An estimated 30 percent of job openings in 2020 will require some college experience or an associate’s degree. President Obama proposes that the federal government provide two free years of community college. He argues that if all 50 states adopt his plan, full-time college students would save approximately $3,800 in tuition per year and 9 million students would benefit.
Two-year institutions of higher education could serve valuable educational needs, but their aggregate performance is not meeting the expectations the Legislature demands of them.
While the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has set a goal of awarding certificates or degrees to 60 percent of Texans between ages 25 and 34 by the year 2030, it is questionable — and worthy of consideration by the Legislature — if two-year institutions can be appreciably relied upon to help reach that goal.
Across Texas’ 50 community and junior college districts, the rate of full-time students who attain two-year degrees or certificates within six years has remained between 29 percent and 32 percent since at least 2010. The rate for part-time students is worse, falling in a range between 22 percent and 25 percent. Texas ranks third nationally in terms of lowest average tuition at public two-year institutions, yet it ranks a dismal 46th in terms of completion.
The Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas evaluated community college students in terms of assessment, placement and developmental education. Data collected from more than 70,000 community college students at 150 institutions reveal that 86 percent of students believed themselves academically prepared for college, but 67 percent required developmental or remedial coursework. Worse, when faculty members recognize unpreparedness in their students, only 6 percent of those faculty recommend that students change to a more appropriate course.
Even so, tuition and fee costs increased by 25 percent for in-district residents and 33 percent for out-of-district residents between 2010 and 2015. Operating revenues for junior and community colleges have more than quintupled from less than $1 billion in 1990 to $5.4 billion in 2014, though enrollment during that period only doubled. General Revenue appropriations from the state — $2 billion in all funds for the 2014-15 biennium — account for approximately 30 percent of operating costs, and the rest is a combination of local property taxes — another $2 billion in 2014 — and tuition/fee revenue. The Legislature has adopted performance-based requirements for its portion of operating costs, but very little emphasis is placed on measuring workforce preparedness of graduates.
(John D. Colyandro is executive director and Russell H. Withers is general counsel of the Texas Conservative, a public policy foundation based in Austin.)
Across Texas’ 50 community and junior college districts, the rate of full-time students who attain two-year degrees or certificates within six years has remained between 29 percent and 32 percent since at least 2010. The rate for part-time students is worse, falling in a range between 22 percent and 25 percent. Texas ranks third nationally in terms of lowest average tuition at public two-year institutions, yet it ranks a dismal 46th in terms of completion.
The Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas evaluated community college students in terms of assessment, placement and developmental education. Data collected from more than 70,000 community college students at 150 institutions reveal that 86 percent of students believed themselves academically prepared for college, but 67 percent required developmental or remedial coursework. Worse, when faculty members recognize unpreparedness in their students, only 6 percent of those faculty recommend that students change to a more appropriate course.
Even so, tuition and fee costs increased by 25 percent for in-district residents and 33 percent for out-of-district residents between 2010 and 2015. Operating revenues for junior and community colleges have more than quintupled from less than $1 billion in 1990 to $5.4 billion in 2014, though enrollment during that period only doubled. General Revenue appropriations from the state — $2 billion in all funds for the 2014-15 biennium — account for approximately 30 percent of operating costs, and the rest is a combination of local property taxes — another $2 billion in 2014 — and tuition/fee revenue. The Legislature has adopted performance-based requirements for its portion of operating costs, but very little emphasis is placed on measuring workforce preparedness of graduates.
(John D. Colyandro is executive director and Russell H. Withers is general counsel of the Texas Conservative, a public policy foundation based in Austin.)
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3 comments:
Now that we have turned our high schools into socialization centers instead of academic or technical centers, then we must add some academics into the process of public education. Charter school students seem to thrive academically while the public high schools remain babysitting centers. And naming schools as "Early College High Schools" hasn't improved anything. Whoever did that should be whipped.
Charter schoolschool have succeeded in taking the brightest students from public schools. The charter system has succeeded in advertising and branding. The people have taken the bait.
The average charter school teacher has less than 5 yrs experience. The teacher turnover at charter schools is higher than any district. The results of propaganda have worked and the students they have recruited are the difference makers not their system and not their teachers.
I guess you never been or attended a charter school or a top magnet school. It seems that you blame the students but actually the teachers in charter schools do make a difference. Next time you ask a high school charter school student about how much homework and projects he needs to accomplish in a day. Try to compare it to a BISD high school student it doesn't even match. You see a student of interest attends these schools due to their academic standards and interest. Teachers understand their experiences and a student who is interested in a STEM career requires discipline. Something many public high schools fail in. You can't succeed in a STEM career if you don't get the discipline in providing high standard in math and reading. Tell me about it I'm and engineer and charters school teachers understand that area. There is a saying those who can do it can make it happen and does who can't just teach it. That's what all I got to say about teachers.
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