A few days ago I read this piece in Salon.com, and have found myself reflecting on it and wondering what other educators think of the questions the author is posing.
She writes “… the majority of students who start classes in any given academic year will drop out, either temporarily or permanently, for reasons that are far, far beyond our control.”
And later in the article she continues: “If I didn’t think that community colleges could save plenty of people, I could not do my job. But I don’t think they can save everyone, and I don’t think that everyone is in need of salvation. They are expected to fill an enormous void in our culture and in our educational system, to bridge a gap that in many cases seems unbridgeable, to break down barriers of race and class. And at their best, they do every bit of that.”
Some of the comments on this article are intriguing as well. Some people tell stories of how much their community college education meant to them. Others, educators, point to the problem of trying to keep students enrolled simply for the sake of tuition. And some argue that completion should not be the only measure of success, that educational experiences may have value even if they don’t contribute to the institution’s five year completion statistic.
