Free community colleges: Getting ahead of the future

The future ain’t what it used to be.      — Yogi Berra

UTICA — “The world is changing faster than any one of us can comprehend,” says Randall J. (Randy) VanWagoner, Ph.D., president of Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), which was the first community college founded in the state. “That means the future is here. Our role at MVCC is to get ahead of the future and plan a curriculum that meets our mission.

“In an increasingly competitive world,” he continues, “America’s economic strength depends on the education and skills of its workforce. In just five years from now, 35 percent of job openings will require at least a bachelor’s degree and another 30 percent will require an associate degree. [Or viewed another way], … jobs requiring an associate degree are projected to grow almost twice as fast those requiring no college education. That means that America’s 1,100 community colleges, which currently enroll more than 6 million students, will need to accommodate another 5 million.”

On Jan. 9, President Barack Obama proposed to make “… two years at community colleges free for responsible students.” Full-time students could save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year. To receive the necessary funding, the community colleges must strengthen their programs by increasing the number of students who graduate, ensure that their programs are transferrable to local, four-year public colleges and universities, and attain high graduation rates that lead to degrees or certificates; the states must invest more in higher education, reduce the need for remediation and repeated courses, and allocate a significant portion of funding based on performance; and the students must attend school at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and make steady progress toward completing their program. In addition to the free-tuition proposal, the president also proposed the American Technical Training Fund to establish 100 training centers targeted to help high-potential, low-wage workers. These centers are anticipated to have strong employer partnerships that include work-based learning and accelerated training.

“At first glance, this is a bold proposal,” opines VanWagoner, “that carries a $9 billion annual price tag. But remember that it was only a century ago that America opted for free secondary education not just to promote economic prosperity but also to ensure an educated citizenry, which is fundamental to a democracy. Our country thrived, in large part, because we had the most-educated workforce in the world. In today’s global economy, however, we can’t rest on our laurels. In retrospect, perhaps the president’s proposal isn’t radical at all: it’s just a continuation of our 100-year-old commitment.”

MVCC’s evolution

MVCC’s president then reminded this reporter why community colleges were established. “In 1946, millions of veterans were returning from WWII,” he notes. “The GI Bill guaranteed them free admission to higher education. The leaders in this community established MVCC to respond to the need and to mirror the community’s needs. Community colleges are unique because they are at the nexus where education, business, government, and the community intersect. Our mission included affordable tuition, an open-admissions policy, flexible course schedules, and convenient locations, all designed primarily for local students who are older, working, or need remedial classes. In 1946, MVCC sponsored two program clusters: one in engineering and the other in retail/business. Students in each program spent six weeks per semester in class and the other six weeks in the workforce garnering practical experience. While the curriculum may have changed over the past seven decades, the mission is the same.”

Today, the average age of students at MVCC is 24. “Half of our 7,000 students are on a career path and the other half have plans to transfer to a four-year institution,” states VanWagoner. “Most of them commute, and another 515 students live in residence halls. About 20 percent of entering students transfer on to a four-year college or university. Eighty percent of our students work while attending school. MVCC also serves a large refugee/immigrant population with [approximately] 250 students pursuing an ESL (English-as-a-second-language) certificate. Our graduation rate is 23 percent, which is on par with the average rate among SUNY community colleges. MVCC’s overall success rate rises to 41.7 percent when you include students who graduate or transfer within three years of enrolling full time. About 75 percent of the students are from Oneida County. The Utica campus enrolls 65 percent of our students, the Rome campus serves 12 percent, 12 percent study online, 8 percent take dual-credit classes in area high schools, and 4 percent study at other off-campus sites. The student body is 74 percent white, 6.5 percent African–American, 4 percent Asian, 5.5 percent Hispanic, and the remainder is either multi-racial or unknown.”

Funding

Trends in financial support of community colleges show that the burden is falling increasingly on students. “MVCC receives 27 percent of its funding from New York state, 22 percent from the county, 46 percent from tuition, and the remaining 5 percent from other sources such as grants,” stresses VanWagoner. “Student enrollment is countercyclical to the economy, which means in times of recession our enrollment grows, and when the economy recovers, our enrollment declines. Currently, funding from the state is based on enrollment, but the state share has been gradually shrinking in comparison to county and tuition revenues.

“Now, the state’s reimbursement system based on enrollment is about to change,” observes MVCC’s president, “and so is the federal contribution. New York will soon join 33 other states which have instituted performance-based funding. Government wants the same things we do: to graduate more students within a shorter time-frame; improve student retention rates; enhance job placement; boost post-graduation compensation levels; and create milestones for credits earned, for example, success rates in remedial coursework. A portion of our government funding will be dependent on meeting established goals along these lines. To me, it’s imperative that we meet the new standards without lowering our academic standards, inflating grades, or restricting our open-door policy.”

Partnerships with business

One thing that hasn’t changed is MVCC’s commitment to working with business. “The president’s proposal for free tuition wants community colleges to build partnerships with business to create career pathways,” posits VanWagoner. “We’ve been doing that since we opened our doors. The college works closely with area businesses on worksite-education programs that build essential skills. We design training that is relevant to the local market, including machine shops, the aviation industry, and the health-care community, and likely to lead to employment and careers. We are also designing courses for emerging industries: nanotechnology, which fits into our electronics and semi-conductor curriculum; unmanned aerial systems, which is an extension of our aviation-maintenance curriculum; and cybersecurity, which is a collaboration with Utica College and SUNY Polytechnic Institute. All three are turning the region into a technology center and regional powerhouse. Local employer reps sit on our advisory committees that shape the institution’s curricula, and more than 40 area employers offer paid internships to our students.”

VanWagoner returns to the president’s proposal with these thoughts: “Back in January, I wrote a blog entitled ‘A Big Idea for a Big Problem,’ ” he reflects. “Like most transformative ideas, we need time to consider all of the implications. Free tuition at community colleges would certainly accelerate a better-trained workforce, which will surely benefit the country economically and perhaps even help to close the wealth gap. It will also deal with the ballooning student-loan debt, which now surpasses all of America’s credit-card debt. (February figures put student-loan debt at $1.16 trillion.) The financial wreckage of our higher-education system is on display every day at our admissions office. Getting a degree while working is hard, but we also know that human beings try harder and perform better when they have some skin in the game. Should we ask students to contribute something to their education? In addition, America needs to deal with its … [obsession] that all high-school graduates should attend four-year institutions of higher learning regardless of their interests or level of preparedness. Society has a narrow understanding of success which has significant negative consequences. At minimum, the president’s proposal should begin a national conversation.”

MVCC, which was founded in 1946, operates from two campuses — one in Utica and one in Rome — and from off-campus locations. In the academic year 2014-15, the school enrolled 4,024 full-time and 3,124 part-time students. The full-time faculty and staff numbered 419 and total employment was 733. The projected annual budget was $52.6 million. In-state tuition was $3,810 and room and board cost $9,800. Sixty-nine percent of the students receive financial aid, and the college boasts nearly 44,000 alumni.

VanWagoner serves as the fifth president of MVCC, a position he has held since 2007. He came to the Mohawk Valley, having served as the chief academic officer at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha and as the chief student-affairs officer at Red Rocks Community College in Golden, Colorado. He received his graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. He and his wife, Jennifer, live with their two daughters in New Hartford.