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Community Colleges: Where are they (Not)?

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DOI: 10.1108/S1479-3679(2012)0000017004

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 Community Colleges Worldwide: Investigating the Global
Phenomenon
Community Colleges: Where are they (Not)?
Alexander W. Wiseman, Audree Chase-Mayoral, Thomas Janis, Anu Sachdev
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 COMMUNITY COLLEGES: WHERE
ARE THEY (NOT)?
Downloaded by Lehigh University, Professor Alexander Wiseman At 12:43 22 September 2015 (PT)

Alexander W. Wiseman, Audree Chase-Mayoral,

Thomas Janis and Anu Sachdev

ABSTRACT

Evidence suggests that community colleges worldwide adhere to a

culturally-embedded institutional charter that celebrates and accommo-
dates local cultural norms and social, political and economic needs in
communities around the world. Using this as a foundation, the authors
present a dilemma to readers because there are both many communities
and nations where the community college model has expanded and estab-
lished itself while simultaneously many communities and nations around
the world where community colleges do not exist or have been resisted.
This unique phenomenon of both global expansion and targeted indiffer-
ence becomes the focus of this chapter and an introduction to the chap-
ters to follow.

The uniqueness of community colleges and the community college model

suggests that there is an institutional charter that is both embedded in
North American cultural norms and expectations, but simultaneously

Community Colleges Worldwide: Investigating the Global Phenomenon

International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 17, 3 18
Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-3679(2012)0000017004
3
 4 ALEXANDER W. WISEMAN ET AL.

a universally-acceptable mission and model that adapts to cultural norms

and social, political and economic needs in communities around the world
(Spangler & Tyler, 2011). It has been suggested that community colleges
are a uniquely American institution, but similar post-secondary and higher
education institutions are evident under many names and are still develop-
ing worldwide (Elsner, Boggs, & Irwin, 2008; Raby & Valeau, 2009). This
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chapter examines the multi-faceted influences and agendas that have led to
the emergence of or resistance to community colleges or community
college-like institutions in countries outside of the United States and
Canada.
Various theoretical and conceptual frameworks have been used to
explain how educational models spread worldwide whether they are locally-
relevant or not (Benavot, Resnik, & Corrales, 2006; Meyer, Ramirez,
Rubinson, & Boli-Bennett, 1977) and why skills-oriented education devel-
ops as it does (Mayer & Solga, 2008). Yet, no matter their moniker, ter-
tiary institutions guided by the community college mission or one much
like it continue to spread from community to community (Raby &
Valeau, 2009). These institutions’ formal missions are often to serve the
needs of their local communities by bridging the gap between academia
and technical training with learning that is open and accessible (Brint &
Karabel, 1989). Unlike primary, secondary, and even traditional tertiary
institutions, which tend to conform to international standards in how
they are funded, structured, and managed, evidence suggests that tertiary
institutions that follow the community college model tend to be institu-
tionally unique. Their uniqueness is the result of several factors: (1) they
are funded in a variety of ways, (2) they are purposefully structured to
address the contextual needs of their communities, and (3) they are
supposedly adaptable to respond to the needs of local business and indus-
try (Culpepper & Thelen, 2008; Sutin, Derrico, Raby, & Valeau, 2011).
In addition, their mission is often to provide education to traditionally
underserved populations that are unable to afford access to other types of
tertiary institutions (Brint & Karabel, 1989).
Inspired by the German Volkshochschule, founded in 1844, the US and
Canadian community college models developed in North American at
the turn of the century (Greenberg, 1991). With the establishment of
Joliet Junior College in Illinois, in 1901, the American community college
was born. Since then, more than 1,000 community colleges have been
chartered in the United States, offering degrees ranging from agriculture
to zoo science, and certificate programs in the nursing and hospitality
industry, among others too numerous to mention (Brint & Karabel, 1989).
 Community Colleges: Where Are They (Not)? 5

The millions of students that study at community colleges represent

the largest segment of higher education in many communities worldwide.
It is also worth noting that in spite of the community college mission
to address community needs by providing tertiary education for marginal-
ized and disadvantaged groups, the community college student popula-
tion is also comprised of many students who return to college for
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training or re-training, need to improve workforce skills or make them-

selves more marketable to attain new jobs (Samide, Eliason, & Patrick,
2011). In fact, students in many parts of the world attend community
college-like institutions to further their academic, professional, and lifelong
learning goals.
Evidence shows that in the case of the US, the growth of community
colleges was federally mandated and a result of economic hardship (Cohen,
Brawer, & Lombardi, 2009). Specifically, the Great Depression and World
War II contributed to the large growth of this segment of higher educa-
tion. The Truman Commission Report called for establishing a network of
public community colleges, which would serve local communities, be inex-
pensive or free, respond to the cultural activity of the community, offer
comprehensive educational programs, and highlight the locally-relevant
civic interests and responsibilities (Gilbert & Heller, 2010). This is an
example of a top-down initiative whereby an entire segment of higher edu-
cation is a product of a national need and was established by national
mandate. Such is also the case with Thailand and other countries where
national higher education agendas assert the need for a supplementary ter-
tiary option that bridges the labor market, community, and national eco-
nomic needs (Elsner et al., 2008).
Community college expansion, impact and implementation provide
many examples of the relevance of legitimacy seeking as a policy agenda
or response in educational systems worldwide. Legitimacy seeking occurs
within every part of the education sector, and community colleges are no
different, except that they purport to address the needs of their communi-
ties in a uniquely responsive way (Brint & Karabel, 1991). In the U.S. and
elsewhere, there are many examples of how community college-like institu-
tions provide alternative pathways to post-secondary education and, ide-
ally, employment (Brint & Karabel, 1989). Whether an institution is
established to train the blind or to advance microenterprise of women, pre-
viously marginalized communities, which would be ineligible for admission
at traditional institutions of higher education, are the target participants
for community colleges. These marginalized communities are argued to be
the link between academia and the workforce (Ullman, 2011). As a result,
 6 ALEXANDER W. WISEMAN ET AL.

the international expansion of community colleges is often associated with

the perceived need of national economies to train and re-retrain their
workforce to remain competitive in a global economy (Brint & Karabel,
1991; Wolhuter, 2011).
Although the global expansion of community colleges and similar
tertiary-level institutions has been documented (Elsner et al., 2008; Raby &
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Valeau, 2009), there is still relatively little theoretical or cross-nationally

empirical explanation for why these institutions have spread so rapidly and
extensively worldwide. Their expansion in many parts of the world is still
an educational phenomenon in that there is a significantly unique mission
and charter for community colleges that other institutions of higher educa-
tion do not share. And, because of that unique element of community
colleges, the rapid global expansion remains an unanswered question.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES

WORLDWIDE

Community colleges worldwide traditionally offer five basic kinds of pro-

grams: (1) transfer; (2) technical and occupational; (3) continuing educa-
tion or lifelong learning; (4) remedial education; and (5) workforce
development. While all five kinds are not necessarily part of community
colleges or similar institutions in all communities and countries where they
are present, these characteristics comprise the unique fundamental building
blocks of the community college model that has spread worldwide. Each
kind and characteristic of community colleges is explored below.
For example, unique to the community college model, is the transfer
program, which allows students the opportunity to earn credits that will
transfer to a four-year college or university or will provide the students
with a terminal Associate Degree. Articulation agreements exist between
many two and four year institutions within local communities and geo-
graphic areas, which means that after community college students earn an
Associate Degree, they are frequently able to transfer into the third year of
a traditional four-year college or university degree program (Association
of Canadian Community Colleges, 2011). Many students choose this
option because of affordability and accessibility (National Center for Pub-
lic Policy and Higher Education, 2011). Community college classrooms
tend to be smaller in size, opportunities for internships often exist within
the local business community, and courses are more consistently offered at
 Community Colleges: Where Are They (Not)? 7

times convenient for working students than in traditional universities or

colleges (Dougherty, 2001).
Coinciding with the economic downturn in the US, which began in the
2000s, more than 50 percent of all undergraduates enroll in community
colleges (American Association of Community Colleges, 2012). In other
words, considering that a community college degree program lasts approxi-
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mately two years, four-year institutions, with an added extra two years,
only comprise half of the student population when compared with commu-
nity colleges (Mohrman, Ma, & Baker, 2007). That said, a majority of
these students in community colleges transfer, or at least intend on trans-
ferring to a four-year college or university (Association of Canadian Com-
munity Colleges, 2011; National Center for Public Policy and Higher
Education, 2011). However, the US and Canadian community colleges are
unique from those in other countries around the world, which often do not
provide this transfer option.
Technical and occupational programs provide instruction in fields such
as nursing, auto mechanics, and plumbing, or any other field relevant to
local business and industry to ensure that students are trained to meet the
needs of business within their communities (Kempner & Jurema, 2006;
O’Connell & Jungblut, 2008). Technical training programs can range from
six months to two years or more in length, and evidence suggests that a
majority of students who graduate from a community college in five years
or less with an Associate Degree are employed shortly upon graduation
(Woods, 2012).
Continuing education or lifelong learning is another component of the
community college model. Courses designated as “continuing education” are
usually not offered for academic credit, but rather are intended to be pro-
fessional and personal development opportunities for students (Glessner,
2011). These courses range from auto maintenance to learning another lan-
guage. While some continuing education courses are similar throughout
North American institutions, these too are highly dependent upon the needs
of the local communities and the populations served by the schools. Train-
ing received as part of continuing education programs either at community
colleges or similar institutions often has economic returns over the life
course of individuals and to their communities (Müller & Jacob, 2008)
Remedial education helps students who are unprepared for traditional
higher education degree programs to improve basic academic skills such as
reading, writing, and mathematics (Al-Tal, 1993). For some colleges, reme-
dial education is costly to provide, but nonetheless it is an important ser-
vice provided to students. Many traditional universities worldwide have
 8 ALEXANDER W. WISEMAN ET AL.

instituted an “entry year” program that serves a remediation purpose and

mimics this characteristic of community colleges (Wiseman, forthcoming).
The workforce development component is critical to the work of commu-
nity colleges (Grubb & Kraskouskas, 1992; Mobley, 2002). Community
colleges themselves are entrepreneurial ventures since they are often at the
forefront of training and retraining disadvantaged students and strive
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towards providing a skilled workforce to the communities they serve by

"marketing" their courses to local business and industry (Roueche & Jones,
2005). Indeed, many instructors at community colleges are employees of
local business and industry and these classes serve as recruitment ground
for potential employers (Levin, 2005).
These five kinds of community colleges define the key characteristics of
a community college model. While this model has certainly expanded
worldwide, it is not ubiquitous the way that primary, secondary, or other
kinds of tertiary education institutions are. The discrepancy between the
expansion of community colleges worldwide and the decided absence of
community college-like institutions in communities that seem ripe for their
development remains as yet unexplored.

Why (Not) Borrow the Community College Model?

Most countries have well-established four-year colleges and universities

either sponsored by the state or privately funded (Altbach, 2006). Recently,
private institutions of higher education have exploded onto the educational
landscape of previously developing educational communities, particularly in
the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse and the rapid economic and social
development of communities in the Middle East and Africa (Cutright,
2010). And, as a result of decades of educational initiatives and agendas
like Education for All and others from multilateral agencies and develop-
ment organizations like UNESCO, the World Bank, International Mone-
tary Fund (IMF), and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), most countries worldwide have fairly well-
established primary education systems and enrollment levels as well as a
growing number of secondary education institutions (UNESCO, 2011).
However, for those students who manage to navigate primary and second-
ary education to completion, but who are economically or socially unable
to gain access to elite or costly tertiary institutions, a vast educational
gap persists. Other students may not find the same levels of success at the
secondary level as their peers, and although they may complete their
 Community Colleges: Where Are They (Not)? 9

compulsory secondary education there is still a gap in their knowledge and

skills development. This is especially relevant if labor market opportunities
call for skilled labor or some expert knowledge. For these students,
another option is often needed for them to profitably extend their educa-
tion—an option that provides them with an adequate amount of education
at an affordable cost to ensure that they will be able to attain employment
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and support themselves and their families. In response to these demon-

strated needs, the community college concept often enters local educational
landscapes. Evidence suggests that basic characteristics and programs have
been borrowed from the US and Canadian models to establish institutions
that bridge academic divides faced by disadvantaged populations in coun-
tries around the world (Spangler & Tyler, 2011). And as mentioned above,
no matter what these institutions are called, their core mission remains
addressing the needs of their local communities, including business and
industry.
In fact, one of the key conditions associated with the presence of com-
munity colleges is the perceived or documented need for a skilled work-
force by business and industry in the communities that these colleges serve
(Culpepper & Thelen, 2008). While the needs of each local industry and its
context may vary by community and national context worldwide, the per-
sistently perceived need for skilled workers creates a demand for institu-
tions that can work in partnership with local businesses (Mayer & Solga,
2008). The presence of a business-community college partnership is a com-
mon feature associated with community college systems around the globe
(Bragg, 2002). Accordingly, the curricula of each college reflect individual
and local needs within the context of the wider community and social, eco-
nomic and political landscape. However, this is an idealized description of
community college expansion, impact, and implementation, which occurs
roughly along these lines in communities worldwide, but rarely exactly as
described here in every community. To better understand where commu-
nity colleges are versus where they are not expanding worldwide, it is first
necessary to understand the process of expansion and the conditions that
make it possible.

WHERE ARE THEY?

While there may be variations in their structural design and the name used
for these institutions, there are commonalities of features that can be found
 10 ALEXANDER W. WISEMAN ET AL.

in all of them. The duality of unique versus shared characteristics presents

comparative education researchers with several questions about the global
expansion of community colleges, which we ask here:
 Why is it that community college-like institutions have emerged in some
parts of the world and not others?
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 What factors are associated with the growth and development of these
institutions?
 What kind of social, economic, cultural and political landscape is condu-
cive to their growth?

How Community College Institutions Develop

The conditions necessary for community colleges and similar institutions

to develop include: adequate funding, cost effectiveness, local capacity, and
a community with demonstrated mismatches between business and indus-
try needs and individuals’ knowledge and skills. There is also an element
of development-related paternalism where community colleges may in
some instances resemble non-governmental organizations by re-planting
themselves or their model in developing communities worldwide (Quint-
Rapoport, 2006). Since affordability and accessibility have often been
called the hallmarks of community colleges around the globe (Torres &
Rhoads, 2006), these characteristics are explored below.
Whether a top down, national initiative or a grassroots movement, com-
munity colleges and similar institutions need significant supplemental fund-
ing from other sources because they cannot operate on tuition revenue alone
(Sutin et al., 2011). Funding is needed for operational costs, infrastructure, as
well as tuition assistance for the students. Funding sources often include gov-
ernment subsidies, philanthropy or religious institutions (Sutin et al., 2011).
In the case of the US, the funding burden has been shared by local, state, and
federal agencies (Shreve, 1996), but funding for communities colleges is often
more agenda-driven. In the case of India, funding was first provided by Com-
munity Colleges for International Development (CCID) to the Jesuit mission
to set up the first community college-like institutions (Hewitt & Lee, 2006).
In Papua New Guinea, the initiative came from the government to boost
their economic development (Jacob, 2012).
The cost effectiveness of community colleges and similar institutions is
a common feature found everywhere (Hauptman & Kim, 2009). Com-
pared to traditional higher education in most communities worldwide,
 Community Colleges: Where Are They (Not)? 11

community colleges provide education at an affordable cost for those who

do not qualify or elect to attend traditional four-year universities and col-
leges. In addition, community colleges provide students with a choice to
either take a specific trade pathway or acquire education to transfer to a
four-year college (Skolnik, 2011). The cost differential and the money saved
for the first two years make this option affordable to more aspiring students
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while opening the doors of higher education, which otherwise would have
been unattainable. As a result, college may become more affordable and
accessible to many more students than would be otherwise able to afford or
access the traditional four-year higher education institutions.
Aside from funding and cost effectiveness, other conditions for the crea-
tion of a community college include the existence of large populations of
individuals without a high school diploma and the capacity of the local
community to provide an infrastructure and teaching staff (Elsner et al.,
2008). While the reasons may reveal local differences, a high secondary
school dropout rate tends to signal weaknesses in the existing education
system and the need to develop an alternative system of secondary educa-
tion (Van de Wefhorst & Mijs, 2010). The presence of weak educational
infrastructure with wide gaps and variation in the quality of education
based on location, ethnicity, gender, and religion can also be found in coun-
tries where community colleges have taken root (Raby & Valeau, 2009).
As already mentioned, evidence suggests that disconnects between edu-
cational outcomes of students and job market needs are another significant
factor in the growth of community colleges or at least in much of the pol-
icy rhetoric related to their importance (Bragg, 2002; Brewer & Gray,
1999). In many countries, the secondary and higher education systems pro-
duce graduates without any specific job skills to match the market demands
in their respective localities (Fejes, 2010). This supposedly leads to the
growth of a large pool of unemployed graduates with degrees, but without
the skills that the employers are seeking. Evidence both confirming and
contradicting this outcome is available, but regardless of the evidence com-
munity colleges tend to respond by providing the skilled base education
leading to job placement for their students (Grubb & Kraskouskas, 1992).

WHERE ARE THEY NOT?

Educational borrowing in its myriad forms is exemplified by examining

the phenomenon of the global expansion of community colleges. While
 12 ALEXANDER W. WISEMAN ET AL.

this chapter and many of the chapters in this volume examine the vast
expansion of community colleges around the world, there are no studies
explaining why the community college model has not expanded to
some countries where the conditions seem right. Why has the commu-
nity college model not spread to some communities even though the
context and conditions are amenable to it? This suggests the following
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questions:
 In which countries are community college-like institutions not found?
 Why are community colleges resisted in some communities worldwide?
 Where have community college-like institutions been established world-
wide, but did not continue?

Battling Bias

Community colleges, when compared to traditional four-year universi-

ties and colleges, have sometimes been considered subpar institutions
(Dougherty, 1987; Kim, Gilani, Landoni, Musisi, & Teixeira 2007). Because
of this, community college teachers and students may feel less empowered
(Hauptman & Kim, 2009) This exists across the globe and in similar com-
munity and vocational schools throughout the world (Bragg, 2001). In the
United States and Canada, community college students are often from
lower socio-economic communities and family backgrounds, did not
achieve high marks in secondary school, are returning to school for the first
time in years, or are students whose labor market opportunities and
expected productivity is low (Woods, 2012). For example, in Japan, two-
year schools have historically been considered “wives colleges” where stu-
dents, mostly female, receive some kind of education before becoming a
housewife, but are not considered adequate academic or labor market prep-
aration (Starobin, 2002).
There are several distinct forms of bias against community colleges
worldwide, which include admissions, economic, and academic biases.
First, community colleges often offer an ‘open door’ policy of admissions;
in other words, they tend to enroll all students who apply (Dougherty,
2001). This has brought an admissions bias to the reputation of these insti-
tutions as places of less than excellent academic rigor. Community colleges
are perceived by many as a ‘remedial pathway’ rather than a ‘pathway of
choice’ for students, although affordability and accessibility are big reasons
for their popularity (Torres & Rhoads, 2006).
 Community Colleges: Where Are They (Not)? 13

In China, the economic bias is institutionalized in the student funding

system. Chinese Higher Vocational Colleges (HVCs) receive students that
did not perform well on the gao kao, or the college entrance exam (Elsner
et al., 2008). A majority of these students did not do well on this high
stakes examination because lack of family wealth prevented them from
receiving extra (often necessary) preparation for the exam (Raby & Valeau,
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2009). Thus, many disadvantaged Chinese students go to Higher Voca-

tional Colleges because these are institutions that will accept them. Unfor-
tunately, because Chinese government officials do not see adequate
academic or productivity potential in these students, they do not support
them in the same way financially as they do students attending four-year
institutions (Sutin, Derrico, Raby, & Valeau); hence, the economic bias
against community college students.
With regard to academic bias issues, what does it mean for students
to learn vocational education without critical thinking skills? Is it possible
to climb the social ladder? What about the experience that students
bring to the classroom? Many institutions, such as in Thailand, require
students to start a program from year one if they transfer to a university
program after completing a community college degree or certificate (Elsner
et al., 2008). By re-starting their academic career, Thai universities and col-
leges devalue the community college degree and experience.
Another form of academic bias impacts faculty instructors at commu-
nity colleges and their sister institutions worldwide. The primary role and
responsibility of the faculty at community colleges is to teach their students
(Dougherty, 2001). There is less emphasis on the pursuit of research and
publishing. As a result, those who choose to be faculty members at these
institutions tend to be more interested in ‘teaching’ than conducting
research. This creates a stigma about the academic quality and intellectual
rigor of the academic faculty at community colleges worldwide, and
restricts the opportunities available to these faculty instructors in the wider
higher education community (Kember, 2010).

RESISTANCE TO COMMUNITY COLLEGES

WORLDWIDE

Many of the countries where community colleges and similar institutions

exist share a colonial past. In fact, this is a common feature of the histori-
cal context of most countries with community college-like institutions.
 14 ALEXANDER W. WISEMAN ET AL.

However, is it possible that because colonialism (1) did not encourage the
development of education systems that addressed local needs, but instead
(2) designed educational systems to meet the needs of the colonizers, that
(3) part of the legacy of colonization in some countries is resistance to
community colleges because of their local focus? Education systems of col-
onized countries were designed to meet the needs of the colonizer rather
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than focus on the development of the colonized people and their communi-
ties. Therefore, it may be possible that countries that are still closely tied
to their colonizers are more likely to resist the development of community
colleges and similar institutions than those that have been able to more
fully separate their social, economic and political needs and situations
from their former colonial masters.
There may be many other reasons for resistance to community college
expansion, impact or implementation, which may be institutionalized in a
particular country or educational system, but the potential resistance to
admission, economic and academic bias seems to present the strongest
evidence.

CONCLUSION: THE CONTRIBUTION OF

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

While the expansion, impact, implementation and resistance to community

colleges is explored more fully in the chapters that comprise the rest of this
volume, it should be noted that community colleges and similar institu-
tions make significant contributions to education and community world-
wide where they do exist.
Community colleges bridge education and the community in a way that
primary, secondary, and other traditional tertiary institutions do not. They
do this by carrying a democratic ideology that may not be as adaptable to
local communities as that embedded in mass education worldwide. On the
other hand, community colleges cling to human capital rationales even
though that rationale is often decoupled from the outcomes of community
colleges. In other words, the labor market and skills-based reasons often
given for community colleges existing frequently contradicts the actual
experiences of community college graduates who still may struggle with
employment or matching their knowledge and skills to labor market needs.
What community college models do demonstrate worldwide is the
importance of the expansion of education across the lifecourse. One of the
 Community Colleges: Where Are They (Not)? 15

fundamental outcomes of educational expansion more broadly defined is

the acceptance and incorporation of education’s value and place at every
stage of an individual’s life everywhere in the world. In other words, edu-
cation is assumed to be important for youth as well as adults, weak as well
as strong, majority as well as minority, and across all persons around the
world. Community colleges affirm this assumption by including otherwise
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marginalized or excluded people groups, who may fall out of the education
system beyond compulsory education. By including these marginalized
or excluded groups in the education lifecourse, community colleges
also become a mobility tool for otherwise immobile individuals and
communities.
Finally, community colleges create or expand knowledge categories and
distinctions where none previously existed, especially for trades, vocations,
and other skill-based labor, where none previously existed. By so doing,
community colleges further institutionalize the importance and ubiquitous-
ness of education in the lives of individuals at any and every stage of their
lifecourse.

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