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FACT: Fifty percent of jobs in the U.S. workforce require post-secondary education other than a bachelor’s degree. They require specific technical training that community colleges can provide.¹

The Problem

Community colleges are a crucial pathway to the American dream. This dream involves not only a country that thrives economically but also a system that allows everyone equal access to the benefits of this prosperity. Many potential college students fall outside of the traditional, four-year university demographic because they are older, low-income or the first in their family to get a degree. Community colleges offer the flexibility and accessibility these students need to pursue a higher education. For the U.S. economy, a system that increasingly depends on educated labor, community colleges quickly and inexpensively inject meaningful skills into the American workforce.

 

Community colleges, however, are in danger. With little tradition of alumni giving, few community colleges have endowments. Revenues come from the government, based in some cases on dwindling property tax revenue, and tuitions kept intentionally low. Federal programs to aid low-income students are not keeping pace with costs. In 1986, the average Pell Grant – a federal, needs-based program – covered 98 percent of tuition at a public four-year school. By 2006, a grant covered an average of 46 percent.²

 

Degrees make all the difference. An associate’s degree holder, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, can expect to earn 30 percent more than a high school graduate over a lifetime, a figure that almost doubles in technical fields like engineering.³ For our economy, a full two-thirds of the estimated 15.6 million jobs created in the next decade will require a post-secondary degree,⁴ and four-year institutions cannot meet these needs, especially in critical fields such as nursing.

 

The Opportunity

Community colleges lack tenured faculty, making them more nimble and better able to respond to local needs and opportunities. This facilitates a meaningful philanthropic contribution in several areas.

 

• Provide scholarships or establish endowments. These investments can supplement the costs of attending school and target populations by gender, ethnicity or age, or industries like nursing or information technology. Alternatively, many schools have established emergency funds to make small grants – typically around $500 – to students in acute financial need. A new strategy, these funds address an important problem – research shows many students drop out because of relatively small financial needs like car repair.
• Help build the pipeline that makes community colleges more relevant. Community colleges are fed by K-12 schools and channel students into four-year universities and jobs. Standardizing how academic units are transferred from one institution to the next helps students succeed. Funders can support high-school counseling services or efforts to develop statewide standards.
• Provide state-of-the-art equipment and technology. Providing equipment, in-kind contributions or financial support is especially valuable because of the importance of up-to-date learning facilities. Community colleges face a constant challenge of obsolescing equipment as they prepare students for the 21st century workforce.
• Develop corporate partnerships. Corporations can ensure students have relevant experience by helping develop curricula, participating in mentorship programs or hosting interns or workstudy programs.

 

 

Additional Resources

• The American Association of Community Colleges has an extensive list of partnership opportunities and general information about community colleges.
• The League for Innovation in the Community College has a variety of multi-stakeholder projects.