As the US is getting ready for the first White House Summit on Community Colleges on Tuesday, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $34.8 million aid in a bid to increase the completion rates in the community colleges. This is a five year initiative from the Gates Foundation known as ‘Completion by Design’. The Foundation has not set any clear goal as to the increase in rate of completion. There is a rather vague idea that it should be well over the fifty percent mark.
This should play a part in reaching the goal of the Obama administration to lead the world in college degrees.
The Foundation wants to encourage the colleges to conduct a self analysis as to why the rate of transfers and dropouts are increasing. The program has short listed nine target states and will be accepting applications from community colleges in these states.
Several of the community college students prefer to transfer to four year colleges than finish their certificate or degree.
The community colleges have their own reasons for the stagnant rate of completion. They feel that there is a big lag in the knowledge expected from a college student and what they actually possess at the time of high school graduation. To further this, the placement tests the students undertake are not specific and leads to wastage of time. The two year colleges confuse the student with too many options.
The associate degree is seen merely as a stepping stone by many and not as an end in itself. So, the gates are looking at a college model which will mimic the clear path of study offered by the four year degree colleges.
Some simple remedies are being offered such as making the registration process easier or making timings more convenient.
