Community Colleges10-06-2009

Community Colleges

• Two year post-secondary institutions which offer Associate of Arts, Science, Commerce, Applied Arts and Certificate/Diploma Programmes.

• Internationally also known as ‘technical colleges’, ‘junior colleges’, ‘fachhochschulea’ or folk-high schools ‘workers-colleges’ and ‘short-cycle institutions’.

• U.K.: Foundation Degree Programmes since 2001.

Why an alternate system?

• Serve all segments of society through an open-access admissions policy.

• To serve as a community-based institution of higher education.

• Teaching focussed on skill development.

• Provision for vertical mobility.

• Lifelong learning to have an educated workforce.

International Trends

• U.S. : Number of Colleges: 1,195Enrollment: Total: 11.5 million, Enrolled full time: 41% , Enrolled part time: 59%

• Canada: 150 , Enrollment – 900,000 full time; 1.5 million part-time

• Hong Kong: From 2001 all Universities in Hong Kong are offering Associate Degree Programmes

Who attends community colleges?

• Average age around 25.• Women comprise 60 percent of the student body.• 39 percent of the students are first-generation

learners.• Minorities comprise 35 percent of community

college students.• 27 percent of community college students are

employed full time and 50 percent are employed part time.

• 47 percent of community college students receive financial aid.

What is popular?

• Business, Accounting, Registered Nursing, Agriculture, Law, and Computer Technologies.

• Health care: 59 percent of new nurses and the majority of other new health care workers are educated at community colleges.

• Homeland security: Close to 80 percent of fire fighters, law enforcement officers are credentialed at community colleges.

• Workforce training: 95 percent of businesses and organizations that employ community college graduates recommend community college workforce education and training programs.

• Examples: http://www.nvcc.edu/curcatalog/programs

Why Community Colleges in India?

• Reaping demographic dividend - largest youth population.

• Only 5% of Indian labour force in the age group of 20-24 have obtained vocational skills through formal means. (Industrialised countries 60-96%)

• Only 2.5 million vocational training seats are available where as 12.8 million enter the labour market every year.

• Largest share of new jobs likely to come from the un-organized sector which employs upto 93% of the national workforce.

Discussions in India

• National Policy on Education and Program of Action

• In 90’s UGC delegation of VC’s and Principal’s to U.S. to study the CC system

• Seminars organised by USEFI in India with VC’s , CII and other national bodies

• Delegation of 12 U.S. CC heads in India to meet educationists and academics.

• 10th and 11th Plan documents, Planning Commission and National Knowledge Commission

National Knowledge Commission

• “….. the possibility of having affiliated colleges which can be remodeled as community colleges.

• Provide both vocational education through two-year courses and formal education through three-year courses.

• Promote job-oriented, work-related, skill-based and life-coping education.

• A unique opportunity to provide holistic education and eligibility for employment to the disadvantaged”.

(Reference: National Knowledge Commission Note on Higher

Education, 29th November 2006).

State Government Initiatives

• Tamil Nadu Government G.O providing financial assistance for establishment of community colleges – Scholarships– Affiliation to TNOU – Recognition and vertical mobility into all T.N.

universities• Indian Centre for Research and Development of

Community Education and MS University, Tirunelveli

• Haryana Government’s proposal to establish

community colleges

IGNOU’s USP

• Provision to mainstream 10th class drop outs- Bachelor’s Preparatory Program (BPP)

• Strong backbone of interactions with panchayat, district, state, national, governmental and non-governmental institutions.

• Large repository of courses in SLM – programme structures can be easily contextualised by CC’s if required.

• Extensive network of Work Centres to be leveraged for practical/applied component

• Flexibility and diversity – scope for lateral and vertical mobility.

Our Approach

• Invited Expression of Interest – more than 700 responded.

• National Interface Meeting in New Delhi – 400 participants.

• Regional Meetings. • Credible NGO’s, Public and Private Bodies,

Corporate Bodies short-listed.• Regulations – Community College Board,

Academic Committee, Examination Committee already framed.

• Curriculum development and transaction – Community Colleges responsibility - Examination and Certification – IGNOU.

Programme Structure

• Certificate and Diploma, Associate Degree programmes; full-time or part-time,.

• Exclusively face-to-face, on-line, blended.

• Mandatory apprenticeship.

• First year foundation courses 32 credits per semester, second year application oriented courses 32 credits per semester.

• Mobility into 3rd Year as entry into workforce.

Challenges

• Public funding of the Scheme.

• Academic pathways - transfer of students to third year in other universities.

• Quality Assurance – recruitment of faculty, standards in industry-based curriculum development.

• Avenues for technical and vocational teacher and trainer-training.

• Business / industry linkages including training contracts.

• Programmes to be rooted in communities – regional and local needs and then expand to “world communities”.

Opportunities

• Increased enrollment across different age groups.

• Feeder pool to graduation get widened.

• Drop-outs provided a new option.

• Linking vocational and higher education.

Legend

• Below 10

• Between 10 to 50

• Above 50

Indira Gandhi National Open University

Applications Received from Community Colleges

THANK YOU