Community colleges offer hope

Community colleges offer hope for a strong return to workforce post-pandemic.

Among the challenges faced in a coming-out-of-pandemic economy are a lack of workers trained in technology and in health care, an inability of many parents, particularly women, to rejoin the workforce because of child care, and the continuing and widening wealth gap polarizing opportunities for many in our communities.

Complex solutions are needed, and President Joe Biden says there’s a place to start: Community colleges throughout the U.S.

Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan proposal calls for two years of community college tuitionfree and an expansion of Pell grants and other aid programs to help pay rent, food and child care while adults pursue college.

The plan also provides $62 billion “to invest in evidencebased strategies to strengthen completion and retention rates at community colleges and institutions that serve students from our most disadvantaged communities,” the White House says.

The president and first lady Jill Biden have long been champions of the benefits of community college. Jill Biden is a longtime community college professor who is continuing to teach at Northern Virginia Community College while in the White House.

In a visit to Tidewater Community College on Monday she emphasized the value of community college, particularly for adult learners juggling work and family. Classes are flexible so students don’t have to choose between work and school, she said, while also highlighting the training for real-world jobs.

Those values play out every day in the community colleges of this region: Reading Area Community College in Berks; Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Lansdale and Pottstown; Delaware County Community College in Media, Upper Darby, Exton, and Downingtown; and Bucks County Community College in Newtown and Perkasie.

Community colleges enroll nearly half of all college students and provide educational opportunities some students would otherwise not be able to access, according to the Community College Review. Community colleges have long had a reputation for being accessible to those who can’t afford the high tuition of fouryear institutions and to adult learners.

In recent years their roles have grown. Community colleges have become the hubs for workforce development programs, specialized training geared toward the needs of industry, and health care curriculums that include nursing and other specialties needed in hospitals.

The community colleges in our region are also gateways to bachelor’s degree and graduate programs in universities. RACC, MCCC and DCCC have transfer agreements with universities such as Temple, Drexel, Villanova, St. Joseph, Alvernia, Albright and others.

Because community colleges have always served a less privileged population — including many first-generation college students, students of color and non-native English speaking students — the colleges have developed robust support systems to navigate the higher education landscape. The average community college student pays just $3,400 a year in tuition, but only about 42% of first-time college students end up completing a degree within eight years. If they borrowed for tuition, they are saddled with debt without the earning advantage of a college degree.

Biden told the Tidewater college audience on Monday that his proposal is an investment in a “what people care about and what people most need … we’re in a race, and it all starts with access to a good education,” he said.

Currently there are more than 5 million students enrolled at the nation’s 1,000 community colleges, according to The New York Times, and their numbers reflect the diversity of their communities. The percentage of students defined as “minority” is 54 percent in RACC; 39 percent at MCCC, and 45 percent at DCCC, according to information on their websites, demonstrating the focus on higher learning for underserved populations.

The community colleges in the nation and in our region represent tremendous economic opportunity, as Biden and others have emphasized. But they also represent institutions that are integral to the communities they serve, the businesses that need workers, and the future of our economy.

As Teacher Appreciation Week comes to a close and as debate gets underway on Biden’s spending plan that spotlights community colleges, take time to learn about and appreciate these assets in our towns. They represent some of our best hope for now and for the future.