Internationalization of Community College Education

Since the mid-1980s many post-industrialized nations have demanded that higher education systems become more accessible and egalitarian, resulting in increased enrollments throughout the world. A recent UNESCO report states that higher education enrollments have expanded by 61% worldwide since 1980 and continue to increase by 3.2% annually, leading many to question the effectiveness of higher education institutions. One consequence of this international trend is that numerous ministries of education have begun to examine the U.S. community and technical college systems as alternative systemic approaches to providing increased student access and greater industrial collaboration. For U.S. community college leaders, this means that opportunities for international collaboration between institutions will continue to expand.

Student Tuition and Fee Policies

Tuition and fee policies remain at the center of intense debate throughout the world. With the recent implementation of student fees in Great Britain and the cost escalation of college attendance for U.S. students, governments face increasing political and economic pressure to identify appropriate tuition and fee levels. This is particularly true for nations seeking to infuse higher education systems with additional revenues in order to compensate for enrollment increases.

For U.S. community college leaders, however, the issue of rising tuition and fees is more complex. Since the mid-1960s the federal government has encouraged institutions to increase their reliance on student revenues through direct student aid programs designed to provide economic incentives for students who do not enroll in lower-cost institutions. After three decades of growth, direct student aid programs have become the fulcrum of federal involvement in undergraduate education constituting over $50 billion in tuition-based assistance to students. For lower-cost institutions like community colleges, however, these programs disadvantage their students when compared to more tuition-reliant colleges and universities. This fact raised serious questions among community college leaders at the Oxford Round Table about the role of the federal government in supporting community college education.

Monitoring Institutional Performance

Monitoring and assessing institutional performance is an issue of international significance. National governments in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia are seeking ways to determine and compare the effectiveness of individual institutions. Provincial governments in Ontario and Alberta have incorporated performance-based requirements into funding formulas for higher education. Over twenty-five states now use performance-based assessments to allocate resources to higher education institutions in the United States. The discussion at Oxford proved useful for many participants struggling to identify appropriate indicators of collegiate success or failure. If government policies in the next decade reflect the policy directives established in the 1990s, then community college leaders need to acquire substantial experience in determining institutional effectiveness and translating this information to policy-makers and students.

Expanding the Community College Mission

Should community colleges offer baccalaureate degrees? Community college leaders from Florida and Arizona argued for expanding the educational missions of community colleges to include specific baccalaureate degrees. However, others argued that the community college mission should not be changed to incorporate academic degrees beyond the associate of arts degree. During the forum, proponents of expanding the community college mission cite the recent British transformation of 50 polytechnic colleges to university status as evidence of the potential changes national higher education systems have undertaken. They believe that this issue may become one of the most important challenges facing community college leaders in the United States during the next decade.

The Oxford Round Table on Community College Leadership identified some of the perpetual and emerging challenges facing community college leaders today. Taken in their most comprehensive context, the various papers reflect a broad-based international dimension to community college development and expansion. The papers also confirm that the universality of higher education will most likely depend on the success or failure of the great community college experiment.