Too Fast, Too Furious?

As community colleges grow in enrollment and appeal, some question their ability to serve disadvantaged students
By Lydia Lum

The growing number of high-achieving students choosing to attend community colleges has fueled this debate: Are two-year schools shortchanging educationally and financially disadvantaged students in the process? Answers aren't easy, and of course, they vary widely among educators. But because community colleges are such a major portal of entry for Blacks and other minorities into higher education, the question cannot be ignored.   
Dr. Calvin Lowe, president of the historically Black Bowie State University in Maryland, doubts whether community colleges are the best place for Black students to start postsecondary studies. "There isn't the same feel of an intellectual community there, as at a residential campus," Lowe says. "It's simply better for them to start at a four-year campus." 
And with community colleges "changing so fast, growing so tremendously," Lowe says, "it's easy for students to get distracted in an environment where there seems to be everything for everybody, whether it's people taking tai chi, auto mechanics, English composition or courses for certification."
Some facts may bear this out. Regardless of ethnicity, students starting at four-year colleges are more likely to earn a bachelor's degree within six years than students starting at community colleges, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
But Dr. Brenda Simmons, president of the National Council of Black American Affairs, doesn't believe demographic shifts and subsequent program changes at community colleges in recent years have hampered the schools from serving their core students — those with limited higher education options. In fact, the evolution helps disadvantaged students as well as minorities, she says.
"A community college is there to turn on a dime and respond to the needs of that surrounding community," says Simmons, also executive dean at Florida Community College, North Campus. "There's no disadvantage for any students, and our flexibility can't do anything but help people, especially citizens of color."
And surveys show that community college students have their share of ambition. Of those who entered a community college during the 1995-96 school year and later transferred to a four-year institution, 80 percent had either earned a bachelor's degree or were at least still enrolled at the four-year school within six years, according to the NCES.