Helping Community-College Students Succeed: a Moral Imperative

Kay McClenney, director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement, part of the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin, is keenly aware of how much better community colleges need to be:

As is typical in a recession, many community colleges are experiencing a surge in enrollment, at precisely the same time that they must — like many enterprises, both public and private — contend with choking constraints on resources.

But the challenges are more than fiscal. They are also educational. They are challenges of vision, leadership, and chosen priorities. Many would say that the challenges are even moral.

The reality for community colleges is this: No matter how good our colleges are today — and they do contribute mightily to educational access, work-force development, and economic prosperity — they simply are not yet good enough. Our results, particularly when stated in terms of student achievement, are not adequate to serve the pressing needs of individual students, communities, states, and the nation.