The Negative Commandments:

Ten Ways Community Colleges Hinder Student Success

Linda Serra Hagedorn, Ph. D.

2004

Commandment I: Thou Shalt NOT allow untrained counselors without the necessary specializations to help students with specific career or college major questions. Do not underestimate the need for accurate and consistent general counseling services. “Although increased funding will provide additional staff to support the volume of student requests for information, it may not solve the problem of counselors who are insufficiently trained or inattentive to students.”

Commandment II: Thou Shalt NOT neglect programs targeted specifically at transfer and retention. “Part of the problem may be a lack of awareness on the part of administrators about what resources students actually need….Foremost on the list of requests from students is efficiency: long lines in financial aid and admissions offices lead to frustration and drive some students to abandon their studies altogether. Students who enroll in weekend [and evening] classes need accessible student services…”

Commandment III: Thou Shalt NOT view occupational programs as “second class.” Many students are interested in certification or career advancement rather than transfer to a four-year institution. “To distinguish between them [traditional academic programs and vocational education] or privilege one over the other is to engage in a kind of academic elitism that is anathema to the community college mission.”

Commandment IV: Thou Shalt NOT sustain unnecessary bureaucracy, i.e. paperwork and “red tape” which takes time away from student services and administration. “One must work to balance campus or district demands for research, paperwork and assessment with the number of….qualified staff available to do such work in a reasonable period of time.”

Commandment V: Thou Shalt NOT disconnect students from their campuses. There should be a central place for students to turn when they need help or have questions. “First generation students are more likely than most other community college populations to drift away from campus and become disconnected from faculty, other students and the campus overall….Often they are not culturally or socially aware enough to know how to navigate a college campus…so it is especially easy for this group just to walk away after class and not develop relationships….The task for administrators and faculty is to identify and acknowledge disconnections between students and their community college campuses, and then work to bridge these gaps….”

Commandment VI: Thou Shalt NOT disregard technology. “Although two- and four-year students share the same technology needs, differences in access to technological resources are profound. Many community college students cannot afford a home computer, especially one with Internet access. Thus it is not surprising that many community college students rely entirely on their college campuses to provide access to computers and the Internet for their class assignments.”

Commandment VII: Thou Shalt NOT offer an insufficient number of sections of basic English and math courses. “To meet demand, more [basic English and math] classes should be offered during the regular academic year, taught by committed and qualified faculty and varied to support students who want to transfer….”

Commandment VIII: Thou Shalt NOT heavily rely on part-time faculty who hold sparse office hours and thus appear inaccessible to students in need of support and encouragement. “Most students see the distinction between tenured and non-tenured faculty and the courses they teach as counter-intuitive: the more experienced teachers should be the ones who interact with and support new students; those who have office space and are required to hold office hours, in their view, should be the ones in a position to mentor and encourage at-risk students.”

Commandment IX: Thou Shalt NOT discount the important role of campus architecture in student success. Campuses need a functional student center, cafeteria and places for students to meet and study in groups. “The overwhelming response from students at all of the campuses was that community colleges in Los Angeles sometimes do not “feel” like colleges….”

Commandment X: Thou Shalt NOT neglect job placement services and internships for students who have designated or declared a specific career path or who have demonstrated a specific and marketable skill. It is very important to promote and fund career counseling. “Today’s economy has widened the appeal for occupational education as many people, some with previous degrees, are enrolling in the community college specifically for career training. To serve the needs of the community it is imperative for campuses to offer and advertise job placement services….Community colleges can make a difference in every student’s development by showing him/her the options available in terms of career paths he/she can pursue.”