Chemical Education Today
Editorial
Scientists, Engineers, and Community Colleges The importance of two-year and community colleges in the education of scientists and engineers is well known. It was underscored in a recent report from the National Science Foundation that provides a statistical overview of the crucial role of these institutions (1). Based on the NSF’s 2001 National Survey of Recent College Graduates (NSRCG; http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/snsrcg/), the report documents the fact that a very large number of those who recently obtained science and engineering bachelor’s and master’s degree attended community colleges. For all degree fields in science and engineering, 44% of the recent recipients of bachelor’s and master’s degrees had taken at least one course in a community college. Physical sciences had the lowest proportion, at 37%, and biological sciences the highest, at 46%. Of those who obtained engineering degrees, 40% had attended a community college. Attendance at a community college varied according to racial and ethnic group. Hispanics had the highest percentage attendance at 51%, followed by American Indians/ Alaskan Natives at 45%, blacks at 44%, whites at 43%, and Asians/Pacific Islanders at 40%. Male graduates (41%) were less likely to have attended a two-year college than were females (46%), so community colleges are contributing significantly to both racial/ethnic and gender diversity among science and engineering professionals. Community colleges also provide pathways for students whose parents are not highly educated to attain science and engineering degrees. Of degree holders whose father had attended graduate or professional school, only about 35% had attended a community college, but if the father had less than a high school diploma, roughly 55% had taken at least one course in a two-year college. Clearly community colleges provide a mechanism for underrepresented minorities, women, and those not already exposed to higher education to become involved in science and engineering careers. This major contribution to the diversity of our profession should be supported by all. An example of how two-year colleges can enhance diversity among science and engineering graduates appears in this issue on pp 1246–1250. For those who obtained bachelor’s or master’s degrees, by far the most important reason that they attended a community college was “to complete credits toward a bachelor’s degree”. This was reported as one of their reasons for attending by 74% of those surveyed in 1999. (The question was not asked in the 2001 survey.) The next most important factor was “to gain further skills or knowledge in an academic or occupational field”, which was reported by 50% of those who responded in 1999. Only 28% of those surveyed had obtained an associate’s degree, and this degree ranked sixth out of nine reasons for attending a community college. Nonacademic factors also influence students to choose community colleges: easy accessibility, both in terms of admissions and geographic proximity; low tuition and fees; and flexible schedules that accommodate those balancing jobs, family, and studies. In addition, most two-year colwww.JCE.DivCHED.org
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leges have excellent, Community colleges are caring instructors who encourage and enable students to work hard flexible and entrepreneurial and excel. in their approach to new Given the crucial role of community programs and new colleges, it is disturbing to read and hear opportunities about situations where a college’s academic excellence may be compromised in the name of fiscal responsibility. In one case, which unfortunately is not an isolated one, a community college dismissed 145 part-time instructors when it found that they were not adequately qualified for their assignments (2). This left the college with only threequarters of its faculty, some classes had to be cancelled, and enrollments were reduced in others. The mass dismissal was precipitated by an internal audit in preparation for the visit of an accreditation committee. Clearly the quality of faculty in institutions that play such a significant role in U.S. science and technology must be kept at a high level and ought not to be vitiated by inadequate budgets. More encouraging are the many reports of great achievements by community college faculty, and the many fine interactions and collaborations among chemistry faculty from all kinds of institutions. The current chair of the Division of Chemical Education and about a quarter of its executive committee teach at two-year colleges. More and more grants are being received by community colleges for a broad range of programs that will improve the education of groups such as chemical technicians or that will introduce students more effectively to new fields such as nanotechnology or biotechnology. Community colleges are flexible and entrepreneurial in their approach to new programs and new opportunities that will help students prepare for work in fields that may not even have been known a decade ago. They play a very important role in the chemical education community—one that we should recognize and contribute to.
Literature Cited 1. Tsapogas, John. The Role of Community Colleges in the Education of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates. National Science Foundation, April 2004, NSF 04-315; available at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/infbrief/nsf04315/start.htm (accessed Jul 2004). 2. Gomstyn, Alice. Community College Dismisses 145 Adjuncts in Bid to Retain Accreditation. Chronicle of Higher Education; Wednesday, September 24, 2003; available to Chronicle subscribers at http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/092003092405n.htm (accessed Jul 2004).
Vol. 81 No. 9 September 2004
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Journal of Chemical Education
1239
