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ERIC Number: ED595231
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Mar
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Demography as Opportunity. CCRC Working Paper No. 106
Edgecombe, Nikki
Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University
Compared with four-year colleges, community colleges serve a vastly disproportionate number of undergraduate students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and lower-income backgrounds. Yet the sector remains under-resourced--unable to compete against politically connected state four-year systems and flagship campuses for limited public funds. Worse yet, community colleges have been unfairly stigmatized as they struggle to redress the accumulated disadvantage experienced by much of their student body. What is an under-resourced and stigmatized higher education sector to do? One idea is to reshape words and deeds in ways intended to leverage the benefits of the nation's changing demographics and dispel deficit orientations toward populations community colleges enroll. "Demography as opportunity" is a simple idea grounded in a commitment to affirm the worth of the students who attend community colleges by being responsive to their life circumstances. As the demography of the nation changes--the United States is predicted to be majority minority by 2045--human capital investment in students from racial and ethnic groups, many of whom are first-generation college goers and low-income, is critical to the nation's vitality. "Demography as opportunity" marries the racial and ethnic shifts underway in the country and in higher education with equity perspectives on historically disenfranchised populations. It is a constellation of policy and practice that abides by implementation principles common to well-executed change efforts. It attends to both people and place and aspires to strengthen communities and the nation by investing in the increasingly diverse population of college goers. Community colleges are the ideal venue for demography as opportunity not only because of who they serve but also because of what they do. [This paper is based on a chapter in "13 Ideas That Are Transforming the Community College World," edited by Terry U. O'Banion and published by Rowman & Littlefield and the American Association of Community Colleges in March 2019.]
Community College Research Center. Available from: CCRC Publications. Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street Box 174, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-678-3091; Fax: 212-678-3699; e-mail: ccrc@columbia.edu; Web site: http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Columbia University, Community College Research Center
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A