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WELCOME
The purpose of this brief is to provide a resource for teacher
education professionals, administrators and students, from
which teacher preparation, recruitment, retention and renewal
programs and policies can be developed. As a service to the
members of the National Association of Community College
Teacher Education Programs, this document synthesizes the
most up-to-date national information specifically affecting
current teacher education initiatives. The Policy Brief is
developed by the National Center for Teacher Education of
the Maricopa Community Colleges. |
Community Colleges Facing Capacity Issues
Community Colleges are currently facing
various issues – one
being that of lacking the capacity to meet shifting demand.
Changing economical times are causing an influx of students
at two-year institutions. This is coupled with many other factors
including President Bush’s challenge to community colleges
to train more workers for growing industries.
Community Colleges have always provided affordable access to
education and resisted raising tuition, but may have to increase
tuition as the number of people seeking higher education continues
to rise.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics,
the undergraduate population increased from 12.4 million in
1995 to 13.9 million in 2001. During the same time period,
the percentage of racial minorities at community colleges grew
4.4 percentage points and 3.1 percentage points at four-year
colleges.
Additionally, many older, displaced workers are enrolling in
retraining programs, and two-year colleges are now serving
many more students through dual-enrollment programs that give
college credit to high-school students. These programs have
driven double-digit enrollment increases at some two-year institutions.
Recently, due to this increasing demand, two-year colleges
have had to turn away potential students. Some states include
California, Florida and North Carolina. North Carolina's 58
two-year institutions estimate that last year they turned away
up to 56,000 students.
According to The Chronicle, “the growth in demand wouldn't
be a problem for community colleges if their budgets were growing
at a commensurate pace. Some states, such as California, Florida,
and Virginia, however, have forecast community-college enrollments
increasing by as much as 50 percent over the next decade. And
it is uncertain whether they will be able to accommodate the
surge, even if the economy improves and state budgets increase.
In the 1990s, community colleges became increasingly dependent
on state and local appropriations while leaders tried to keep
tuition expenses flat for students. The state and local share
of the colleges' operating budgets grew to 61.3 percent last
year, from 56 percent in 1989-90. But in the last few years
state appropriations have plummeted. Community colleges in
Massachusetts and Colorado last year saw their state appropriations
shrink by 13.6 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Colleges
in California, Maryland, Illinois, and Missouri also experienced
significant dips in state support.”
These budget issues, along with increased demand have forced
some community colleges to close their doors to students.
Read
more about these and other issues on the web at the Education
Commission of the States.
[Source: ECS E-Clips, April 27, 2004; The Chronicle, April
30, 2004]
No Child Left Behind-State
Guidance
The U.S. Department of Education has added a new page to its Web site that provides
links to policy information. This includes a number of policy letters to states
and others on various issues that range from public school choice to school lunch
programs. The site is designed to help state education agencies, districts, federal
program directors and others implement the No Child Left Behind law. Included
are policy letters about:
- Decisions on state accountability plans,
- Questions about determining adequate
yearly progress,
- Local and state flexibility issues,
- Plans for improving teacher quality, and
- Identification of schools for school
improvement.
The site also includes links to the No Child Left Behind
legislation, regulations, updated guidance, grant competitions and more. View
the site.
Source: The Achiever, [April 15, 2004].
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