones. By this time, the schools saturated almost every region of the country. Subsequent growth, however, became considerably slower. Many of the two-year colleges that opened were designated "community college" rather than "junior college," and administrators began to stress the change in focus that accompanied this change in name.

Two-year colleges tend to be much more diverse than their four-year counterparts because they comprise students of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds. Almost 50 percent of all undergraduates in the United States attend two-year institutions, and more than 50 percent of first-time freshman begin their higher education at a community college.

The issue of funding for community colleges was hotly debated during the economic recession of the early 1990s. Because this community concern has national ramifications, all three of the major presidential candidates visited community colleges during the campaign of 1992, pledging to uphold the institutions with tax dollars. Ross Perot, a former student in the community college system himself, was an especially vociferous supporter. Nevertheless, community colleges suffered along with all other recipients of federal dollars. In order to cope, many schools established fund-raising campaigns targeting former students, local businesses, and businesses with traditions of supporting educational growth.

Curriculum was another issue that divided community colleges, with student diversity presenting a key challenge. With such diversity came distinct and sometimes conflicting expectations of post-secondary education. Some students and faculty pushed for a new balance between vocational training and liberal education, which has always been an issue of debate for community college administrators.

As efforts to curtail government spending increased in the 1980s and early 1990s, funds for public community colleges began to fall short of their needs, and the schools began to turn to other sources for funding. Corporate donations became more common, especially at technical institutes. Some schools had success with fund-raising campaigns styled after those of colleges and universities. As financial woes continued, administrators began debating the possibility of increasing tuition or restricting admission. While both options would save money, they went against the principles of affordability and accessibility, upon which community colleges have rested since their creation early in the twentieth century. Other schools considered eliminating their special education divisions and facilities for students with learning disabilities, but again, it was feared that such decisions would undermine the intentions of the institutions.

With the proliferation of computer and video technology, some community colleges began experimenting with nontraditional teaching methods, including 24-hour learning laboratories; lectures delivered on closed-circuit, cable, or public television; and computer conferences. Such programs were aimed at meeting the needs of students whose work schedules conflicted with course schedules, as well as students who were unable to commute to school for a variety of other reasons. Such innovations were seen as a way of keeping pace with technological developments, especially in the field of computers.

Community colleges have reevaluated their curricula. In the early 1990s, it was determined that fewer students were earning Associate degrees and less than a quarter were transferring to four-year colleges. The pattern that many students seemed to be following was horizontal rather than vertical. This behavior was attributed to student scheduling conflicts and career considerations, rather than a lack of ambition or inability to pursue a goal. Community colleges have tried to address these problems by providing alternative means of participating in class — often through the use of modern technology. For instance, community college libraries are being transformed into "resource centers."

While funding was readily available for computer and video equipment in the early 1980s, the recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s resulted in limited resources for community colleges. Consequently, community colleges have often been unable to maintain a constant investment in rapidly developing technology. Heavy investment in the area of computer software, for example, was seen as a risky endeavor since nobody could predict which systems would endure. In order to remain current, some colleges have initiated partnerships with local software companies or companies that target the offices and work places of their community. This allows community college students to develop computer literacy on the equipment of a particular company, often in a setting that resembles an office.

Mutual use of network communications technology, such as e-mail and the Internet, is another partnership with the corporate world that has been an effective way for community colleges to obtain expensive technology without relying on government funds.

Because community colleges have a large number of minority students, especially in urban areas, the question of changing curriculum—such as including an ethnic studies program—was raised starting in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The debate over curriculum was comparable to the question of revising the canon of literary classics at colleges and universities. Community colleges, however, did not prove to be a radical force for change in the academic curriculum. Students interested in vocational training were naturally not as insistent about bringing nontraditional works into the classroom, and students aiming at transferring to four-year institutions feared that the study of anything other than the established curriculum might jeopardize their chances. Students at many four-year universities, however, have demanded ethnic-studies programs and many institutions have implemented such programs.

In regard to growth in the community college industry, at least one expert, Arthur M. Cohen, long-time director of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Clearinghouse for Junior Colleges, believes that community colleges have reached a saturation point in the United States. Because these institutions are within easy access to virtually every community, no further dramatic growth is expected. According to Cohen, "Few new institutions will open in the years ahead because a community college is now within commuting distance of most of the nation's population. There will be very little contraction in enrollment…. Funding for various programs will continue to be provided…. The colleges arehere to stay in their current form."

Current Conditions

Between 1971 and 1997, the percentage of high school graduates who had completed at least some college rose from 44 to 65 percent. The number of Associate degrees awarded during 1997-1998 was approximately 514,000. The 18-to 24-year-old population is expected to increase by 16 percent by the year 2007. However, the 25-to 29-year-old population was expected to decrease by 10 percent until 2002, when it would commensurately increase again. As junior college populations tend to carry large numbers of students in these age groups, total college enrollments are expected to increase at a more modest annual rate of between 1.1 and 1.3 percent. The number of associate degrees awarded annually is expected to increase to 587,000 by 2006-07. All in all, these statistical trends reflect America's growing emphasis on education as a means to better one's job opportunities, earnings, and community stature.

Workforce

Community college faculty and administrators have long had to cope with the impression that their schools are somehow less legitimate or consequential than four-year institutions. According to Dale Parnell, a former chief executive officer of the AACJC, for too many educators, "the highest calling in teaching is an Ivy League university. If you can't teach there, then in a state college or another four-year institution. If you can't do that, teach in a community college. If not there, then teach in high school." Frustration with this pecking order is often formidable. Along with being accorded less respect, teachers receive lower salaries than their counterparts at four-year colleges and universities. The level of aggravation, however, among two-year instructors is a great deal higher. The faculty at community colleges is often composed of younger teachers who, like their students, are looking to transfer to four-year institutions. Teachers complain that their students have not been adequately prepared during their secondary education to handle college material, that high student-to-teacher ratios make it extremely difficult to perform their classroom duties and still keep abreast of developments in their field, and that their reputation as second-rate professionals hampers their performance. To boost morale among teachers, some community colleges have established programs for recognizing and rewarding excellence.

Further Reading

Digest of Education Statistics, 1997. Available from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/digest97t241.html .

"Earned Degrees Conferred." From Projections of Education Statistics to 2007. U.S. Department of Education, 1997. Available from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/pj/p97c04.html .

El-Khawas, Elaine, Deborah J. Carter, and Cecilia A. Ottinger, eds. Community College Fact Book. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988.

Peterson's Guide to Two-Year Colleges, 1997. Princeton, NJ: Peterson's, 1996.

"Projections of Education Statistics to 2007," 1997. Available from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/pj/p97c04.html .



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