Community colleges’ historic open admissions agenda could be threatened by the push to increase completion rates, warns the American Association of Community Colleges in a policy brief, Why Access Matters. The easiest way to raise graduation rates is to turn away poorly prepared students. But that would be a mistake, the brief argues.
Community colleges enroll many high-risk students, including many minority and low-income students.
. . . a focus on completion has the potential to influence just who is allowed to take advantage of educational opportunities. In policy conversations, especially those concerned with policies related to access and choice, there is a silent movement to redirect educational opportunity to “deserving” students.
Colleges and universities “that provide the broadest swath of opportunity must be incentivized to continue providing access,” the brief argues. “Access to college, for everyone, matters.”
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