Higher Education Trends
January 2006
Escalating Demand for
Postsecondary Education
· The growth of the economy will require a better-educated workforce.
o It is estimated that about 50% of first-time community college students are under-prepared to be successful in their studies, according to “Keeping America’s Promise.”
o Population demographics are changing to include more diversity and older adults.
§ The largest growing part of the population is Latino, which typically has a lower college-going rate.
§ Many adults who would not otherwise do so, will be returning to school without basic skills.
§ Many other adults will become underemployed because of skill-set changes in the workforce or need to return to the workforce to supplement income.
· In our District’s county, the pressure will be on our population to:
o Continue expansion of the economy and sustain job growth in all clusters except defense/aerospace.
o Grow employment in health, business, and professional services as well as construction and tourism.
o Maintain a competitive advantage in business and professional services.
o Maintain a competitive advantage in manufacturing (although negatively impacted by the state’s less competitive position).
· For our District, this could mean:
o Increased emphasis on basic skills, including English As A Second Language.
o Increased emphasis on student support services for prospective (high school) and current students.
o Curriculum changes to reflect evolving workforce skills.
o Faculty staff development to work with diverse population and returning adult populations.
o Partnerships with K-12, businesses, and other community organizations.
Continuously Changing Student “Mix”
· The student population will change to include more:
o Diversity – students of color, English-language learners, first-generation college students, adult students, and economically disadvantaged students.
o Non-traditional students – financially independent, enrolled part-time, working full-time, enrolled after a delay following high school, with dependents, as single parents, and/or without a high school diploma.
· Despite an enrollment decline today, the Campaign for College Opportunity forecasts a population explosion among the state’s college-age population (18-24) in the next decade, to 4.26 million.
· In our District:
o More than 75% of our current students also have jobs.
o Currently, 72,000 people within our service area ages 5 to 64 are not English speakers.
o By 2009, 138,114 people in our service area will not have a high school diploma.
o Our county’s Latino population will be a plurality in 2020, at 41%, and a majority by 2050, at 53%.
· For our District, this could mean:
o Greater emphasis on providing learning opportunities appropriate for returning adults and non-traditional students (such as distance programming or shorter terms).
o Operational changes to accommodate a larger number of students overall, including projected increase in the number of traditional students.
o More financial aid or scholarship opportunities for part-time students.
o More emphasis on support services for non-traditional students and partnerships with community organizations.
Funding Squeeze
· Funding does not mirror enrollment changes and does not reflect the higher-costs to serve diverse student groups.
· The Campaign for College Opportunity in California commissioned a study, concluding that:
o Investments in higher education result in substantial benefits for the individual and state.
o If the state increases the number of college graduates, California’s individual incomes will increase. If it doesn’t, the opposite will occur:
§ For every new $1 the state invests to get more students in and through college, it will receive a net return on investment of $3.
§ The state faces a net loss of $2 in the long run for every $1 it fails to spend in the short run.
· In our District, we participated in a county-wide socioeconomic study that concluded:
o The county’s community colleges provide benefits to communities, taxpayers, and student that far exceed what they cost to operate.
o Our community colleges help to stimulate the state and local economy, leverage taxpayer dollars, generate a return on investment, and increase students’ earning potential.
o Communities as a whole benefit even more than students alone from the education provided by community colleges. (If the colleges did not exist, taxes actually would have to be raised to compensate for the contributions the colleges make to the communities.)
· For our District, this could mean:
o Greater emphasis on successful high-school-to-college transitions.
o Broader and more diverse student recruiting efforts.
o Greater emphasis on college completion for those starting a program.
o Advocacy for more equitable funding mechanisms.
Information Sources:
· “California Community Colleges System Strategic Plan,” January 2006
· “The Economic Contributions of the Orange County Community College Districts,” December 2005, CCbenefits Inc., Co-Sponsored by Orange County Community College Districts
· “Keeping America’s Promise: A Report on the Future of the Community College,” 2004, Education Commission of the States and the League for Innovation in the Community College
· “North Orange County Community College District School of Continuing Education Community Scan,” 2005
· “Orange County Workforce 2005: Can OC’s Prosperity Survive?,” November 2005, Orange County Business Council
· “2005 Orange County Community Indicators,” March 2005, Co-Sponsored by the Orange County Business Council
· “Return on Investment: Educational Choices and Demographic Change in California’s Future,” December 2005, University of California, Berkeley, Co-Sponsored by Campaign for College Opportunity
