Community colleges might emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic in a better position than their four-year counterparts, according to an Eduventures Insights brief.
As campuses across the country sent students home and closed down physical operations, many students began to question the cost of their education given that physical services and in-person experiences were paused.
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Community colleges just might be “an accessible beacon for the unemployed and a waystation for four-year-college-bound students, and for their disgruntled parents in the background, unwilling to pay regular tuition if the virus forces schools online yet again,” writes author Richard Garrett, chief research officer at Eduventures, in the brief.
Typical community colleges, without large sports gathering or residence halls, could make social distancing easier to achieve if the comings and goings of students, faculty, and staff are managed correctly. But concerns like this one aren’t likely to fade quickly in an era when education leaders are trying to figure out just how to balance teaching and learning with safe health practices.
The most likely fall 2020 scenario is that community colleges will see a surge in enrollment, varying by student type:
1. Adults: Affordable tuition, local presence. and lack of pretension will make community colleges the most obvious recourse for lower income adults thrown off course by the pandemic. Even if state grants shrivel or are withdrawn, federal grants and loans will help bridge the gap. Alternative providers, unable to offer federal student aid, will generally see these learners as too risky for private loans or income share agreements (ISAs).
2. Traditional-aged students from lower income families: Unless they have the grades to secure a full-ride at a university, these students will also favor community colleges, whether as a destination or a stepping-stone. Families of more modest means have been disproportionality affected by the pandemic in terms of job losses, income reduction, and ill-health. COVID-19 underscores the power of education to counter these vulnerabilities, and community colleges are a solid option.
3. Four-year school refugees: For traditional-aged students who in normal times would never go near a community college, how the fall plays out is in the hands of four-year schools. If campus re-opening plans appear cavalier and the realities of social distancing are not carefully communicated, and if schools do not use the summer to prepare for a compelling online learning Plan B, many of their students and admits will see sitting out a semester at a community college as better value. System loyalties may prevent direct competition with public universities, but community colleges might start to explicitly market to this population, targeting private schools.
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