Two-Year Colleges for Women and Minorities: Enabling Access to the Baccalaureate

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TWO-YEAR COLLEGES FOR WOMEN AND MINORITIES

GARLAND STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION VOLUME 16 GARLAND REFERENCE LIBRARY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE VOLUME 1195

GARLAND STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION This series is published in cooperation with the Program in Higher Education, School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. P HILIP G.A LTBACH, Series Editor REFORM AND CHANGE HIGHER EDUCATION International Perspectives edited by James E.Mauch and Paula L.W.Sabloff

THE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE ADAPTING TO CHANGE The Survival of Small Schools by Gary Bonvillian and Robert Murphy

HIGHER EDUCATION IN CRISIS New York in National Perspective edited by William C.Barba

HIGHER EDUCATION IN CANADA Different Systems, Different Perspectives edited by Glen A.Jones

IN

CHINA’S UNIVERSITIES, 1895–1995 A Century of Cultural Conflict by Ruth Hayhoe JESUIT EDUCATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN EL SALVADOR by Charles J.Beirne DIMENSIONS OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE International, Intercultural, and Multicultural Perspectives edited by Rosalind Latiner Raby and Norma Tarrow THE SOCIAL ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION Comparative Perspectives edited by Ken Kempner and William Tierney SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE The Reform of Higher Education edited by A.D.Tillett and Barry Lesser

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION Reflections and New Perspectives by Billie Wright Dziech and Michael W.Hawkins UNIVERSITY TEACHING International Perspectives edited by James J.F.Forest HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE POST-COMMUNIST WORLD Case Studies of Eight Universities edited by Paula L.W.Sabloff TWO-YEAR COLLEGES FOR WOMEN AND MINORITIES Enabling Access to the Baccalaureate Barbara Townsend CROSSING CUSTOMS International Students Write on US. College Life and Culture edited by Andrew Garrod and Jay Davis

T WO -Y EAR C OLLEGES FOR W OMEN AND M INORITIES E NABLING A CCESS TO

THE

B ACCALAUREATE

E DITED BY B ARBARA T OWNSEND

F ALMER P RESS A MEMBER OF THE T AYLOR & F RANCIS G ROUP N EW Y ORK AND L ONDON 1999

Copyright © 1999 by Barbara Townsend All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Two-year colleges for women and minorities: enabling access to the baccalaureate/ edited by Barbara Townsend. p. cm.—(Garland studies in higher education; vol. 16. Garland reference library of social science; vol. 1195.) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8153-3173-8 (alk. paper) 1. Community colleges—United States—Case studies. 2. Junior colleges—United States—Case studies. 3. Women—Education (Higher)—United States—Case studies. 4. Minorities—Education (Higher)—United States—Case studies. I. Townsend, Barbara K. II. Series: Garland reference library of social science; v. 1195. III. Series: Garland reference library of social science. Garland studies in higher education; vol. 16. LB2328.15.U6T96 1999 378.1'543—dc21 99–13590 CIP ISBN 0-203-80042-7 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-80045-1 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-8153-3173-8 (Print Edition)

Contents

Series Editor’s Preface Preface Collective and Distinctive Patterns of Two-Year Special-Focus Colleges Barbara K.Townsend Two-Year Women’s Colleges: Silenced, Fading, and Almost Forgotten Lisa Wolf-Wendel and Sheila Pedigo Two-Year Historically Black Colleges Janet A.Guyden Tribal Colleges D.Michael Pavel, Ella Inglebret, and Mark VanDenHende Two-Year Hispanic-Serving Colleges Berta Vigil Laden The Two-Year Church-Affiliated College and Issues of Access Philo A.Hutcheson and Ray Christie Beyond a Distinctive Student Body: Possibilities for Practice Barbara K.Townsend, Janet A.Guyden, Philo A. Hutcheson, Berta Vigil Laden, D.Michael Pavel, and Lisa Wolf-Wendel Contributors Index v

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43 85

113 151 195

225 245 249

Series Editor’s Preface

Higher education is a multifaceted phenomenon in modern society, combining a variety of institutions and an increasing diversity of students, a range of purposes and functions, and different orientations. The series combines research-based monographs, analyses, and discussions of broader issues and reference books related to all aspects of higher education. It is concerned with policy as well as practice from a global perspective. The series is dedicated to illuminating the reality of higher and postsecondary education in contemporary society. Philip G.Altbach Boston College

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At a time when racial and ethnic diversity in America is rapidly increasing, it is vital that higher education admit and support students other than the white males for whom it was originally founded. Twoyear colleges have served well in this capacity. They provide a major pathway for minorities and women to enter higher education and have done so for decades. In 1976 two-year schools enrolled almost 39 percent of all minorities in higher education (Gilbert, 1979, p. 7). By 1995 the percentage was 48 percent, or almost 1,500,000 minority students. That same year more Hispanics and Native Americans enrolled in two-year than in four-year schools. Although four-year schools captured more of the enrollment of blacks and Asian/Pacific Islanders in 1995 than did two-year schools, their enrollment as a percentage of the total enrollment in two-year schools is impressive. In 1995 blacks comprised 10.9 percent of the total enrollment, as compared to 10.1 percent in four-year colleges. Asian/Pacific Islanders were 5.5 percent of the enrollment at two-year schools as compared to 5.3 percent in four-year schools. Also, women constituted over 58 percent of two-year students as compared to under 55 percent of fouryear undergraduates (Philippe, 1997, pp. 22–33). Although there is no question that two-year colleges enroll many minority students, there is some question about how well these schools are serving them. Two-year colleges have been indicted for several decades for maintaining the stratification of American higher education ix

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by sidetracking students of lesser academic ability and lower socioeconomic status from four-year schools (e.g., Clark, 1960; Karabel, 1972; Pincus, 1980; Zwerling, 1972). Research does indicate that beginning one’s college education in a two-year college can decrease the likelihood of obtaining a bachelor’s degree. When students are matched on entering characteristics such as high school grade point average and SAT or ACT scores, those who begin at a four-year school are more apt to complete a baccalaureate degree than those who start at a two-year school (Astin, 1985; Cohen & Brawer, 1996; Dougherty, 1994; NCES, 1997; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). Because minority students are often of low socioeconomic status and thus more likely to begin at a two-year college than a four-year school, enrollment at two-year colleges may be detrimental to their baccalaureate-degree completion. As a two-year college is the institution most financially, geographically, and academically accessible to women and minorities, as well as to white males, the prospect that attending it hinders baccalaureate attainment is a disturbing one—for students and their families and friends, for faculty and staff within the two-year school, for citizens supporting the institution with their tax dollars, and for legislators and policy makers concerned with maintaining the system of higher education. Why does attending a two-year school work against baccalaureate attainment, and what can be done to alter this situation? The reasons why are several. Assuming that students have the academic aptitude to complete a four-year degree and initially plan to do so, they may be deterred from baccalaureate attainment because of difficulties in the transfer process. They may lose credits upon entry to a four-year school and experience transfer shock after they enroll—if they make it to the four-year school. Also many two-year students initially planning to transfer lose interest in obtaining a baccalaureate, perhaps because of the two-year school’s institutional press, which is often about job training rather than transfer. Minority students who are the first in their family to attend college may be particularly susceptible to this press. Black students in the 1990 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study were less apt than white students to have completed their associate’s degree by Spring 1994, although Hispanics’ completion rate was similar to that of whites (NCES, 1997). Potentially compounding this problem are approximately 100 nonprofit two-year colleges that enroll women and minorities exclusively or predominantly. These institutions have as their mission

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the academic success and personal development of a distinctive group of students, distinctive because of their gender or their race or ethnicity. Since these students are not white males, the most likely ones traditionally to attain a baccalaureate, schools focusing on them might seem a poor pathway to the baccalaureate. However, a number of these institutions are quite effective in helping their students succeed academically, including to the point of transferring and receiving the baccalaureate. We call these schools special-focus colleges for their focus on a particular nonwhite group or on women. Additionally, there are approximately 150 two-year colleges that have a student body in which at least 25 percent of the students are black, Hispanic, or Native American. All these institutions are the subject of this book. The book begins with the chapter, “Collective and Distinctive Patterns of Two-Year Special-Focus Colleges.” After describing each type of two-year special focus school, the chapter examines these colleges’ role in the development of American higher education and concludes with speculations about their futures. Each of the following five chapters then examines a particular type of two-year special-focus school and covers the same topics: • History of the particular type of special-focus college • One or more case studies of an exemplary institution of the type to illustrate how this kind of college serves its student body. • An analysis of the school’s contribution to the education of its particular student body The book concludes with the chapter, “Beyond a Distinctive Student Body: Possibilities for Practice.” Drawing upon the case studies in Chapters 2 through 6 as well as upon relevant literature, Chapter 7 analyzes why these schools are successful in enhancing students’ academic success and indicates what coeducational, predominantly white colleges can do to better serve nonwhite and women students. All people desirous of improving the education of racial/ethnic minorities and of women should find this book helpful. The colleges in this book provide models for those in majority-culture institutions who wish to assist these populations to achieve academically. In addition, people who are interested in two-year schools will appreciate the spotlight on these particular groups of colleges, since most of the attention paid to two-year schools has been to predominantly white,

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public community colleges. Finally, those who work in or study institutions that focus upon distinctive populations may also gain a better understanding of the unique niche these two-year colleges fill in American higher education. Barbara K.Townsend REFERENCES Astin, A.W. (1985). Achieving educational excellence: A critical assessment of higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Clark, B.R. (1960). The cooling out function in higher education. The American Journal of Sociology, 65 (6), 569–576. Cohen, A., & Brawer, F. (1996). The American community college (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Dougherty, K.J. (1994). The contradictory college: The conflicting origins, impacts, and futures of the community college. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Gilbert, F. (Ed.). (1979). Minorities and community colleges: Data and discourse. Washington, DC: American Association of Community and Junior Colleges Karabel, J. (1972). Community colleges and social stratification; Submerged class conflict in American higher education. Harvard Educational Review, 42, 521–562. National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). Findings from the condition of education 1996: Minorities in higher education. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, no. 9. Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (1991). How college affects students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Philippe, K. (Ed). (1997). National profile of community colleges: Trends & statistics 1997–1998. Washington, DC: Community College Press. Pincus, F. (1980). The false promises of community colleges: Class conflict and vocational education. Harvard Educational Review, 50 (3), 332–361. Zwerling, S. (1972). Second best. New York: McGraw-Hill.

TWO-YEAR COLLEGES FOR WOMEN AND MINORITIES

CHAPTER 1

Collective and Distinctive Patterns of Two-Year Special-Focus Colleges Barbara K.Townsend

Within the constellation of approximately 1,500 American non profit two-year colleges are clusters of schools that enroll women students only or primarily enroll black, Hispanic, or Native American students. These clusters include women’s colleges, historically black and predominantly black colleges, tribal colleges and predominantly Native American colleges, and predominantly Hispanic institutions. Some of these colleges are also church-affiliated schools, where commitment to a particular Christian denomination guides service to the distinctive student body. As of 1996–1997, 97 institutions or about 7 percent of two-year schools enrolled women students only or had a student body numerically dominated by black, Hispanic, or Native Americans students (50 percent or more of the student enrollment). These colleges comprise an intriguing and little studied phenomenon within higher education. Like most two-year schools, they expand educational access to non traditional students. What differentiates these colleges from most two-year colleges is a focus on non white students or on women only. Called special-focus colleges in this book, many of these distinctive institutions strive to create a climate conducive to the academic success of their particular racial or ethnic student body or their all-female student body. Some of the colleges have even established a curriculum and use pedagogy designed specifically for their students. Although there are limited data about the outcomes of these schools, what evidence there is 3

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indicates that many have been quite successful in advancing their students’ educational achievement. Coeducational, predominantly white institutions have much to gain from understanding what these special-focus colleges are and how they facilitate students’ academic attainment. This chapter profiles each of the four types of special-focus schools: (1) women’s colleges, (2) historically black colleges and predominantly black institutions, (3) tribal colleges and predominantly Native American schools, and (4) predominantly Hispanic-serving institutions. The chapter also glances at approximately 150 other twoyear schools whose student body is between 25 percent and 49 percent black, Hispanic, or Native American. These schools, known as blackserving, Hispanic-serving, and Native American-serving institutions,1 deserve recognition because in them the isolating, stress-filled effect of being a minority is “less exaggerated” (Kanter, 1977, p. 209; see also Hurtado, 1994) in these schools than in colleges where almost all the students are white. Since church-affiliation has been a critical factor in the development of special-focus colleges, the chapter also includes a description of the few remaining church-affiliated special-focus colleges. How all these schools fit within the development of American higher education is then described. The chapter concludes with speculations about the future of each type of special-focus college. WOMEN’S COLLEGES AND PREDOMINANTLY FEMALE SCHOOLS As of 1996–1997 there were 83 women’s colleges, of which eight were two-year colleges. Collectively, these institutions (see Table 1.1) enrolled over 1,700 students in 1996–1997. Enrollments ranged from a low of 24 students at Assumption College for Sisters (a training institution for nuns) to a high of 459 in Peace College. Except for Assumption College, where 60 percent of its students were Asian or Pacific Islanders in 1996–1997, and Lexington College, where 50 percent of the students were nonwhite, two-year women’s colleges have a predominantly white student body. The ranks of two-year women’s colleges have shifted somewhat since 1996–1997, with some colleges leaving and one entering. Among those leaving is St. Mary’s College, which was founded in 1842 and established its junior college program in 1927. In 1996–1997 it only enrolled 142 women in its junior college program, so it closed this

Two-Year Special-Focus Colleges

5

Table 1.1. Single-Sex Two-Year Schools in 1996–1997

program and continues as a high school for girls. Leaders of the two Aquinas Colleges, both sponsored by the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Joseph, decided in 1997 to consolidate into one institution in order to save administrative costs. Peace College has changed into a four-year college, and Fisher College will become coeducational in fall 1998 and also establish a four-year degree program in management. However, Harcum College, a women’s college that became coeducational in the 1970s, decided in 1997 to return to serving women students only. Thus, as of fall 1998, there will be only five women’s two-year schools: Assumption College for Sisters, which is only for Catholic sisters; Aquinas College, with its two campuses; Cottey College; Harcum College; and Lexington College. Although two-year colleges for men are not examined in this book, as of 1996–1997, there were five two-year colleges for men only, enrolling over 750 students (see Table 1.1). Enrollments ranged from a low of 24 students at Deep Springs College in Deep Springs, California, to a high of 254 at the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades in Media, Pennsylvania. Don Bosco Technical Institute, open only to graduates of Don Bosco Technical High School,

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is a predominantly Hispanic institution: in 1996–1997:66 percent of its students were Hispanic. The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, established in 1888, is the oldest, and the specialized MidAmerica Baptist Theological Seminary, established in 1972, is the newest. HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES, PREDOMINANTLY BLACK COLLEGES, AND BLACK-SERVING INSTITUTIONS Several types of two-year institutions have a sizable enrollment of black students. The most obvious are the two-year historically black colleges, institutions established before 1965 as segregated schools. Another type is integrated institutions, including colleges which once primarily or only enrolled white students but now have a student body that is at least 50 percent black. This second type is labeled predominantly black institutions, to differentiate them from historically black colleges. Finally, there are black-serving institutions, where black students constitute between 25 to 49 percent of the students. Established during the time when education was segregated in the south, two-year historically black colleges are clustered in the Southeast.2 As of 1996–1997, there were nine two-year historically black colleges created before 1954, the year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation in education was unconstitutional. Five more schools are also classified as historically black colleges even though they were created after 1954, because they were established in states which continued to maintain segregated schools (see Table 1.2). These five colleges include three public community colleges with one or more branch campuses that were once black two-year schools. For example, the Utica campus of Hinds Community College was once the site of the black Utica Junior College. Excluding these three institutions, as enrollment figures were not available by branch campuses, historically black colleges enrolled over 7,000 students in 1996–1997. Enrollments ranged from 191 at Lewis College of Business in Detroit, Michigan, to 1,701 in Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, Alabama. Not all of the students served by these schools are black. In the ten single-campus schools, the percentage of black students ranged from 21 percent at St. Philip’s College to 97 percent at Lawson State. Thus St. Philips, officially an HBC, is not even a blackserving institution, for less than 25 percent of its student


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Table 1.2. Historically Black Two-Year Colleges in 1996–1997

body is black. However, it is currently an Hispanic-serving institution, because 46 percent of its students in 1996–1997 were Hispanic. In 1996–1997 the oldest existing two-year historically black college was Shorter College in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded as Bethel University in 1886, it became Shorter College in 1901. In 1955 it went from being a four-year school to a two-year school (Shorter College Catalog, 1994–1998). Unfortunately, the college lost its accreditation in spring 1997 and its survival is unsure (“Shorter College,” April 24, 1998). The most recently established two-year single-campus historically black college is Lawson State Community College, founded in 1965 in Birmingham, Alabama. Additionally, another college, the Valley Street Campus of Gadsden State Community College in Gadsden, Alabama, was recognized in 1997 as an historically black college. It started in 1960 as a private vocational school.

Table 1.3. Predominantly Black Two-Year Schools in 1996–1997

Table 1.3 (continued)

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In 1996–1997 there were also 26 predominantly black institutions, colleges whose student body is at least 50 percent black (see Table 1.3). Collectively, these 26 institutions enrolled almost 100,000 students in 1996–1997, with the percentage of black students ranging from 51 percent to 95 percent. Three of these schools were also Hispanic-serving institutions: Bronx Community College in the City University of New York System, Compton Community College in California, and Roxbury Community College in Massachusetts. Individual enrollments ranged from 162 students at the specialized institution Long Island College School of Nursing in New York and 319 at the comprehensive Berean Institute in Pennsylvania to 11,696 at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland. All are coeducational, with enrollment of women ranging from 42 percent to 96 percent The oldest predominantly black school is Peirce College, founded in 1865, and the newest is Metropolitan Community College in East St. Louis, Illinois, established in 1996. The college is a replacement for State Community College, abolished in 1994 by vote of the citizens in its district. Predominantly black two-year schools are primarily in the Southeast (nine) and Mideast (nine) and are often located in major cities such as New York (three) and Chicago (three). In predominantly black colleges and most historically black colleges, black students find themselves in the majority. In all other institutions they are in the minority but far less so in institutions labeled black-serving institutions, schools where black students constitute between 25 to 49 percent of the student body. There were 95 two-year black-serving institutions in 1996–1997, including five specialized institutions (see Table 1.4). Four of the black-serving institutions are also Hispanic-serving institutions: Borough of Manhattan Community College; Richard J.Daley College in Chicago; Los Angeles TradeTechnical College; and Mountain View College in Dallas, Texas. One institution, the private Kelsey Junior College in California, is also a predominantly Hispanic school. Collectively, these institutions enrolled over 330,000 students in 1996–1997. Two private schools had the lowest enrollments: 79 at the specialized Commonwealth Institute of Federal Service in Texas, and 202 at the private comprehensive Kemper Military School and College in Missouri. The highest enrollments were at public institutions: 16,186 at City University of New York’s Borough of Manhattan Community College, and 18,713 students at Community College of Philadelphia.

Table 1.4. Black-Serving Two-Year Institutions in 1996–1997





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All the black-serving institutions are coeducational, with female enrollments ranging from 3 percent at the Franklin Institute to 79 percent at Martin Community College in North Carolina. The oldest private black-serving institution is Kemper Military School and College, founded in 1844; the oldest public one is Middle Georgia College, founded in 1884. The most recently founded black-serving institution is Arkansas’s Mid-South Community College, founded in 1993. Almost 70 percent of the schools were founded since 1960. Since blacks constitute the largest minority group in the South (Nettles, 1991), over half (52) are located in the Southeast or in contiguous states. PREDOMINANTLY HISPANIC AND HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS There are two categories of schools with a large Hispanic enrollment: predominantly Hispanic schools, whose student body is 50 percent or more Hispanic, and Hispanic-serving institutions, whose enrollment is between 25 percent and 49 percent Hispanic. During the 1996–1997 academic year, there were 21 predominantly Hispanic schools (see Table 1.5), with a collective enrollment of over 175,000 students. Hispanic enrollment in these schools ranged from 52 percent at Delmar College in Texas to 95 percent at St. Augustine’s College in Illinois. As indicated earlier, one of the schools, Kelsey Junior college in California, is also a black-serving institution. All but one predominantly Hispanic school are coeducational, with the enrollment of women ranging from 47 percent at Texas State Technical College to 79 percent at Hostos Community College of City University of New York in the Bronx. Kelsey Junior College is the oldest predominantly Hispanic school, founded in 1888. The most recently founded school is Palo Alto College, founded in Texas in 1987. Half the schools have been founded since 1960. Since over 60 percent of Hispanics live in California and Texas (Nettles, 1991), it is not surprising to find that 60 percent of predominantly Hispanic schools are in these states. Over 20 percent of Hispanics live in four other states, each of which has a predominantly Hispanic two-year school: New Mexico, Illinois, Florida, and New York. Arizona is the only other state besides these to have a predominantly Hispanic two-year college.


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Table 1.5. Predominantly Hispanic Two-Year Schools in 1996–1997

Unlike Hispanic students in predominantly Hispanic schools, most Hispanics who attend college do not find themselves in the majority. However, if they attend Hispanic-serving institutions, they will at least find between 25 and 49 percent of the student body is Hispanic. In 1996–1997 there were 52 two-year Hispanic-serving institutions (see Table 1.6), with a collective enrollment of over 400,000. Enrollments ranged from 52 students at the all-female Lexington College in Illinois to 32,000 at Mt. San Antonio College in California. Besides Mt. San Antonio, three other schools had enrollments of over 20,000 students: Cerritos College and Pasadena

Table 1.6. Hispanic-Serving Two-Year Institutions in 1996–1997




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City College, both in California, and Pima Community College in Arizona. Almost all Hispanic-serving institutions are coeducational, with the percentage of women students ranging from 15 percent at the predominantly male Heald College, School of Technology in California, to 68 percent at University of New Mexico-Valencia. A few schools classified as Hispanic-serving institutions are also classified as schools serving many black students. St. Philip’s College is not only Hispanic-serving (46 percent in 1996–1997) but is also an historically black college. Bronx Community College, Compton Community College in California, and Roxbury Community College in Massachusetts are also predominantly black institutions. Finally, the Borough of Manhattan Community College of the City University of New York is also a black-serving institution. The oldest Hispanicserving institution is Heald College, School of Technology, founded in 1863. The newest is Santa Fe Community College, founded in 1983. Approximately 30 percent of these schools were established since 1960. Hispanic-serving institutions are found in only ten states, with most located in the Southwest. TRIBAL COLLEGES, PREDOMINANTLY NATIVE AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS, AND NATIVE AMERICANSERVING INSTITUTIONS Tribal colleges are schools established to serve Native American Indians and controlled by the federal government and the founding tribe. The first tribal college, Navajo Community College (now Diné College), was established in 1968. Almost 30 years later there are 26 tribally controlled American colleges (see Table 1.7). In 1993, over 14,500 students, most of whom were Native Americans, were enrolled in tribal colleges (Philippe, 1997, personal communication). For the 21 two-year institutions listed in Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997) for which enrollment figures were included, all but two enrolled fewer than 1,000 students in 1996–1997. Enrollments ranged from 123 students (98 percent Native American), at Cankdeska Cikana Community College (formerly Little Hoop Community College) in North Dakota, to 1,718 at Navajo Community College in Arizona (93 percent Native American). Women constituted anywhere from 44 to 73 percent of

Table 1.7. Native American Colleges in 1996–19973

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the student body. The two-year and predominantly two-year schools are largely in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain states or in the Plains. There are also three Native American colleges that are federally controlled or supported (see Table 1.7): Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas (which primarily awards the associate’s degree but also awards the bachelor’s degree); the Institute of American Indian Arts in New Mexico; and Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico. Haskell’s roots stretch back to 1884, when it was founded as a nonreservation boarding school. In 1996–1997 all of its 809 students were Native American. Similarly, Southwest, founded in 1971, enrolled only Native American students (638) that same year. The Institute of American Indian Arts, founded in 1962, had a more diverse student body. Of its 240 students in 1996–1997, 90 percent were Native American, 2 percent were Hispanic, and 8 percent were white. There are also five schools whose student body is at least 25 percent Native American (see Table 1.8). Primarily located in the Southwest, these schools collectively enrolled over 11,000 students in 1996–1997. Bacone College, founded in 1880, is the oldest nontribal, Native American-serving school. The newest is Northland Pioneer College, founded in 1974.

Table 1.8. Predominantly Native American and Native American-Serving Two-Year Institutions in 1996–1997


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CHURCH-AFFILIATED COLLEGES Denominational support of colleges for women and minorities has been vital to their creation and existence. After the Civil War, various denominations, including African Methodist Episcopals, Baptists, and Presbyterians (Anderson, 1997), founded and supported southern black liberal arts colleges. Religious denominations also established many women’s academies, forerunners of numerous women’s colleges. By 1970, most remaining women’s colleges were church-affiliated, primarily Roman Catholic (Rice & Hemmings, 1988). By the early 1990s, of the 76 institutions identified by the Department of Education as women’s colleges, over half were Catholic (25) or Protestant (14). Religious sponsorship is clearly seen in the development of the two-year school. Koos (1925/1970) found that about half of the twoyear schools in 1921–1922 were “operating under the auspices of some church or other religious group” (p. 9). The Catholic church often sponsored two-year schools as “sister-training institutions and seminaries” for its various orders (Tremonti, 1951, p. 7). Thus around 1950, 18 of the 43 Catholic two-year schools served this purpose (p. 7), as does one today (Assumption College for Sisters). Only a dozen of the two-year special-focus colleges existing in 1996–1997 were church-affiliated, with almost half being Roman Catholic (see Table 1.9). Each of these schools enrolled fewer than 1,000 students, for a collective enrollment of under 3,000 students in 1996–1997. Enrollments ranged from a low of 24 students (all sisters) at Assumption College for Sisters to a high of 459 at Peace College. Andrew College, a black-serving institution in Cuthbert, Georgia, is the oldest school, with roots stretching back to 1854. The newest is Central Indian Bible College, founded in 1970. THE ROLE OF SPECIAL-FOCUS TWO-YEAR SCHOOLS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION The development of almost 100 two-year special-focus colleges illustrates several patterns in the development of American higher education: (1) the need for groups other than white males to develop their own colleges in order to enter higher education in large numbers, (2) the evolution of two-year special-focus schools into four-year special-focus schools, and (3) the demise of special-focus colleges as

Table 1.9. Intersection of Church-Affiliation and Special-Focus in 1996–1997


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majority-culture or predominantly white institutions become more receptive to minority-culture students. Development of colleges for women and minorities When groups other than white Protestant males have wanted more than token access to American higher education, they have first had to develop their own schools. Catholics began this pattern in the eighteenth century, women and blacks did so in the nineteenth century, and Native Americans in the twentieth century. Education of women. When the first colonists came to America, they did not view educating women as a priority. In fact, many colonists believed women should not be educated beyond the ability to read the Bible (Power, 1958/1987, p. 114). Women were to have one role in society—service as wives and mothers, and this service did not necessitate much education. As the new country began to develop, so too did a belief that women (that is, white women) needed more education so they could educate their sons as good citizens. Consequently, female academies were formed in the late 1700s and female seminaries in the early 1800s (Palmieri, 1987/1997). Building upon the elementary-level education offered women in the dames’ schools and grammar schools, the academies and seminaries offered a secondary-level education. Subjects included skills considered necessary for refined women, such as watercolor painting, drawing, music, and sewing, but also included subjects found in male seminaries, such as English, French, grammar, history, and geography (Power, 1958/1987, p. 116). With few exceptions before the Civil War, the academies and seminaries were the only recourse for parents seeking education beyond the elementary level for their daughters. The South led the United States in establishing institutions women’s colleges. The first college to award a degree to women was Wesleyan Female College of Macon, Georgia, in 1836. Two years later Judson College was established in Alabama. Mary Sharpe College was founded in Tennessee in 1852 (Brubacher & Rudy, 1968, p. 67). Women’s colleges also gained prominence in the East, partly because the male colleges tenaciously clung to their single-sex status (Brubacher & Rudy, 1968). Thus a number of prominent four-year women’s colleges, such as Vassar, Wellesley, and Bryn Mawr, were established. Early Eastern women’s colleges included Elmira Female

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College, established in 1855, and Ingham Collegiate Institute, converted in 1852 from a seminary to a college and relabeled in 1857 as Ingham University (Wing, 1991, p. 67). Ingham’s history illustrates the path of many higher education institutions in the nineteenth century. Beginning as secondary-level seminaries often with a preparatory department, they added a teacher preparation department or normal school and some collegiate instruction, equivalent to the first year or two of today’s four-year schools. Eventually they were able to offer the entire four years of an undergraduate degree. This pattern of development may be a factor in the uncertainty about how many two-year colleges existed in the 1800s. According to Kelly and Wilbur (1970), there were at least 50, but only eight of these still existed by 1900. How many of these enrolled women only is unknown. By 1898 over 61,000 women, including almost 1,800 black women, attended college (O’Malley, 1898/1987, p. 1), primarily at coeducational institutions. Almost 72 percent of colleges and universities were coeducational in 1900 (Brubacher & Rudy, 1968, p. 70). However, women’s colleges were still the norm for educating women in the Northeast and in the South. In 1901 there were 119 women’s colleges (Brubacher & Rudy, 1968, p. 69), of which some may have been two-year schools. By the early 1920s there were about 60 women’s two-year schools (Koos, 1925/1970). Most likely, all were private institutions, and many were churchaffiliated. During this period junior colleges for women often served as feeder schools for four-year women’s colleges or as finishing schools for middle-class women planning to marry and raise children. As coeducation became more acceptable and eventually mandatory in public institutions after the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the number of women’s colleges, both two-and fouryear, declined drastically so that in 1998 only a handful of two-year women’s colleges remained. Education of blacks. Prior to the Civil War, most blacks lived in the South. If they desired higher education, they had to attend college in the North as it was illegal in the South to educate black slaves and, in some states, freed blacks. If they went North, they would find a few black colleges such as Avery College and Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, or Wilberforce University in Ohio (Lucas, 1994, pp. 158–159). Only a few white schools, such as Oberlin, Amherst, and Bowdoin, admitted blacks.


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After the Civil War, many black colleges were created, especially in the South. Given that only about 10 percent of blacks could read when the Civil War started (Holmes, 1936/1970), these were colleges largely in name only. Rather, they taught elementary and high schoollevel subjects to bring their students to the college level. Very few schools actually offered four years of college-level work (Roebuck & Murty, 1997). By 1900 there were approximately 100 black colleges (Lucas, 1994, p. 207). As with white colleges, two-year black colleges were largely a product of the twentieth century. According to Lane (1933), “the first ‘pure’ junior college” (p. 277) for blacks was the now defunct Walden College in Nashville, Tennessee, which existed from 1919–1929. Like many white two-year schools, when two-year black schools developed, they were usually associated with high schools. By 1932 there were 19 two-year black colleges, of which 18 had some connection with a high school. All the two-year schools were in the South. Fourteen were private, including 12 affiliated with various Protestant denominations (Lane, 1933). The high school connection was maintained in Florida, when the legislature established the state’s black two-year college system in the 1950s. All these colleges were developed as extensions of black high schools (Smith, 1994, p. xxiii). The number of black two-year schools was never large. According to Walker (1960), there were just 19 between 1950 and 1957; 13 were private. Florida’s decision to establish black junior colleges added 10 more public schools between 1958 and 1966. In the southern and border states in 1961, 19 two-year schools had an entirely or predominantly black student body (Miller, 1962). McGrath (1968) identified 36 black two-year schools as of 1963–1964, of which 16 were public. Collectively, they enrolled about 7,000 students as compared to 100,000 enrolled in the four-year predominantly black schools (pp. 12–13). With the exception of those in Florida, black two-year schools did not generate much appeal to black families or garner much support from four-year black colleges, at least during the 1960s (Commission on Higher Educational Opportunity, 1967; McGrath, 1968). McGrath (1968) found that black students were hesitant to go to two-year schools because they wanted to “‘go away’” to college, in part to “escape from the southern setting” and a life of “privation and social restrictions” (p. 40). Blacks also viewed two-year schools unfavorably because of their emphasis on occupational education, instead of the

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liberal education “associate[d] with students’ education” (p. 41). Also, most four-year HBCs “seem[ed] to consider the two-year [predominantly black] colleges beneath college grade” (p. 13). The senior institutions often refused to give transfer credit for courses taken at two-year black colleges, probably because many of the schools were unaccredited (p. 13). The federal government’s decision in 1972 to provide student financial aid only for attendance at accredited colleges affected the number of two-year black schools. Many were unable to gain accreditation and therefore disappeared. As of fall 1998 only 14 twoyear historically black colleges existed, including four that are branch campuses of public two-year schools4. Education of Native Americans. Just as blacks and women sought more than token access to higher education in the nineteenth century, so too did Native Americans and Hispanics in the twentieth century. For Native Americans, the creation of tribal colleges has been a result. Educating Native Americans was at least a nominal concern of the first colonial colleges. Both Harvard and the College of William and Mary included in their charters the education of Native Americans (called Indians), with the intent of converting them to Christianity. Dartmouth also sought to educate Native Americans and is considered to be “the first college founded primarily for the education of American Indians” (Oppelt, 1990, p. 5). However, as Wright (1997) states, “the colonial experiments in Indian higher education were not simple expressions of unblemished piety.” Instead they served as a means “to further [the colleges’] own political, economic, and educational agendas” (p. 78). For example, educating Indians engendered a lot of financial support from English people, desirous of converting the Indians to Christianity. By the end of the eighteenth century, American colleges effectively ceased efforts to recruit and educate Native Americans. Few had enrolled; even fewer had graduated. Given that attending these schools required Native Americans to assimilate to white, Protestant values and forego their own values and culture, it is understandable why they were little interested in attending college at this time (Oppelt, 1990). As Native Americans continued to be displaced from their lands, they declined in numbers and were forced onto reservations. At this point they were educated first at government boarding schools, which were often denominationally operated, and later at day schools on their own reservation. Some schools were also created off the reservation.


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Whether in nonreservation or reservation classrooms, Native American students faced hostility to their language and culture. Teachers hired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs could be fired “if they incorporated in their teaching any of the rich and ancient heritage of the vast oral tradition” (Hill, 1995, p. 33) of the Native Americans. The experience was no different for the very few who went on to college. Native American students also faced cessation of their education after attainment of a high school diploma. The U.S. government, through its Bureau of Indian Affairs, “decided early to terminate the schooling of Indian youths at the secondary-school level (Brubacher & Rudy, 1968, p. 80). Rarely were Native Americans sent on to receive a college education. The 1930s initiated some positive changes in the education of Native Americans. The Indian Reorganization Act was passed in 1934, under Franklin Roosevelt. Among other provisions, this act provided loans for Native Americans to attend college. As a result, by 1935 over 500 were in postsecondary education. In the 1940s the GI Bill also facilitated the education of Native American veterans of World War II. In the 1960s creation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Higher Education Grant programs also added to the number of Native American college graduates (Hill, 1995, pp. 33–34). Although more Native Americans were attending college by the 1960s, they were doing less well than most other students. They also had a higher dropout rate than any other group of students. These facts contributed to the establishment of tribal colleges, institutions locally owned and controlled by Native American tribes but supported with federal funds through the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978. These institutions were committed to preserving the tribe’s culture and educating the students in ways consonant with that culture. In 1968 the first tribal college, Navajo Community College in Arizona, was established. By 1980 16 more had been created. Currently there are 26 in America and one in Canada. All began as two-year schools, although two, Salish Kootenai College in Montana and Oglala Lakota, now offer bachelor’s degrees in addition to two-year degrees, and one school, Standing Rock College in North Dakota, offers a master’s degree. Education of Hispanics. Like tribal colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions also began to be established in the late 1960s. Some were created as two-year and some as four-year schools. As of 1994 there were 133 Hispanic-serving institutions in 16 states. By 1996–1997,

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there were at least 73 non profit, two-year schools whose student body was at least 25 percent Hispanic (Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Schools 1998, 1997). Where Hispanic-serving institutions and predominantly Hispanic institutions differ from the other minority-culture schools is that twoyear institutions serving Hispanics were usually not created specifically for that mission. Rather, two-year Hispanic-serving and predominantly Hispanic institutions have typically been created as part of the expansion of community colleges in the 1960s and 1970s. Built in areas where many Hispanics lived, these schools became Hispanic-serving and predominantly Hispanic institutions by demographic default. Deliberately developing schools to serve Hispanics did not occur until the 1960s. Olivas (1997) has written about the development of colleges for two Hispanic subgroups, Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. According to Olivas, unlike the situation with blacks and Native Americans, “no governmental or religious groups founded colleges for Mexican Americans” (p. 680). However, like blacks and Native Americans, Mexican Americans suffered from a lack of adequate elementary and secondary schooling, although the situation was exacerbated for Mexican Americans because so many were migrant workers. With the growing interest in civil rights and minority groups in the 1960s, Chicanos were able to develop six Chicano colleges during the late 1960s and early 1970s. One of these schools, D-Q University, is now a tribal college. At its inception, it was a ChicanoIndian college. Only it and one other of the original six Chicano colleges (Colegio César Chávez in Mt. Angel, Oregon) now exist (Olivas, 1997). Puerto Ricans, “the most educationally disadvantaged subgroup” (Olivas, 1977, p. 683), also saw the establishment of historically Puerto Rican colleges during the late 1960s and early 1970s. With the advent of open admissions in the City University of New York (CUNY) system in the 1960s, Hostos Community College was founded in 1969 in the Bronx as a CUNY school. In 1973 Boricua College, a four-year school, was established in Brooklyn. Since the 1960s and 1970s, at least one two-year school was consciously founded to serve Hispanics. Established in Chicago in 1980 under the auspices of the Episcopal church, St. Augustine College does not list itself as church-affiliated in Peterson’s Guide to TwoYear Colleges 1998 (1997); hence it is not listed in this chapter as a church-affiliated school.


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Evolution into four-year schools Two-year special-focus colleges are unique in demonstrating another pattern in the history of higher education. Like many two-year majority-culture or predominantly white schools, some developed into four-year schools, a change which diminishes the number of specialfocus two-year schools but provides an alternative educational opportunity for the groups they represent. A stage in this development is to offer a baccalaureate degree while still offering associate degrees. Schools in this stage are known as predominantly two-year schools because the majority of their enrollment is in two-year programs. A few of the women’s colleges examined in this book (see Chapter 2) illustrate this path. Women’s colleges also provide examples of two-year schools that have become four-year schools. For example, the two-year Midway College in Kentucky, affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, became a four-year school in 1989 (see Chapter 6). The change has resulted in greatly increased enrollments for the school. In 1985 it enrolled approximately 300 women; in 1997 it enrolled 1,100 (Fiore, 1997, p. A25). Also, the women’s college, Bay Path College in Longmeadow, Pennsylvania, was a two-year school until recently (Carnegie Foundation, 1994). The demise of single-sex and historically black colleges Another pattern in the development of American higher education is the decline of special-focus colleges as majority-culture institutions become more receptive to minority-culture students. This pattern is again well illustrated by women’s colleges. Once the idea of educating women at the collegiate level began to be accepted in the nineteenth century, coeducation was rapidly accepted at many institutions. Over 70 percent were coeducational by the turn of the century. The elite private Northeastern schools like Harvard and Yale were among the last to become coeducational, holding out until the late 1960s and early 1970s. When all elite male schools became coeducational, women’s colleges saw their enrollments decline, sometimes to the point where institutions had to close. In 1960 there were 233 women’s colleges; in 1997 there were less than 90 with only eight of them being two-year schools. Just as with women’s colleges, historically black colleges have also

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declined in number as majority-culture institutions began to recruit black students. During much of their existence, historically black colleges were the primary, or in the South the only, venue for blacks to enter higher education. With the mandated integration of higher education in the 1960s through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court order in 1969, the primary reason for the existence of black colleges evaporated. Prior to the 1954 Supreme Court decision (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas) that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional, historically black colleges had educated over 90 percent of black students in higher education. By 1987 less than 20 percent of black college students went to historically black colleges (Roebuck & Murty, 1993, pp. 669–700). Historically black and single-sex colleges are, of course, not the only two-year schools to have expired. Some two-year schools serving only white students have also closed because they could not attract enough students. Often these schools were private and sometimes church-affiliated, for example, Felician College (renamed Montay College) in Chicago, Illinois. This Catholic two-year institution was open to both women and men, but had to close its doors in the early 1990s due to lack of enrollment. FUTURE DIRECTIONS The future of these two-year schools varies according to the group(s) they serve. Two-year women’s colleges and historically black colleges are dying out largely because both women and black students are now sought after by majority-culture institutions. Two-year women’s colleges may well be extinct as an institutional type within a decade if their current pattern of converting to four-year schools and/or admitting men continues. Private, two-year historically black colleges may also die as an institutional type, although the public ones will remain as a historical reminder of de jure and de facto segregation. The private HBCs are hard pressed to compete for students when there are currently so many public, two-year predominantly black and black-serving institutions with newer facilities and more financial resources to serve black students. As far back as 1967, this point was made by the Commission on Higher Educational Opportunity in the South, which stated, “Most church related [black] junior colleges began as missionary efforts to serve disadvantaged students for whom no other resources were


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available. Now, public institutions are gradually assuming this function” (p. 28). A major factor in the demise of private two-year historically black colleges and women’s colleges is their being private. According to Hoffman (1990), the private two-year school “is an endangered species” (p. 9), largely due to the growth of the public two-year college. In 1963 there were 278 private junior colleges; in 1989 there were 89 (Woodruff, 1990, p. 92). Reasons for their decline include their high cost to students and their small size. Around 1990, almost 60 percent of the schools enrolled under 500 students. Institutions operating with so few students annually usually “operate more inefficiently, with total costs per enrolled students greatly exceeding competitive sectors” (Woodruff, 1990, p. 86). Thus the private sponsorship of two-year women’s colleges and most historically black colleges, combined with majority-culture schools’ interest in recruiting their students, works against the continuation of these schools as institutional types. Collectively, tribal colleges are alive and well and should continue as a success story for many decades. Existing ones will grow in enrollment and levels of degrees offered; almost all have plans to offer a four-year degree. Also, more tribal colleges will be created. However, failure of the federal government to fund tribal colleges to the extent promised in the 1978 legislation hurts these institutions. Predominantly Hispanic and Hispanic-serving institutions will also grow in number and size as the Hispanic population increases in America. The number of 18-to-24-year-old Hispanics is projected to increase to approximately 20 percent of the American population by 2020, as compared to 13 percent in 1995 (Justiz, Wilson, & Björk, 1994). As Hispanics seek higher education, they will change the demographic makeup of individual schools, with the result that a number of today’s majority-culture two-year schools will become Hispanic-serving or even predominantly Hispanic in a few decades. Because of the growth in the percentage of Hispanics in America, “the community college student populations are slowly but surely becoming more Hispanic “(Padrón, 1994, p. 86).5 Two-year church-affiliated schools are currently in decline and will probably continue to decline, partly because of the previously mentioned problems associated with private control. In 1921 there were approximately 100 church-affiliated two-year schools (Koos, 1970, pp. 8–9), mostly single-sex institutions and some black colleges. In 1996–1997 there were almost 60 church-affiliated two-year schools.

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CONCLUSION As indicated above, diversity within the types of special-focus twoyear schools may well decline in the coming decades. At the micro level the death of individual colleges causes grief to the parties involved, but from a macro perspective, the near or total death of some types of special-focus schools may portend well for the groups they were created to serve. Two-year women’s colleges and two-year historically black colleges have declined partly because these schools are no longer the only ones eager to serve women and blacks. Both groups are now readily accepted in almost all higher education institutions, both two-year and four-year. Also, some two-year women’s colleges have become or are becoming four-year schools, which from both a micro and macro level is considered success for those schools even though this evolution diminishes the ranks of twoyear schools. Similarly, some two-year historically black colleges became four-year schools. Although two-year women’s colleges and two-year historically black colleges are dying out, two new kinds of minority-culture or special-focus colleges have emerged since the 1960s. Tribal colleges and predominantly Hispanic and Hispanic-serving institutions serve groups that have been seriously neglected by the entire educational system, not just higher education. Through the emergence of these schools, the number of college-educated Native Americans and Hispanics has grown significantly in the past three decades and will continue to grow. The major difference between these two institutional types is that tribal colleges were deliberately created to serve Native Americans, whereas most predominantly Hispanic and Hispanicserving institutions have had this mission thrust upon them because of the initial or changing demographics in their service area. The same can be said of predominantly black and black-serving colleges. However, many of these schools now consciously embrace the mission of educating minority students. Two-year schools whose student body is primarily or entirely female or black, Hispanic, or Native American have much to teach most faculty and administrators in predominantly white or majority-culture schools. Minority-culture colleges have recognized populations hungry for higher education and given those populations an opportunity to succeed. With their legacy of serving groups initially ignored by or excluded from higher education, these schools can serve as models of


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how to educate students whose cultural heritage differs significantly from that of the white, male students for whom American higher education was originally designed. NOTES 1.

Four sources have been used to identify the colleges discussed in this chapter: (1) Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997), (2) Peterson’s Guide to Four-Year Colleges 1998 (1997), (3) the American Association of Community Colleges, and (4) the Carnegie Foundation’s technical report, A Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, 1994 edition. Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Schools 1998 lists all “accredited [regional or specialized] institutions in the United States and U.S. territories that award the associate degree as their most popular undergraduate degree” (p. 18). It also includes “some non-degree granting institutions, usually branch campuses of a multicampus system, that offer the equivalent of the first two years of a bachelor’s degree, transferable to a bachelor’sdegree-granting institution” (pp. 18–19). The 1998 guide contains data submitted voluntarily from the institutions during the 1996–1997 academic year. Thus figures about the percentage of minority and female students at a particular school were provided by the institution. Each entry in Peterson’s was read to determine if the school was one of the five types of schools examined in this book. Occasionally, a school did not submit information about the percentage of female and male students or minority students. Thus it is possible that some minority-culture two-year schools have not been included because of lack of information about the student body they serve. Also, some schools fit into two or more categories. For example, Bronx Community College of the City University of New York is both a predominantly black and a Hispanic-serving institution. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) provided assistance through Kent Philippe, Research Associate. He provided AACC’s lists of historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving schools, and independent colleges. The AACC lists were cross-checked with the lists derived from the two Peterson’s Guide books and from the Carnegie 1994 Classification to develop the lists used in this book. When a school on one of the AACC lists could not be found in the Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Schools, the Carnegie 1994 Classification report were checked. If the school was classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a four-year school, the institution was not included in this study.

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2.

3.

4.

5.

Barbara K.Townsend Only non profit schools were included, although it is important to note that many of the for-profit schools could be classified as predominantly black, black-serving, predominantly Hispanic, or Hispanic-serving. Some of these for-profit schools are also among the highest producers of associate degrees. For example, the main campus of the proprietary Monroe College in New York City was 20 among 50 institutions that conferred the highest number of associate degrees to African Americans in 1994–1995 and 16th among those conferring associate degrees to Hispanic Americans (Community College Week, July 14, 1997, p. 11). The regional schema used is that used in The Two-Year College and Its Students (The American College Testing Program, 1969). The New England region includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, new Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The Mideast region includes Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Great Lakes region includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The Plains region includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The Southeast region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Southwest and Rocky Mountains region includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. The Far West region includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The names of the colleges in this list are the names used in Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997). Two of the colleges have since changed their names as indicated in Chapter 4, Tribal Colleges. The 14 historically black colleges still in existence in Fall 1998 do not include Shorter College, since it lost its accreditation in Spring 1998. The list does include the Valley Street Campus of Gadsen State Community College, recognized in 1997 as an historically black college. Padrón (1994) also notes the growing number and percentage of Asian community college students. Although this chapter does not include predominantly Asian/Pacific Islander or Asian/Pacific Islander-serving institutions as a type of minority-culture school, there are at least 20 non-profit two-year schools in Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997) that enroll 25 percent or more Asian/Pacific Islanders.

REFERENCES Anderson, J.D. (1997). Training the apostles of liberal culture: Black higher


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education, 1900–1935. In L.Goodchild & H.Weschler (Eds.), The history of higher education (2nd ed.) (pp. 432–458). Needham Heights, MA: Simon and Schuster. (Original work published 1988). Basinger, J. (1998, January 27). Another all-female college in Mass, decides to admit men. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A9. Brubacher, J.S., & Rudy, W. (1968). Higher education in transition. New York: Harper & Row. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (1994). A classification of institutions of higher education. Princeton, NJ: Author. Chronicle of Higher Education 1997–1998 Almanac Issue (1997, August 29). XLIV (1), p. 5. Cohen, A. (October, 1992). Tracking the transfers: State policy and practice. National Center for Academic Achievement and Transfer. Working papers 3 (7). Commission on Higher Educational Opportunity in the South. (1967, August). The Negro and higher education in the South. Atlanta: Southern Regional Education Board. Damann, Mother Grace, R.S.C.J. (1987). The American Catholic college for women. In M.J.Oates (Ed.), Higher education for Catholic women: An historical anthology (pp. 149–172). New York: Garland. (Original work published 1942). Davis, J. (1992). Factors contributing to post-secondary achievement of American Indians. Tribal College Journal, 4 (2), 24–30. Deveric, C. (1997, November 3). Study shows where to get most for your Hopescholarship money. Community College Week, p. 3 Fiore, M. (1997, August 1). The thinning ranks of private 2-year colleges. Chronicle of Higher Education, A 25. Gadsen State Finally Gets HBCU Designation. (1998, February 9). Community College Week, p. 17. Galluzzi, W.E. (1979). Haskell Indian Junior College-Serving a special need. In F.Gilbert (Ed.), Minorities and community colleges: Data and discourse (pp. 22–23). Washington, DC: American Association of Community and Junior Colleges. Godbold, D.H. (1979). Efficacy of community colleges for minorities. In F.Gilbert (Ed.), Minorities and community colleges: Data and discourse. Washington, DC: American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, 24–25. Hazzard, T. (1988, June). Attitudes and perceptions of white students attending historically black colleges and universities. ERIC Document. ED298806. Hill, M.J. (1995, Summer). Tribal colleges: Their role in U.S. higher education. In J.Killacky & J.R.Valadez (Eds.), Portrait of the rural community college.

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New Directions for Community Colleges, no. 90 (pp. 31–41). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hoffman, N.M., Jr. (1990, Spring). The private junior college in higher education’s future. In R.H.Woodruff (Ed.), The viability of the private junior college. New Directions for Community Colleges, no. 69 (pp. 9–17). San Francisco: JosseyBass. Holmes, D.O.W. (1970). The evolution of the Negro college. New York: AMS Press. (Original work published 1936). Hurtado, S. (1994). The institutional climate for talented Latino students. Research in Higher Education, 35, 21–41. Justiz, M.J., Wilson, R., & Björk, L. (1994). Minorities in higher education. Phoenix: American Council on Education & Oryx Press. Kanter, R.M. (1977). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books. Kelley, W., & Wilbur, L. (1970). Teaching in the community-junior college. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts Educational Division, Meredith Corporation. Koos, L. (1970). The junior college movement. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. (Original work published 1925). Lane, D.A., Jr. (1933). The junior college movement among Negroes. The Journal of Negro Education, 2, 272–283. Lucas, C. (1994). American higher education: A history. New York: St. Martin’s Press. McGrath, E. (1968). The predominantly Negro colleges and universities in transition. Teachers College, Columbia, NY: Institute of Higher Education. Miller, C.L. (1962). The Negro publicly-supported junior college. The Journal of Negro Education, 31 (3), 386–395. National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). Findings from the condition of education 1996: Minorities in higher education. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, no. 9. Nettles, M.T. (1991). Assessing progress in minority access and achievement in American higher education. Denver: Education Commission of the States. O’Malley, A. (1987). College work for Catholic girls. In M.J.Oates (Ed.), Higher education for Catholic women: An historical anthology (pp. 161–167). New York: Garland. (Original work published 1898). Olivas, M.A. (1997). Indian, Chicano, and Puerto Rican colleges: Status and issues. In L.Goodchild & H.Weschler, (Eds.), The history of higher education (2nd ed.) (pp. 677–698). Needham Heights, MA: Simon and Schuster. (Original work published 1982). Oppelt, N.T. (1990). The tribally controlled Indian college: The beginnings of self determination in American Indian education. Tsaile, AZ: Navajo Community College Press.


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Padrón, E.J. (1994). Hispanics and community colleges. In G.Baker (Ed.), A handbook on the community college in America (pp. 82–93). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Palmieri, P.A. (1997). From Republican motherhood to race suicide: Arguments on the higher education of women in the United States, 1820–1920. In L.Goodchild & H.Weschler, (Eds.), The history of higher education (2nd ed.) (pp. 173–182). Needham Heights, MA: Simon and Schuster. (Original work published 1987). Peterson’s Guide to Two-year Colleges 1998. (1997). Princeton, NJ: Author. Peterson’s Guide to Four-Year Colleges 1998. (1997). Princeton, NJ: Author. Power, E.J. (1987). Catholic higher education for women in the United States . In M.J.Oates (Ed.), Higher education for Catholic women: An historical anthology (pp. 114–135). New York: Garland. (Original work published 1958). Rice, J.K., & Hemmings, A. (1988). Women’s colleges and women achievers: An update. Signs, 13 (31), 546–559. Roebuck, J.B., & Murty, K.S. (1997). Historically black colleges and universities: Their place in American higher education. In L.Goodchild & H. Weschler (Eds.), The history of higher education (2nd ed.) (pp. 667–676). Needham Heights, MA: Simon and Schuster. (Original work published 1993). Shorter College (1994). Shorter College Catalog, 1994–1998. Little Rock, AK: Author. Shorter College loses accreditation. (1998, April 24). Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A8. Smith, W.L. (1994). The magnificent twelve: Florida’s black junior colleges. Winter Park, FL: Four-G Publishers, Inc. Solomon, B.M. (1985). In the company of educated women. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Tremonti, Rev. J.B. (1951). The status of Catholic junior colleges. Washington, DC: The Catholic Education Press. Youn, T.I.K., & Loscocco, K.A. (1991). Institutional history and ideology: The evolution of two women’s colleges. History of Higher Education Annual, 21– 44. Walker, G.H. (1960, January). Analysis of Negro junior college growth. Junior College Journal, 30, 264–267. Wing, R. (1991). Requiem for a pioneer of women’s higher education: The Ingham University of LeRoy, New York, 1857–1892. History of Higher Education Annual, 61–79. Woodruff, R.H. (1990). Doubts about the future of the private liberal arts junior college. In R.H.Woodruff (Ed.), The viability of the private junior college.

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New Directions for Community Colleges, no. 69 (pp. 83–93). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Wright, B. (1997). “For the children of the infidels”? American Indian education in the colonial college. In L.Goodchild & H.Weschler (Eds.), The history of higher education (2nd ed.) (pp. 72–79). Needham Heights, MA: Simon and Schuster. (Original work published 1988).

CHAPTER 2

Two-Year Women’s Colleges: Silenced, Fading, and Almost Forgotten Lisa Wolf-Wendel and Sheila Pedigo

Two-year women’s colleges have received very little attention from scholars in higher education. They are rarely the topic of empirical analysis and have been virtually left out of historical analyses of women’s education and historical accounts of the two-year college sector. The absence of discussion about the role of these colleges within the landscape of American higher education suggests that these are not institutions deemed worthy of attention. Public perception is that two-year women’s colleges are “finishing schools” for “girls” rather than serious academic institutions for women. As a group of institutions, two-year women’s colleges are rapidly declining in enrollment and in number. One could easily predict the demise of these colleges by the beginning of the new millennium. As the number of these institutions continues to shrink, the time has come to examine their legacy and to determine the extent to which they have important lessons to offer other types of colleges and universities. This chapter suggests that two-year women’s colleges deserve to be noticed for their contribution to women’s education. The organization of this chapter allows the reader to explore what little is currently known about two-year women’s colleges from the published literature and to examine new information about these institutions based on interviews and institutional documents. Specifically, the first part of the chapter traces the rise and decline in the presence of two-year women’s colleges, examines the history of 43

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Lisa Wolf-Wendel and Sheila Pedigo

two-year women’s colleges by looking at both the literature on the history of women’s education and the history of two-year colleges, presents the empirical research conducted on women’s colleges, and exposes the exclusion of two-year women’s colleges from these data. Part two of this chapter describes the methodology followed in the present study, presents case studies of the remaining two-year women’s colleges, examines the important traits held in common among these institutions, and looks at what happened to those institutions that are no longer two-year women’s colleges. WHAT WE KNOW FROM WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN The Presence of Two-Year Women’s Colleges Two-year women’s colleges are not a classification of institution explicitly recognized either by the two-year college movement or by proponents of women’s education. Oblique references to two-year women’s colleges exist, however. Woodruff (1990), for example, suggests that the first private junior college was a women’s college— Lasell Female Academy, founded as early as 1851. Private two-year colleges multiplied more rapidly than public twoyear colleges until the 1920s. The growth in number of private junior colleges reached its zenith in 1947, with 322 institutions (Cohen & Brawer, 1989). Data from several editions of the American Junior College indicate that two-year women’s colleges represented approximately 25 percent of the private two-year colleges in 1940, 1952, and 1963. As one can see from Table 2.1, there were 80 twoyear women’s colleges in 1940 and 68 still in existence in 1963 (Bogue, 1952; Eells, 1940; Gleazer, 1963). To help put these numbers in perspective, women’s colleges, both two-year and four-year, represented 16 percent of all postsecondary institutions in 1930, 13 percent in 1957, and 5 percent in 1976. In real numbers, there were 211 women’s colleges in 1930, 172 in 1957, and 92 in 1976 (Solomon, 1985). Available data do not permit direct comparisons; however, twoyear women’s colleges constituted approximately 40 percent of all the women’s colleges in existence between 1930 and 1976. By 1920, public two-year colleges began to outpace privates in both enrollment and number of institutions (Brubacher & Rudy, 1958). The increase in popularity of public two-year colleges has been traced to several factors including the rise in secondary education;

Two-Year Women’s Colleges

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Table 2.1. Number of Two-Year Women’s Colleges

* ** *** ****

Data from Eells (1940) Data from Bogue (1952) Data from Gleazer (1963) Data from Harwarth et al. (1997) and U.S. Department of Education (1996)

communities’ desire to have access to affordable, local institutions of higher education; the rise of the research university, some of which established lower divisions or feeder institutions; a movement toward more vocational education; and the desire for more open access institutions (Cohen & Drawer, 1989; Koos, 1925; Ratcliff, 1994). The literature suggests that two-year colleges, both public and private, grew “without plan, general support, or supervision…. The colleges were a direct outgrowth of customs, tradition, and legislation” (Cohen & Brawer, 1989, p. 13). By the late 1940s, less expensive public community colleges began to attract more students and the popularity of private junior colleges began to diminish. The market to attend low prestige, high cost, two-year private colleges decreased substantially, which led to the financial instability and eventually the demise of many private two-year colleges (Brint & Karabel, 1989; Woodruff, 1990). As a result, by 1996 there were only 141 private two-year colleges still in existence (Fiore, 1997). After 1960, the situation for women’s colleges also proved perilous. According to a report by the U.S. Office of Education, there were 252 women’s colleges in 1960 and only 83 in 1993. As a result, in 1993, women’s colleges accounted for less than one percent of the enrollment in all institutions of higher education (Harwarth, Maline, & DeBra, 1997). The decline in women’s colleges is due to a number of forces, including a general decline in enrollment in private institutions and the growing belief that coeducation meant equal education (Lasser, 1987; Studer-Ellis, 1997). Faced with the double stigma of being both

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a private two-year college and a women-only institution, it is not surprising that the number of two-year women’s colleges also faced a sharp decline. In 1998, there were only five two-year women’s colleges remaining in the United States (See Table 2.1). The decline of two-year women’s colleges seems even more dramatic when compared to the increasing popularity of public twoyear colleges. Data from the U.S. Department of Education demonstrate that between 1976–1977 and 1992–1993 the number of associate degrees granted by women’s colleges declined 43 percent, while the number of associate degrees granted by all institutions increased 55 percent in this same time period. In 1992–93, women’s colleges granted less than one percent of all associate degrees awarded to women (Harwarth et al., 1997). History of Two-Year Women’s Colleges In addition to tracking the rise and decline in the number of two-year women’s colleges, it is important to examine the original purpose of these institutions from an historical perspective. Unfortunately, little direct reference is made about two-year women’s colleges either in historical analyses of the education of women or in histories written about two-year colleges. Through references within texts on the history of women’s education, however, one sees frequent discussion concerning the creation of academies and seminaries during the period leading up to the Civil War. These academies were considered by some to be the precursors of both two-year and four-year colleges for women (Church & Sedlak, 1989; Farello, 1970). Several early academies were opened exclusively for women, some of which offered a classical curriculum similar to that offered by men’s colleges during the same era. Other academies open to women offered more practical curricula, teaching women “subjects thought likely to improved their performance as housewives, mothers and elementary school teachers” (Church & Sedlak, 1989, p. 132; Farnham, 1994). According to Newcomer (1959), most of these schools for “young ladies…featured such accomplishments as painting, musical performance, elocution, the best drawing room manners, and perhaps a little French” (p. 9). Newcomer adds that these institutions also ensured literacy for those who attended and often provided women with more science, more history, more modern languages, and more English literature than was available at most men’s schools during the same era. Nonetheless, it


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is from this curricular legacy that two-year women’s colleges have maintained the stigma of merely being finishing schools. The shift to more academic subjects in women’s colleges and academies began in the first half of the nineteenth century and led to the gradual upgrading of educational opportunities for women in that era. Church and Sedlak (1989) argue that there was no discernible demarcation between secondary and postsecondary education until the beginning of the twentieth century. In fact, they argue that the terms college and academy are used interchangeably during that time “in accordance with local prejudices toward the rhetorical ‘practicality’ of the academy or the intellectual elitism of the college” (p. 138). Newcomer (1959) agrees, stating that “the name ‘college’ was rarely applied to women’s educational institutions in the North…. This name [college] was used by many southern schools for girls” (p. 11). Between the Civil War and World War I several factors helped advance the cause of women’s higher education. Among these factors were the rise of public education, most of which was coeducational, and the growth of women’s colleges (Solomon, 1985). At this point in history, women’s education became highly focused on four-year colleges and universities. Indeed, as the number of four-year colleges open to women increased and as women’s education became more accepted, mention of seminaries and of two-year women’s colleges disappeared from the literature. Examining the body of literature written about two-year colleges, one sees a relative absence of focus on women’s education. As such, it is not surprising that two-year women’s colleges were not the subject of many historical accounts. However, looking at the two-year college literature does illuminate some of the context in which two-year women’s colleges operated. The growth of two-year private colleges is said to have begun in earnest around 1890 when “weak senior colleges began to ‘decapitate’ themselves and strong academies expanded to offer the first two-years” (Woodruff, 1990, p. 5). Twoyear colleges grew in popularity, attracting students who were not likely to attend four-year colleges. The two-year colleges also allowed students an opportunity to terminate their education after a two-year degree. William Rainey Harper, credited with “giving the idea [of a junior college] enduring appeal,” was among those who argued that weak colleges ought to become junior colleges and that exceptional high schools ought to “extend upward” to become junior colleges (Brubacher & Rudy, 1958, p. 254).

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Normal schools (schools that prepare teachers) were originally housed in high schools and provide an example of how some secondary schools extended upwards to become two-year colleges. Ratcliff (1994) suggests that the rise of compulsory secondary education influenced the teacher education division of high schools to become junior colleges. Because normal schools in the beginning of the twentieth century mainly served women, it could be assumed that these two-year, teacher education focused colleges were either predominantly or exclusively women’s institutions. Solomon (1985) suggests that the creation of junior colleges for women in the early 1900s was a direct result of actions undertaken by presidents of prestigious coeducational universities—William Rainey Harper of the University of Chicago, David Starr Jordon of Stanford University, and Benjamin Wheeler of University of California. These presidents, Solomon argues, were concerned about the rapidly growing female population at their institutions, the increasing levels of success that these women experienced, and the potential negative effects of these factors on male students. They were also concerned about the feminization of the humanities, resulting from the growing number of women students pursuing degrees in these disciplines and the potential that might have to scare men away. To address these “enrollment problems,” the presidents advocated the creation of junior colleges. Based on the assumption that “women were more likely [than men] to remain at home and attend the junior college,” Solomon argues, the creation of these two-year institutions would allow men to continue their dominance in four-year colleges and universities (p. 59). Although Solomon’s claim has not yet been verified by other historians, her argument offers fodder for discussion about the segregation of women into separate, lesser educational spheres. Other references to the relationship between the two-year college movement and women’s education are conspicuously absent. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON WOMEN’S COLLEGES, BROADLY DEFINED Another approach to understanding the role of two-year women’s colleges is to examine the existing body of empirical, social science research. There are a large number of studies that suggest that women’s colleges, broadly defined, have a significant positive


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impact on their students. Compared to women at coeducational institutions, for example, studies show that students at women’s colleges are more satisfied with their overall college experience (e.g., Astin, 1992; Smith, 1990; Smith, Wolf, & Morrison, 1995); are more likely to major in nontraditional fields (e.g., Bressler & Wendell, 1980; Solnick, 1995); and are more likely to express higher levels of self-esteem and leadership skills (e.g., Kim & Alvarez, 1995; Smith, Wolf & Morrison, 1995; Whitt, 1994). Studies have also concluded that graduates of women’s colleges earn more money than their coeducational counterparts (Conaty et al., 1989), are more likely to achieve prominence in their chosen field and rise to management positions in government and industry (e.g., Ledman, Miller & Brown, 1995; Oates & Williamson, 1978; Riordan, 1992; Tidball, 1980) and are more likely to attend graduate school and receive advanced degrees (e.g., Fuller, 1989; Tidball, 1989; Wolf-Wendel, 1998). Despite the overwhelming, consistent findings, not every scholar accepts the findings that women’s colleges are responsible for the differential, positive outcomes described above. Some believe that these outcomes are a result of “what the student brings to college” rather than a product of the campus environment at women’s colleges (e.g., Crosby et al., 1994; Stoecker & Pascarella, 1991). Indeed, several researchers have found significant differences in the initial aspirations of students at women’s colleges compared to their counterparts at coeducational institutions, suggesting that level of aspiration is potentially a function of the type of student that enrolls at an institution rather than a function of the college experience itself (e.g., Astin, 1992). While one cannot randomly assign women to women’s colleges, most of the studies on the outcomes of attending a women’s college either control for institutional selectivity or control for an array of incoming characteristics to address these concerns. In addition, what is most striking about the literature on women’s colleges is that similar results are found regardless of the methodology employed. Despite the critics, the consistency of the results led Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) in their review of the literature, to assert that the “evidence tends to support those who claim that a women’s college provides a uniquely supportive climate for women to explore themselves and other members of their gender in a wide range of intellectual and social leadership roles” (p. 383).

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Empirical Research on Two-Year Women’s Colleges Looking specifically at the impact of two-year women’s colleges on their students offers scholars an interesting dilemma. None of the empirical research that examines the impact of women’s colleges includes two-year women’s colleges. Methodologically, studies of the impact of women’s colleges fall into two general categories: (1) studies of the baccalaureate origins of “successful” women; and, (2) studies that control for student characteristics to determine the comparative impact of women’s colleges and coeducational institutions. For obvious reasons, the first type of study—those that examine baccalaureate origins—exclude two-year women’s colleges from the analysis. The second type of study, which typically relies on large national databases, has also failed to include women attending twoyear colleges. Studies using large national databases might exclude two-year women’s colleges from analyses because of comparison group problems (i.e., there are few two-year men’s colleges to compare with the two-year women’s colleges) and/or because there are so few students enrolled at two-year women’s colleges that sample size becomes problematic. Whatever the reason, it is unclear whether twoyear women’s colleges facilitate the success of their students in ways comparable to their four-year college counterparts. Questions that remain unanswered include the following. Are their graduates more satisfied than graduates of coeducational two-year colleges? Do twoyear women’s colleges have higher transfer rates than other private two-year colleges? Do they have better job placement rates than other private two-year institutions? Are their graduates more successful than graduates from comparable coeducational institutions? An exploration of the published literature that specifically mentions two-year women’s colleges yielded five studies that were written between the late 1960s and early 1980s. More recent studies have not been conducted. Three of the early studies examine institutions that are no longer two-year women’s colleges. One study by Jaski (1976), for example, looked at student-environment interaction at Felician College between 1968 and 1974. During that time period the student population at Felician changed from a majority of religious novices to a majority of lay students interested in secular careers. Another study surveyed students and parents at Garland Junior College to determine their educational expectations and found that job skills were ranked as the most important expectation (Garland, 1974). A third


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study examined critical issues pertaining to women’s education at Midway College in Kentucky, determining that women needed marketable skills, critical thinking, and a realistic positive self-image. This report concludes with recommendations for improving Midway’s career planning and counseling services (Midway College, 1982). Two other studies, while not about two-year women’s colleges, included women at two-year women’s colleges as a part of their samples. For example, Blai (1979) surveyed women at Harcum College to determine the relationship between enjoyment of learning and learning-teaching experiences. Veres and Moore (1975) included women from a two-year women’s college as part of their sample in studying career innovation among women. However, the study did not compare the women from the two-year women’s college with those from the two-year comprehensive or agricultural-technical colleges also included in the study. Answers to the research questions explored in these five studies provide little information about the effectiveness of two-year women’s colleges. The datedness of all of these studies also calls their applicability to today’s higher education environment into question. More empirical research needs to be conducted on the impact of twoyear women’s colleges. Because of the decreasing number of these institutions, however, future studies on this topic will most likely rely on archival data. THE PRESENT STUDY Methodology Given the lack of published data on two-year women’s colleges, attaining information about those that are still open today was a process of discovery. The authors of this chapter started with a list of names of 19 institutions gleaned from the Women’s College Coalition membership list and Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Schools 1998 (1997) 1 By contacting the 19 institutions and requesting public documents such as view books and course catalogs, the authors ascertained that the number of remaining two-year women’s colleges was five as of November 1997. These five institutions include Aquinas College in Massachusetts (which recently merged its two campuses under one administration); Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri; Fisher College in Boston,2 Massachusetts; Harcum College in Bryn Mawr,

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Pennsylvania; and Lexington College in Lincoln, Illinois. Four of these institutions are currently committed to being two-year women’s colleges. Case studies of each of the remaining two-year women’s colleges were created by gathering data from a variety of sources. The sources of information included profiles written in Peterson’s Guide to TwoYear Colleges 1998 (1997), the web pages of each of the institutions, institutional documents such as course catalogs and view books, and telephone interviews conducted with members of each campus administration. Typically two or three individuals from each campus were contacted. The director of admissions and someone from external relations were contacted at all five campuses. The case studies also utilized snowball or chain sampling, a process in which the researcher asks institutional informants to identify others on the campus to help expand the pool of respondents. Specifically, the researchers asked for the names of others whose opinions and experiences might add depth to the study. In a semistructured interview format, respondents were asked how their institution had survived given that so many two-year women’s colleges have changed their mission. Questions were asked about the student body at each institution; in particular, questions focused on what kind of students the institution attracted and what kind of student was most likely to succeed in each campus environment. Respondents answered questions about what their graduates do after leaving—the extent to which they get jobs and/or transfer to fouryear institutions. In addition, questions were raised about what these colleges do, if anything, to facilitate the success of their students, the extent to which the college emphasizes the “women-only nature” of its campus, and the types of changes the institution has undergone in terms of mission, focus, climate, and curriculum since its founding. The extent to which interviewees believed their institution to be “distinctive” was another of the main questions explored by the authors of this chapter, in keeping with Townsend’s (1989) definition of a distinctive institution as “one that has distinguished itself from other institutions carrying out similar functions” (p. 25). Finally, respondents were asked to look toward the future and indicate the future direction they believed their college would take and the potential future for other two-year women’s colleges. Each interview lasted approximately 30 minutes. Data were analyzed inductively and were used to create the following case studies.


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Below are individual descriptions of the five two-year women’s colleges based on perceptions of stakeholders (i.e., what administrators think they are doing that makes them unique) and on empirical evidence (i.e., results of institutional research that produce data to support the perceptions). For each case, an attempt was made to determine perceptions of institutional distinctiveness and to determine the extent to which these perceptions could be “verified” through results of institutional research. However, the bulk of these institutional descriptions are based on the perceptions of those interviewed, under the assumption that “meanings are not inherent in reality but are imputed to it by humans” (Lofland & Lofland, 1995, p. 116). Aquinas College Aquinas College, with campuses in both Milton and Newton, Massachusetts, was until July 1997 two separate institutions. The two institutions have now been consolidated, with one administration overseeing both sites. According to an administrator, the recent consolidation will allow the college to save money by cutting administrative costs. In addition, students will be able to take courses at either site, which are located approximately 15 minutes apart. The consolidation is also credited with allowing the college more resources to implement new academic programs. Both campuses were founded and sponsored by the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Joseph in Boston. The campus at Milton was founded in 1956 and the Newton campus was founded in 1961. The Newton campus was originally named Aquinas Secretarial School for women. Later the campuses were referred to as Aquinas Junior College at Milton and Aquinas Junior College at Newton. In 1990, the word Junior was dropped from both names. The college’s original mission was to offer “pre-professional associate degree and certificate programs to women, that integrate a liberal arts core curriculum” (Aquinas College at Newton, 1995, p. 2). Today, Aquinas offers the associate in science degree in business administration, office management, early childhood education, medical assisting, and general business/liberal studies. Certificate programs are available in several programs, including medical assisting and infant-toddler day-care education. The campus operates its own child care center, which also serves as a practicum site for students interested in early childhood education. Other programs also offer internship

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opportunities that allow students to get needed experience to facilitate job placement upon completion of their education at Aquinas. In addition to an emphasis on preprofessional education, an administrator described how Aquinas’ mission always has been “to serve the underserved; to offer training to women.” Respondents indicated that the college’s mission has not changed, but that the definition and identification of the term “underserved” has changed. In early years, the college primarily served affluent young suburban women. Today, the campus is much more diverse in terms of race/ ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and age. The two campuses of Aquinas College enroll approximately 400 students. According to institutional data, in 1995–1996, 10 percent of the students were African-American, 7 percent were Hispanic, 2 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander and 1 percent was American Indian. Most students come from the Boston area and all commute. Both campus sites, located just outside Boston, are considered safe and free parking is available. Almost all the students have family and/or job responsibilities in addition to their school work. Though the campus primarily serves traditional age students, the adult population continues to grow and is approaching a 50:50 ratio with traditional age students. There also is more socioeconomic diversity among students than in the past. According to respondents, there are many first-generation college students at Aquinas and many are single mothers on welfare. About half of Aquinas’ students are eligible for the Pell Grant. College administrators identified a variety of means used to attract students to Aquinas. For example, the college conducts high school visits and advertises locally. Recently, the college began visiting area businesses and social service organizations to recruit students. According to a respondent, “Businesses are familiar with Aquinas and want to hire our students. This helps in recruiting more students.” Social services agencies also help identify women who are seeking to learn skills or retool for the work environment. When asked what makes Aquinas distinctive from other two-year colleges, those interviewed stated that the institution’s personal and caring environment, as well as its innovative programs, facilitate the success of their students. While the student body no longer is comprised primarily of those from within the Catholic faith, approximately 30 to 40 percent of the staff and faculty are sisters. “They [the sisters] create an attentive environment.” One administrator stated that students describe Aquinas as a friendly, caring place. “The


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college provides an academic success center to assist students who need to improve their academic skills. The college also provides counseling, career counseling, and transfer assistance in addition to several other student activities and organizations.” Another aspect that administrators believe makes the college distinctive from other two-year institutions is its “Catholicness.” Administrators said that those at the college “do not apostatize,” that is they have not abandoned their religious loyalty. For example, while students of all faiths are welcome, all are required to take a theology or philosophy class. One administrator described how the college hoped that there was a “spiritual or religious presence on campus…the campus tries to integrate the moral with the curriculum.” Although most graduates use their degree to start a career rather than matriculating to a four-year college, campus administrators stated that approximately 20 percent of their students go on to four-year institutions. As one administrator explained, “We prod them and encourage them to go.” The computation of this transfer rate is not based on institutional research, per se. Rather, it is based on the registrar’s accounting of the number of graduating students who request that transcripts be sent to four-year institutions. In addition, because the graduating class is so small (approximately 60 students), the registrar suggested that she “knows” what students are doing after graduation. There is also a strong belief among administrators at Aquinas that the college enjoys a good reputation among the business community. According to an administrator, “People seek Aquinas graduates because they know they are well prepared for the workforce. Our job placement rate for those who choose that route is above 90 percent. This is partly because of the educational programs and partly because alumnae have gone out and done a wonderful job in the business community.” The career center on campus keeps records of the job placement rate. It is important to administrators at Aquinas that it is a women’s institution. The core of its mission is to educate and prepare women for the future. Administrators and faculty want “women to be able to find a place for themselves in society and to be successful.” One administrator spoke of how women in today’s society have a lot of responsibilities—work and home.” She added that “Aquinas wants to prepare women as broadly as possible to have several avenues to success.” Another administrator said that “Most students come, not because we are a women’s college, but they stay because of it.”

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Respondents at Aquinas are hopeful about the institution’s future. The college is in the process of adding new programs. “We continually seek to update the curriculum, making sure it is accountable to the needs of society. While the mission of the college has not changed, society has changed. Women’s needs have changed. Consequently, the curriculum and programs offered continue to change.” As for the future of two-year women’s institutions, an administrator stated that it was going to be “difficult for two-year private institutions—not only women’s colleges.” Another respondent suggested that “There is a place for two-year women’s colleges; if a student is interested, there should be an option. We see a trend of increased interest in single sex schools, so hopefully some will survive.” Cottey College Cottey College, located in Nevada, Missouri, was founded in 1884 by Virginia Alice Cottey to provide young women with “transfer curricula in liberal arts, believing that such a program provides the most desirable preparation for responsibilities of home and community for growth in a field of specialization” (Gleazer, 1963). According to an administrator, the mission of Cottey College has not changed substantially since the college’s inception. Today, Cottey College still provides young women with a liberal arts education in preparation for their transfer to baccalaureate institutions. While many two-year institutions identify themselves as community colleges, Cottey College, administrators are quick to say, is a “junior college” because its emphasis is in preparing students for a four-year degree rather than granting a terminal degree. As one administrator explained, “Community colleges have very specific goals. They have technical majors…. What they do is fine, but that isn’t what we do. We are a liberal arts college.” Cottey offers either the Associates in Science or the Associates in Arts degree. Students in either degree program complete 62 credit hours, including 24 credit hours of a common core, liberal arts curriculum. According to the 1996–1998 college catalog, an education at Cottey is considered “broad and interrelated across academic disciplines as opposed to being narrow and concentrating in one subject area.” Respondents did not foresee the mission of the college changing significantly in the near future. “While the wording may be updated,


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the ultimate challenge of the mission will remain.” The consistency of the mission, according to respondents, is partially responsible for Cottey’s continued existence. In 1927, Virginia Cottey gave the college to the P.E.O. Sisterhood making Cottey the only nonsectarian college in the nation owned and supported by women (Cottey College, p. 3). The P.E.O. Sisterhood was organized by seven students at Iowa Wesleyan College in 1869; it is the second college sorority founded in the United States. The Sisterhood is now the largest, independent, secret organization of women in the world. Its mission is to increase women’s opportunities for higher education—the organization is so secretive that they will not disclose what the initials P.E.O stand for. The P.E.O. Sisterhood has contributed greatly to Cottey, providing strong financial support to which administrators partly attribute the college’s success. The financial support from P.E.O. has allowed the college, according to an administrator, to build excellent academic programs, to maintain its physical facilities, and to make available many endowed scholarships for students. The P.E.O. Sisterhood supports Cottey financially and also provides a network of people who help recruit students to the institution. As one administrator stated, “Most schools are regionally diverse, but we are more.” Current students at Cottey College come from 44 states and 18 countries. Cottey also attracts students who eventually want to earn bachelor’s degrees. According to an administrator, “they often are students who are seeking graduate or professional schooling beyond the bachelor’s degree…. They are above average academically and are serious about academics.” According to spring 1997 enrollment figures, Cottey’s students are mostly traditional age, full-time undergraduates. Only 6 percent of the school’s 350 students are members of a underrepresented minority group. Sixty-eight percent of Cottey’s students receive need-based financial aid. When asked what makes Cottey College distinctive from other twoyear private institutions, responses included the women’s junior college experience, the residential living experience, and the academic facilities and technology. Cottey administrators assert that in terms of emphasizing both their status as a women’s college and their mission as a junior college, they are “about the only ones in it.” Administrators believe that Cottey’s being a residential college makes it distinctive among two-year colleges. Being a residential college makes a difference, according to a respondent, because “the students get very

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close to one another in the residential halls.” An administrator also identified Cottey’s academic programs and technology as a distinctive feature of the institution. “What is available to the students to work with is very sophisticated. They [the students] are working with very sophisticated science and music equipment. Other students may not have this same access until they are graduate students.” Cottey College facilitates the success of their students in many ways. Respondents spoke proudly of the college’s academic and transfer advising programs. “From their [the students] orientation, the students are introduced to the academic assistance program. They start thinking about transferring immediately. We’re getting them prepared to transfer from the beginning.” According to institutional research, 95 percent of students who graduate from Cottey transfer to a baccalaureate degree granting institution. For the last 10 years, the registrar at Cottey has systematically contacted graduates during the Fall following graduation, with a very high response rate. Some of Cottey’s graduates transfer to public, others transfer to private institutions. One administrator stated that a number of Cottey graduates go on to four-year women’s institutions. Cottey also collects data on matriculation rates and has found that, on average, Cottey graduates matriculate with a bachelor’s degree in 4.5 years. The involving nature of the campus climate at Cottey is also credited with the institution’s success. Students can get involved in any of the 34 student organizations or play leadership roles in any of the more than 200 positions available. One administrator said, “We encourage them to speak out. The campus community is very supportive of them…. We build in them leadership abilities and capabilities. They become much more self confident while they are here.” The campus view book describes how, because Cottey is a two-year institution, students, as freshmen and sophomores, have many opportunities to try out, learn, and improve upon their leadership skills without having to wait until their junior or senior years of college. One administrator commented that she was very impressed with the students at Cottey when she came for her interview. “These students are confident. I did not see this same level of confidence in other women at four-year colleges until they were seniors.” As they approach the year 2000, respondents at Cottey College were optimistic about the institution’s future. One administrator described how the college has established a task force to explore possibilities for the future. While the mission of the college is not


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likely to change in any significant way, the college plans to rewrite its goals. Stated one administrator, “Our goals need to be defined so they are measurable.” In addition, Cottey has more students interested in the hard sciences and technology than in the past. Administrators expect these areas will continue to grow and are building a new academic center to expand laboratory space. One of the respondents indicated that Cottey is seeing a growth in the number of students interested in what the institution has to offer. This makes the institution feel very positive about its future. However, this administrator added that, “two-year women’s colleges—it will be a challenge for all to survive. For that matter, it is going to be a challenge for the traditional four-year college to survive…. We are going to see higher education changing over the next 25 years. There are going to be traditional schools, but far fewer of them.” The future role of women’s colleges will be, according to a Cottey administrator, to “give women an advantage and head start.” When asked how important being a women’s college is to those at Cottey, an administrator replied, “It defines us. I don’t know how we could have an identity without it. One hundred and fourteen years of women only. Being a women’s college is integral to the college’s identity.” Fisher College Fisher College was founded in 1903 as Winter Hill Business College. In 1952, the Board of Regents of Higher Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved Fisher as a two-year institution, giving the institution degree granting privileges in 1957. The main campus is located in downtown Boston, where the day program is for women only. Part-time and continuing education programs, open to both men and women, are available at 11 branch campuses operated by Fisher. Fisher was founded as an institution geared toward vocational preparation of women. To this end, the college offers the associate degree in arts, the associate degree in science, and certificate programs. Today, the majority of the students major in liberal arts, though business, travel and hospitality, paralegal, and accounting are popular majors. According to the 1996–1997 college catalog, “Academic curricula and student services are provided to develop the inherent capacities of each individual student to prepare for a full, satisfying,

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and productive professional and cultural life” (Fisher College, p. 4). According to an administrator at the college, “Our mission has remained pretty consistent over time…. Our mission is to educate young women and to assist them in dealing with their social and emotional growth.” Despite this claim, one week after the interview, the Board of Trustees at Fisher College voted to admit men. Further, a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education indicated that Fisher is going to offer a bachelor’s degree in business administration (Basinger, 1998, p. A9). Fisher’s main campus serves approximately 400 women on both a commuter and residential basis; approximately half the students live on campus. The college catalog describes students as coming from all over the United States, as well as other countries. Fifteen percent of the students are members of racial/ethnic minorities. Administrators believe that the college attracts students partly because of its location. “Most transfer, but they want to experience college life in a large city in a small intimate environment. We offer a good way to get started on one’s academic career for young women who have never lived away from home before.” Another administrator stated, “Our students are traditional age, right out of high school. Most are planning to go to a four-year school, although we attract some who are looking for a professional skill.” After completing their education at Fisher, approximately 50 percent of the students transfer to four-year schools. According to an administrator, Fisher’s Career Placement Office places 100 percent of the students who use their services. She notes, “there are more jobs available than students to fill them.” An administrator added, “We have lifelong job placement—our graduates can come back at any time for career assistance.” Both the transfer rate and the job placement rate have been verified through institutional research conducted by surveying graduating students about their postgraduation plans. In some years, Fisher has also conducted follow-up studies of its graduates. College administrators describe the caring environment at Fisher as being an important means of facilitating the success of their students. “We offer a lot of hands-on help. We meet them where they are at and work with them accordingly.” Another administrator stated that Fisher, “take[s] someone who is a little weak academically and gets them ready to fly. We give them confidence skills, everyone learns the computer so they can make a living.” Fisher now offers a first-year


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seminar that helps students with study skills. Small classes, with about 20 students, was another identifiable facilitator of student success. Fisher College, according to college administrators, enjoys several advantages over other two-year institutions. The most obvious advantage, according to respondents, was Fisher’s location in downtown Boston. “We are at the heart of everything in town—there is lots to do here and lots of other colleges in the area.” In addition, an administrator commented that “when students come to visit our campus they are struck by the warm and friendly approach of faculty and staff.” Another way the college distinguishes itself among its peers is through an endowed international program that pays for students to go to Europe with faculty. “The students go to Europe to visit museums, tour historic sites, etc…. Just the experience of traveling is an amazing experience for our students, many of whom have never been away from home.” The administrators we interviewed did not agree with each other in terms of how important it was for Fisher to be a women’s institution. One administrator stated, “Women learn better with women in the classroom. They can express themselves freely and they aren’t afraid to say what they think. We have women’s issues groups on campus and our curriculum emphasizes women.” Another administrator said, “We don’t overpromote the women’s college nature of our campus in attracting students.” She added, “Women who choose us do so in spite of the fact that we are a women’s college, but because of our location…. The benefit of a women’s education is there if you can get 17- to 18-year-old girls to buy into it. Socially it’s difficult, but educationally it’s possible.” This ambivalence about the importance of being a women’s college expressed by administrators makes sense given that the interviews took place several months before Fisher publicly announced its decision to admit men. Change is on the horizon for Fisher, as it hopes to offer the bachelor’s degree in the future. “We would like to increase our enrollment to the 500–550 range. We also are actively working to provide bachelor’s degrees to students; we are working on it and it will happen sooner rather than later.” Another administrator explained, “We are working to be able to provide a bachelor’s degree program within the next couple of years. It will be a two plus two program to offer more options for students. We are also building a new library this spring. We want to offer the BA because so many of our students are transferring. We know our students and can serve them best.”

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As for the future of two-year private women’s colleges in general, one administrator responded, Personally I think two-year women’s colleges should exist. At a minimum you need an associate’s degree to get a job you used to get with a high school degree. Look at all that is happening politically surrounding associate’s degrees, like tax breaks. A two-year women’s college is a great place for women to begin their education to transfer. A place like this provides a foundation and a bridge to much needed bachelor’s degrees. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough parents, guidance counselors or students that see women’s colleges as a viable choice. As a result, they might no longer exist in the near future.

Again, the views of administrators regarding the future of two-year women’s colleges is appropriate, given that Fisher was on the verge of admitting men and extending itself to offer a four-year degree. Harcum College Harcum College was founded by Edith Hatcher Harcum in 1915 as a private, women’s two-year institution located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The college began as an arts-oriented school, with a strong preprofessional emphasis. Harcum was the first college in Pennsylvania to offer the associate in arts and associate in sciences degrees. While the original mission of the college was to serve women, enrollment problems in the 1970s forced the college to begin to admit men. In 1997 the college reaffirmed its original mission to educate women only and once again became a women’s only institution. According to an administrator, “The Board of Trustees has always been committed to us being a women’s college and they have talked about it a lot…. The only questions have been economic in nature—could we have a market niche? Could we survive as a women’s college? We decided yes.” Another administrator explained, “The reaffirmation is new, the college was always based on being a women’s college, so the change wasn’t a big shift in mindset. We were 98 percent women anyway…. This is who we are, and what we believe in. Recommitting ourselves to being a women’s college was a natural decision.” According to administrators, Harcum is distinctive from other twoyear private institutions in two ways: it is a women’s institution and it has a career-oriented focus. One administrator said, “Reconnecting


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to our history as a women’s college helps us to take significant advantage of who we are in terms of what we stand for. [Being a women’s institution] establishes a special niche for us. Before it was confusing to us and to others to be predominantly women—what does that mean?” The other administrator interviewed described the importance in the college being career oriented. “Liberal arts are important, but of 22 associate degrees we offer, 21 are career focused— they lead you to a trade and to a job. You have done an internship and can walk into a position. The main thing we have to offer it that it leads to something real.” The other administrator concurred, We are very career focused—there are some who major in liberal studies—many of these are the traditional age students. The vast majority are here for a career. We are known for our programs in allied health sciences and many other helping professions. A nice tie in to our curriculum, academics, etc. is the affective side of being a woman.

Given the school’s reputation in allied health, it is not surprising that 57 percent of the students are enrolled in the allied health program. Harcum currently enrolls approximately 700 students. The majority of Harcum’s students are nontraditional students, over the age of 22 (58 percent). “They want to get education and training as quickly as possible, so they can begin working.” The majority of the students commute to the campus, with only approximately 20 percent of the student population living on campus. One administrator described many of the students who come to Harcum as, “life-long learners (nontraditional students). They often don’t want student services. They come to class, they are motivated, they are strong academically, and they do well. We have a strong board pass rate and many of our students come from referrals within the profession.” Another administrator stated, “Within two years they can get it [a degree]. Our students can attend full time whether they are day or evening students. So, even if they are working, they can still graduate in two years. The school tries to be flexible and accommodating.” Approximately 78 percent of the first-time, first-year students come from Pennsylvania. One administrator reported that in 1995–1996, 18 percent of Harcum’s students were students of color, with 9 percent being African American. The transfer rate for traditional age students is about 40 percent. The transfer rate for older students was reported

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to be significantly lower because the older students were more “career focused.” Administrators at Harcum believe their job placement rates are very high. Harcum did not provide institutional research to support its stated transfer or job placement rates. To facilitate students’ success, Harcum provides a lot of care and attention. “We are about personal attention. We take that to a different level than many institutions,” described one respondent. Further, another administrator described how students can and will be successful at Harcum if they really want to make a change in their life. She stated, “We will build on your strengths and build on your weaknesses…. It doesn’t take a lot to get help here. There is access to services for night students as well as day students.” Harcum also provides a leadership program for its students. The institution considers leadership development for women students to be very important. “Many young women don’t see themselves as leaders and don’t know what it means to be a leader who is a woman. We try to teach them.” Not only does Harcum teach its students about leadership through programs, classes, and workshops, they also model leadership. Another administrator explained, “The president is a woman. Eighty percent of administration and faculty are women. We practice what we preach. They see women coming in and making a difference…. Role models convey to the students that you can make it.” In addition, Harcum takes its students seriously and utilizes their leadership abilities and voice. One administrator said that students are being assigned to campus committees and to the Board of Trustees. “We…are trying to include the voice of students in decision making to determine and respond to their needs.” Despite the decline of private two-year colleges and two-year women’s colleges, Harcum College administrators predict a rosy future for those colleges that maintain their two-year women’s college status. According to one administrator, With the ideal of women trying to break the glass ceiling, everything has become a business. There is no reason why women can’t be as successful as men. To do that, they need an education. People need to work sooner. Two-year colleges can get something done quickly— you can walk away with an internship experience and a job. You are not putting yourself at a disadvantage. You haven’t delayed yourself. A lot of it is that people who go to two-year schools, say to themselves, ‘now is the time, I want to upgrade my life. I want a career.’ For


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many of these women, four-year colleges are not an option. But with a two-year degree you walk away with a degree that puts women in a better position. I think more women are trying to band together, to network, to use their connections, and Harcum helps women to do that.

The administrator added, “Harcum is doing well and awareness of it is building. Its a good time to be a two-year college. We have a niche that makes us special. We are a women’s college for career minded women.” Lexington College Lexington College, founded in 1977, is a private, two-year women’s college located in Chicago. The college is operated by the Corporation for Social and Educational Development (CSED), a not-for-profit organization in Illinois. Broadly speaking, the college’s educational philosophy is based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. Lexington is the first and only institution of its kind in this country: a two-year women’s college offering an educational program in hotel, restaurant, and institutional management. According to an administrator, the college began as an institute. Lexington, however, received “college status” when it received its first accreditation in 1993. According to the college’s mission statement, Lexington College believes that a woman’s choice of career—in family life, the business world, or both—should be supported by a college education and the finest professional preparation. Lexington college readies women for responsible positions in the hospitality industry, as well as for the crucial role they play in family life. Lexington delivers an exceptional education in a Christian atmosphere, culminating in an associate degree of applied science (Lexington College, 1996, p. 8).

Administrators stated that the mission of the college has not changed since the school’s opening 20 years ago. One administrator described the mission as “promoting women to be professionals and excellent in a career, while attaining balance between home and work.” Another administrator said the “key to our mission is facilitating the professional and personal development of women.” Approximately 50 students attend Lexington College. Twenty-eight

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percent of these students are Hispanic/Latino and 24 percent are African American. The rest of the student body is primarily comprised of white students. Most of the students commute to the campus, though a privately-owned residence hall is available near the institution. One administrator reported that the majority of the students come to Lexington directly out of high school and attend full time. Classes are offered in the mornings and early afternoon to allow students time to work in the industry related to their studies. Students are required to participate in an externship, a cooperative education program in the industry, after completing their first year of course work. The college’s retention rate, according to an administrator, is approximately 80 percent. Upon graduation, the majority of the students go to work in the hospitality field. The college enjoys a 95 percent placement rate after graduation. The college catalog lists positions for which Lexington’s students work including baker, banquet manager, catering manager, clinical dietitian, commercial dietitian, concierge, dining room manager, director of housekeeping, fast food manager, and general manager. While some of these positions are entry level, others require their graduates to work several years gaining experience and additional education. One administrator noted that, “the alumnae are very satisfied with their education.” While job placement rates are high, transfer rates are not. According to an administrator, “Of the 25 students who graduate each year, one transfers to a four-year institution.” However, an administrator did note that within one or two semesters after graduation, about 20 percent of the students transferred. The small size of the institution allows administrators to easily verify and track retention, job placement, and transfer rates. When asked what makes Lexington successful, respondents offered several reasons. One administrator stated, “Professors are all professionals. Classes are small, [so] one-on-one attention. [We] start with general education skills—speaking, composition, writing, philosophy, learning how to think rationally, exploring the business side.” Classes at Lexington are small, with a five-to-one student-tofaculty/staff ratio. As a result, “students receive a lot of attention from experts in the field.” Another reason given for the success at Lexington is that faculty are role models for the students. The college asks faculty, according to one administrator, “to model appropriate behavior.” Both respondents described how the mission of the college is to


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educate women. One administrator stated, “We wouldn’t go coeducational. Lexington College is focused on women educating women and…taking into account what is unique about women. The internal curriculum recognizes that in many women’s lives, motherhood is an issue. We try to help women find a balance between work and home. You can see that in the curriculum through, for example, our course in home management.” As a result of this chapter, Lexington College has contacted the Women’s College Coalition, as a means to strengthen its ties to other women’s colleges. Despite the decline in two-year women’s colleges, when administrators at Lexington look towards the future they are optimistic about the success of their institution. One administrator reported that the college would like to increase its enrollment. The other administrator said, We never want to go to a coed system. There is such a sense of connectedness in a women’s college environment. Roles of women are changing. Right out of high school, women are trying to find their way. We provide a focused environment, focused on doing what we do. Women’s colleges have a more personalized atmosphere. As women are more relational, we see this as a strength for managers within the service industry and our students are likely to get promoted faster and are less likely to hit their heads on the glass ceiling.

Lessons from the Remaining Two-Year Women’s Colleges The remaining two-year women’s colleges share several demographic similarities and differences worth noting (see Table 2.2). All of them have small enrollments, currently under 700 students. Four of the campuses, all but Cottey College, emphasize career preparation more than they emphasize preparing students to transfer. While all of the remaining two-year women’s colleges are private schools, only Aquinas College is church affiliated (Catholic). Most of the two-year women’s colleges admit traditional age students who live on campus, although three of the colleges have relatively high percentages of students over the age of 25. The high proportion of non traditional age students is not surprising, given the fact that all enrollment increases at women’s colleges since 1976 have come from students between the ages of 25 and 64 (Harwarth et al., 1997). While two-year women’s colleges do not define success in the same

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terms as four-year women’s colleges, there is ample evidence from the case studies that these institutions are successful in fulfilling their missions. Specifically, administrators at Aquinas claim that 20 prcent of their students transfer and over 90 percent of those looking for employment after graduation find jobs; Cottey College claims a transfer rate of 95 percent of its graduates; Fisher College boasts a 50 percent transfer rate and a 100 percent employment rate; Harcum also reports a very high job placement rate; and Lexington College states that its retention rate is 80 percent and its job placement rate is 95 percent. Most of these institutions base these figures on systematically collected institutional research. Assuming these data are correct, these colleges must be defined as successful. It is interesting to note that of the remaining two-year colleges, Cottey College is the one that most resembles the mission and emphasis of its four-year women’s college counterparts. Cottey’s success, for example, is measured in its high transfer rate, while the other twoyear women’s colleges are more focused on granting terminal associate degrees for women pursuing careers. Even given the career focus of these two-year colleges, however, the transfer rates of the two-year women’s colleges compare favorably to those found at other twoyear colleges. Specifically, rough national figures of transfer rates suggest that 12 to 13 percent of the total community college population transfer to a four-year college or university (Cohen & Brawer, 1989). While it would be more appropriate to compare the transfer rates of two-year women’s colleges with those of coeducational, private twoyear colleges, these figures are not available. Nonetheless, the transfer rates of the two-year women’s colleges is impressive compared to the transfer rates from all two-year colleges. Further, success at the twoyear women’s colleges is best measured by examining their job placement rates, which are all very high. Regardless of how they define success, the question remains, to what do these colleges owe their success? Several traits stand out as factors that may facilitate the success of these two-year women’s colleges. In examining these traits, it is appropriate to compare two-year women’s colleges with the literature on four-year women’s colleges as well as the literature on other two-year colleges. The mission of most two-year colleges, especially the public ones, is quite diffuse. In fact, the mission of many two-year colleges has been criticized as becoming increasingly too broad. The mission of most


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Table 2.2 Demographics of Two-Year Women’s Colleges*

* ** ***

Data from Harwarth et al (1997) and institutional documents The Board of Trustees of Fisher College voted on January 17, 1998, to admit men. In the 1970s Harcum College began to admit men and was considered a “predominantly women’s college.” In 1997 the Board of Trustees of Harcum voted to become a women’s college again. The institution no longer admits male students.

community colleges is to provide open access to an education that simultaneously facilitates transfer, leads to a vocation, and offers lifelong learning opportunities (Bogart, 1995). In contrast, the mission of two-year women’s colleges, like their four-year women’s college counterparts, is fairly focused. Cottey College is dedicated to graduating women who will transfer to four-year institutions. Lexington prepares women to succeed in careers in the hospitality industry. Harcum, which had once been “predominantly women” decided that its mission was not focused enough, so rededicated itself to serving women only, providing women with the education necessary to succeed in a career. Aquinas is also committed to helping women to achieve success in a career, although it is more focused on educating the “underserved” than are the other two-year women’s colleges. Fisher College has a history of being an institution with a singular focus, but recently the institution voted to expand student clientele to include men and to offer bachelor’s degrees. The extent to which this expanded mission will positively or negatively affect Fisher is unknown. While many two-year colleges have relatively large enrollments, it is commonly believed that two-year colleges espouse a philosophy of providing a lot of one-on-one interaction between students and faculty/ staff “to help students succeed” (Bogart, 1995). One might presume

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that the comparatively small size of private two-year colleges would allow for more personal attention from faculty and administrators at these institutions compared to those at the larger, public two-year colleges (Woodruff, 1990). Further, research on four-year women’s colleges suggests that a small campus environment that emphasizes personal attention is also a hallmark relating to institutional success (Wolf-Wendel, 1998). Two-year women’s colleges, like their private two-year counterparts and their four-year women’s college counterparts, offer their students a small, intimate campus environment in which students are made to feel as though they are important. From the interviews, it is clear that making students feel as though they matter is an intentional outcome of the two-year women’s colleges. Schlossberg (1989) posited the theory of mattering, arguing that students who feel that they are noticed, that what they say or do is important, and that they are appreciated, are more likely to be successful in college. Mattering is facilitated by the small enrollment at two-year women’s colleges where full-time enrollment of students is below 1,000 students. Providing out-of-class activities both at the college and in the community was found to be a dimension of the mission of community colleges (Bogart, 1994). The extent to which these activities at community colleges serve men and women equally is unknown. However, if one examines the research on leadership opportunities, it is clear that women at women’s colleges experience more leadership opportunities than their counterparts at coeducational institutions (Kuh, Schuh & Whitt, 1991; Whitt, 1994; Wolf-Wendel, 1997). Similarly, women students at two-year women’s colleges also experience a lot of leadership opportunities. As an administrator from one of the twoyear colleges stated, “If something needs to be done, a woman has to do it.” The small size of the two-year women’s colleges is credited with offering a lot of leadership opportunities, especially for traditional age students. Respondents at each of the two-year colleges emphasized the many ways that students can get involved in the academic and social aspects of campus life. For example, students at Harcum are encouraged to sit on campus committees and to have a say in the governance of the institution. Administrators at Cottey also emphasize involvement opportunities, stressing the availability of leadership positions. Fisher College also offers leadership opportunities; administrators and faculty are especially proud of their program that allows students to travel to Europe with faculty members. The extent


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to which these institutions engage their students is important, given the large number of research projects that have determined that the more involved students are with the social and academic sides of campus life, the more likely they are to achieve success (Astin, 1992; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). The presence of female role models is another trademark of women’s colleges, both two-year and four-year. A broad examination of the representation of women at two-year college indicates that while there is a higher proportion of women faculty than at four-year colleges, men still represent two-thirds of the faculty at two-year colleges (Cohen & Brawer, 1989). Nonetheless, the representation of women faculty members and administrators at women’s colleges is much greater than their representation at coeducational institutions, both two-year and four-year. According to institutional data women represent at least 50 percent of the faculty in the two-year women’s colleges (see Table 2.2 for detailed information). Specific data on the percentages of women in the administration of the two-year women’s colleges were not available. However, respondents at each of the two-year colleges talked about the presence of women role models in both the faculty and administration, crediting the presence of these role models with facilitating the success of students. Like the two-year colleges, women role models are prevalent at the four-year colleges. Specifically, women represent 55 percent of the faculty at four-year women’s colleges, compared to 38 percent of the faculty at other four-year private institutions. Looking at executive/administrative and managerial staff, women represent 73 percent of the total at women’s colleges, compared to 47 percent at private coeducational institutions (Harwarth, et al., 1997). The importance of having women role models should not be underestimated. Tidball (1973), for example, found that there is a strong correlation between the women’s achievement and the ratio of women faculty to women students. Institutional traits associated with the success of two-year women’s colleges include having a strong, focused mission, making students feel as though they matter, providing ample opportunities for women to develop leadership skills, and providing strong, positive women role models. While there is some overlap between these traits and those found in other two-year colleges, a more appropriate comparison is between the two-year and the four-year women’s colleges. Specifically, the institutional traits perceived to be characteristic of two-year women’s colleges are directly related to characteristics found

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to be related to success of women at four-year women’s colleges (WolfWendel, 1997). Specifically, Wolf-Wendel’s study found that fouryear colleges that granted undergraduate degrees to disproportionate numbers of women who received doctorates also possessed the above traits, and believed that these traits were responsible for the success of their students. In addition, the study of the four-year campuses found three other traits also responsible for institutional success: believing students can achieve and holding them to high expectations, having a critical mass of women students, and including women in the curriculum. These three traits were not explicitly mentioned by respondents at the two-year colleges as being important factors. Given the open-ended nature of the research question—to what do you attribute your success—it is unfair to interpret the absence of comment about these traits as an indication that these colleges do not possess them. For example, the two-year women’s colleges obviously have a critical mass of women students. However, this trait was not suggested as being important to the success of the two-year colleges. More direct prompting might have elicited the importance of these traits. As such, further exploration of this issue is warranted. The most noticeable difference between the responses from the two-year and four-year institutions was the absence of comments from two-year college administrators about holding students to high expectations. This trait was found to be the most frequently mentioned by administrators at the four-year institutions, but was not mentioned or alluded to by administrators at the two-year institutions. Instead, the importance of having a supportive and nurturing environment prevailed as the most common response among those at the two-year colleges. What of Those That Are No Longer Two-Year Women’s Colleges? The story of the 13 institutions that were initially thought to be twoyear women’s colleges deserves to be told.3 Two of the colleges, Assumption College for Sisters and Queen of the Holy Rosary are technically two-year women’s colleges, but are not open to the public: both educate only Catholic sisters and have very small enrollments. Three of the colleges, Grand Island College in Nebraska, Lutheran College of Health Professions, and the Helene Fuld College of Nursing of North General Hospital, though they serve a predominantly female student body, claim that they have never been women’s colleges; the


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preponderance of women students at these institutions stems from their academic focus of preparing students for traditionally female occupations, such as nursing. St. Mary’s College in North Carolina closed its junior college program in 1996 but will continue as a high school. In 1994 the Board of Trustees at Marian Court College voted to maintain the institution’s two-year status but to admit men; the college earnestly began to attract men students this year. The other six colleges have expanded their academic programs since 1990 to include baccalaureate degrees. Three of these newly four-year institutions are now coeducational. As Table 2.3 indicates, the seven former two-year women’s colleges experienced sharp declines in enrollments from 1977 to 1993. Telephone interviews were conducted to determine the motivation of institutional leaders at former two-year women’s colleges that have either become four-year coeducational colleges (Lasell, Endicott, Southern Virginia), four-year women’s colleges (Bay Path, Midway, Peace) or coeducational two-year colleges (Marian Court). Answers across these institutions were remarkably similar—emphasizing both the problems and opportunities inherent in being a two-year women’s colleges in the late 1990s. Deciding to admit men was perceived to be a somewhat difficult, although necessary, decision for administrators at the now coeducational institutions. Marion Court College was having trouble attracting enough students interested in enrolling in its institution. The school, which was founded 33 years ago, had built a reputation as a secretarial school. However, as an administrator explained “the word secretary doesn’t carry as much meaning for women as it used to.” To attract students, officials at Marian Court decided to change its curricular emphasis to offer more modern programs such as information technology, computer systems, and management. They also decided to create a transfer division. An administrator stated that the decision to admit men was a means to “shed our old image” to attract more students. The decision to admit men at Endicott College was also based on low enrollments. An administrator at Endicott College explained that while it was a difficult decision, students were not necessarily upset about “going coeducational.” The administration based this assessment on an institutional survey of students that indicated that most of the students choose to come to the college “in spite of the fact that it was a women’s college.”

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Table 2.3. Demographics of Former Two-Year Women’s Colleges*

* Data from Harwarth et al. (1997) and institutional documents.

Similarly, administrators at Lasell College stated that they decided to admit men because so few women will even consider applying to a women’s college. An administrator at Lasell explained that initially some alumnae were upset about the proposed change. She explained that four alumnae who sat on the mission committee initially said that “the school would go coed over their dead bodies.” Within months, however, the alumnae members of the committee, after looking at the enrollment figures, voted unanimously to admit men. Other alumnae were also eventually convinced by the enrollment figures. Pointing to the relatively small percentage of women who will even consider attending a women’s college (as low as 2 percent of the population of high school seniors according to some estimates), administrators at colleges like Lasell, Endicott, and Marian Court decided that the double stigma of being both a single-sex and a two-year college was too problematic to ensure survival.


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Southern Virginia College for Women, unlike the other six institutions, completely changed its institutional mission after finding itself in serious financial difficulty. The institution is now a four-year coeducational institution that serves a largely Mormon student population. The institution was in receivership before being taken over by a group of local businessmen who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints. According to an administrator, the college is now much stronger and attracts a larger student population than it did before. The decision to change from a two-year to a four-year institution was also influenced by enrollment problems. An administrator from Midway College, for example, noted that the specialized nature of the original mission of the college made it “difficult to attract enough students who were interested in attending.” Several respondents described losing students to less expensive public two-year colleges in their geographic region. A respondent at Bay Path College claimed that potential students were asking themselves “Why should I pay $10,000 a year if I can get the same degree for less money.” Similarly, an administrator from Midway College pointed to the existence of 13 community colleges located nearby “that were doing a good job of attracting and educating students.” She indicated that given the small numbers of students they were attracting, the institution had to either become four-year or to admit men. “Upgrading to a four-year institution,” she explained, was more “in line with the college’s original mission.” In addition, several administrators pointed to the fact that it takes as much effort, or more, to recruit a student who will stay at an institution for only two years as it does to recruit one who will stay for four years. Thus, adding baccalaureate programs was seen as more efficient from a student recruiting standpoint. While the enrollment and financial difficulties were real for each of these colleges, the respondents also talked about how deciding to offer four-year degree programs was a sign of institutional success. Specifically, most of the administrators pointed to the fact that they had excellent transfer rates and that many of their students indicated a desire to stay at the institution. At Endicott College, for example, an administrator explained that students requested to stay at the institution beyond the associates degree—“the students said I would stay if you offered a BA in my major so we kept adding programs.” At Bay Path College the stated reason for becoming a four-year college was that “the students requested it…. There were enough [students] who voiced

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the idea that it would be great to stay and to not have to transfer…. Our transfer rate was high so we knew it would work.” It is important to note that most of the colleges that changed their mission to become a four-year degree institutions emphasized liberal arts and claimed to have higher transfer rates than other two-year colleges. However, the authors were unable to verify the transfer rates. The outcome of changing focus from a two-year to a four-year college was seen as positive at each of the institutions. An administrator at Peace College, for example, stated that by offering bachelor’s degrees, they “were raising the level of the institution and providing faculty an opportunity to teach upper level students.” Similarly, an administrator at Lasell stated that the change to a four-year program “didn’t cause a ripple. Constituents saw the change as representing the fact that we were a stronger, more viable institution with the fouryear degree.” As a result of the decision to upgrade the institution, the colleges report attracting better students, having higher enrollments, upgrading faculty credentials, and being able to take care of deferred physical plant maintenance. Examining the data on institutions that have changed from being two-year women’s colleges to being either four-year and/or coeducational colleges, one could conclude that these reconceived institutions are either failures or successes. From the failure standpoint, one could argue that there are too few women who are interested in attending a two-year women’s college. These institutions did not have a large enough financial base to allow them to weather low enrollments. As such, change was necessitated by failure. On the other hand, one could examine the same data and conclude that changes in mission were the result of positive action taken to upgrade the quality of the schools. The theory of “vertical extension” is useful in explaining why some two-year women’s colleges have become four-year schools. Vertical extension is a term used within the higher education literature to describe the tendency of colleges and universities to add new degree programs (Morphew, 1997). While the literature linking vertical extension and two-year colleges is dated, there are some interesting points worth exploring. Specifically, Horn (1953) predicted that the number of junior colleges would face a sharp decline due to vertical extension as two-year colleges added new degree programs to serve better the educational needs of their students and “to achieve greater academic respectability” (430). Further, Eells and Martorana, (1957)


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examined the number of junior colleges that became four-year colleges between 1945–1946 and 1955–1956. They found that 91 junior colleges became four-year institutions, approximately eight per year. Schultz and Stickler (1965) found that between 1953–1954 and 1963– 1964 the number of two-year colleges that became senior colleges increased as the eleven-year period progressed: over the time period studied, 72 institutions, or 6.2 a year, expanded their mission to offer a four-year degree. Schultz & Stickler (1965) also conclude that the smaller the institution, the more likely it was to undergo the process of vertical extension. Further, they conclude that a somewhat larger number of women’s two-year colleges became senior colleges compared to men’s colleges. Results of their study led Schultz and Stickler to state that vertical extension, especially in the first few years of a new program, is hampered by (a) an inability to recruit students from outside the institution, (b) a lack of understanding by faculty members and the administration regarding the resources required to accomplish such a transition successfully, and (c) an inability to recruit faculty members with the preparation necessary to staff the new program appropriately. It is clear that administrators at the former two-year women’s colleges recognized that high transfer rates from the institutions allowed them the opportunity to successfully enter a new market by providing bachelor’s degrees while simultaneously raising the level of the institution. They therefore engaged in the process of vertical extension. It must be noted, however, the Schultz and Stickler are very pessimistic about institutions that decide to use vertical extension as a “way to cure their ills” (p. 241). Successful vertical extension requires a strong financial base and a lot of institutional planning and may lead to the collapse of the institution. How the former two-year women’s colleges described in this chapter will address the potential liabilities resulting from their vertical extension, as explained by Schultz and Stickler (1965), remains unknown. This is a research question that should be explored. Conclusion Two-year women’s colleges find themselves in a precarious position. While four of the remaining institutions are committed to maintaining their current mission, it is unclear whether they will be able to survive without either admitting men or offering a four-year degree.

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Administrators of these institutions express their optimism, which might be enhanced by the fact that there are so few of them left to share the limited market. While the remaining two-year women’s colleges demonstrate success in terms of transfer rates and job placement, whether these colleges facilitate the success of their students better than other two-year institutions is unclear. What is interesting, however, is that losing these institutions from the higher education landscape might go unnoticed. These institutions have received so little attention from higher education researchers and policy analysts that we are unsure of the role that these institutions could play in facilitating the success of women. Further, the opportunity to study their impact is passing by as the number of these institutions diminishes. The absence of two-year women’s colleges from the research literature is indicative of what has been termed the hierarchy of dismissal.4 The hierarchy of dismissal suggests that two-year women’s colleges are dismissed by the higher education community as unimportant and are, in fact, not taken seriously or championed by any constituent group. Specifically, four-year colleges dismiss all twoyear colleges as being nonacademically focused. Advocates of women’s education, including proponents of women’s colleges, dismiss two-year women’s colleges as being “finishing schools” that foster long existing stereotypes of women. Finally, proponents of public two-year colleges dismiss all private two-year colleges as being antithetical to the idea of open, accessible, community-oriented institutions; as such, they dismiss the subset of private two-year colleges that are open to women only. With few to champion their cause, study their impact, and notice their existence, the role of twoyear women’s colleges has been rendered invisible. The legacy of two-year women’s colleges is silenced, fading, and may soon be forgotten. NOTES 1.

These 19 institutions (in alphabetical order) include (1) Aquinas Jr. College at Milton, (2) Aquinas Jr. College at Newton, (3) Assumption College for Sisters, (4) Bay Path College, (5) Cottey College, (6) Endicott College, (7) Fisher College, (8) Grand Island College, (9) Harcum College, (10) Helene Fuld College of Nursing of North General Hospital, (11) Lasell College, (12) Lexington College, (13) Lutheran College of


2.

3.

4.

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Health Professions, (14) Marian Court College, (15) Midway College, (16) Peace College, (17) Queen of the Holy Rosary, (18) Saint Mary’s College, and (19) Southern Virginia College for Women. The Board of Trustees of Fisher Junior College voted on January 17, 1998, to admit men. Nonetheless, they are included in this chapter as a two-year women’s college because the change in mission came after the chapter was completed. These 13 institutions (in alphabetical order) include (1) Assumption College for Sister’s, (2) Bay Path College, (3) Endicott College, (4) Grand Island College, (5) Helene Fuld College of Nursing of North General Hospital, (6) Lasell College, (7) Lutheran College of Health Professions, (8) Marian Court College, (9) Midway College, (10) Peace College; (11) Queen of the Holy Rosary, (12) Saint Mary’s College, (13) Southern Virginia College for Women. “Hierarchy of dismissal” is an expression coined by Dr. Susan Twombly in a personal conversation.

REFERENCES Aquinas College at Newton. (1995). Aquinas College at Newton catalog. Newton, MA: Author. Astin, A.W. (1992). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Basinger, J. (1998, February). Another all-female college in Massachusetts decides to admit men. The Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A9. Blai, B. (1979). Does enjoyment accompany learning? A student perceptions inquiry. Community/Junior College Research Quarterly, 4, 71–76. Bogart, Q.J. (1995). The community college mission. In G.A.Baker (Ed.), A handbook on the community college in America: Its history, mission and management (pp. 60–73). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Bogue, J.P. (Ed.). (1952). American junior colleges (3rd ed). Washington DC: American Council on Education. Bressler, M., & Wendell, P. (1980). The sex composition of selective colleges and gender differences in career aspirations. Journal of Higher Education, 51 (6), 650–663. Brint, S., & Karabel, J. (1989). The diverted dream: Community colleges and the promise of educational opportunity in America, 1900–1985 . New York: Oxford University Press. Brubacher, J.S., & Rudy, W. (1958). Higher education in transition: A history of

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American colleges and universities, 1636–1976. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. Church, R.L, & Sedlak, M.W. (1989). The ante-bellum college and academy. In Goodchild, L.F. & Wechsler, H.S. (Eds.), The history of higher education, ASHE reader series (2nd ed., pp. 95–108). Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster Custom Publishing. Cohen, A.M., & Brawer, F.B. (1989). The American Community College (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Conaty, J.C. et al. (1989). College quality and future earnings: Where should you send your sons and daughters to college? Paper presented at the 84th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco. Cottey College. (1996). 1996–98 Cottey catalog. Nevada, MO: Author. Crosby, F., Allen, B., Culbertson, T., Wally, C., Morith, J., Hall, R., & Numes, B. (1994). Taking selectivity into account: How much does gender composition matter? A re-analysis of M.E.Tidball’s research. National Women’s Studies Association Journal, 6 (1), 107–118. Eells, W.C. (1940). American junior colleges (1st ed.). Washington D.C.: American Council on Education. Eells, W.C., & Martorana, S.V. (1957, February). Do junior colleges become fouryear colleges? Higher Education, 110–115. Farello, E.W. (1970). A history of the education of women in the United States. New York: Vantage Press. Farnham, C.A. (1994). The education of the Southern belle: Higher education and student socialization in the ante-bellum South. New York: New York University Press. Fiore, M. (1997, August 1). The thinning ranks of private two-year colleges. The Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A25. Fisher College. (1996). Fisher College, a private two-year college, 1996– 97. Boston, MA: Author. Fuller, C.H. (1989). Undergraduate origins of women and men 1970–1982 graduates who received doctorates between 1970–1986. Ann Arbor: Great Lakes Colleges Association. Garland Junior College (1974). Expectations of Garland. Boston, MA: Author. Gleazer, E.J. (ed.). (1963). American junior colleges (6th ed). Washington DC: American Council on Education. Gordon, L.D. (1990). Gender and higher education in the Progressive era. New Haven: Yale University Press. Gose, B. (1995, February 10). Second thoughts on women’s colleges. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A22. Harwarth, I., Maline, M., & DeBra, E. (1997). Women’s colleges in the United


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States: history, issues and challenges. Washington DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning. U.S. Department of Education. Horn, F.H. (1953, May). Future of the junior college. Educational Forum, 427– 435. Jaski, E. (1976). The dynamics of student-environment interaction: Felician College, 1968–1974. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA. Kim, M., & Alvarez, R. (1995). Women-only colleges: Some unanticipated consequences. The Journal of Higher Education, 66 (6), 641–668. Koos, L.V. (1925). The junior college movement. Boston: Ginn and Company. Kuh, G.D., Schuh, J.H., & Whitt, E.J. (1991). Involving colleges. Successful approaches to fostering student learning and development outside the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Lasser, C. (1987). Educating men and women together. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Ledman R.E., M.Miller, & Brown, D. (1995). Successful women and women’s colleges: Is there an intervening variable? Sex Roles: Journal of Research, 33 (7), 489–97. Lexington College. (1996). Lexington College catalog, 1996–98. Chicago, IL: Author. Lofland, J., & Lofland, L.H. (1995). Analyzing social settings: A guide to qualitative observation and analysis. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Midway College (1982). Educating women for a full future: Final report of the women’s education study commission of Midway College. Kentucky: Author. Morphew, C. (1997). Understanding the Acquisition of New Degree Programs. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Newcomer, M. (1959). A century of higher education for American women. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers. Oates, M.J., & Williamson, S. (1978). Women’s college and women achievers. Signs: The Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 3 (4) 795–806. Pascarella, E.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (1991). How college affects students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Peterson’s guide to two-year colleges 1998. (1997). Princeton: Author. Ratcliff, J.L. (1994). Seven streams in the historical development of the modern American community college. In G.A.Baker (Ed.) A handbook on the community college in America: Its history, mission and management (pp. 3– 16). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Riordan, C. (1992). Single- and mixed gender colleges for women: Educational,

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attitudinal, and occupational outcomes. The Review of Higher Education, 15 (3), 327–346. Schlossberg, N.K. (1989). Marginality and mattering: Key issues in building community. In D.C.Roberts (Ed.) Designing campus activities that foster a sense of community. New directions for student services, 48 (pp. 3–17). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Schultz, R.E. & Stickler, W.H. (1965, Summer). Vertical extension of academic programs in institutions of higher education. Educational Record, 231–241. Smith, D.G. (1990). Women’s colleges and coeducational colleges: Is there a difference for women? Journal of Higher Education, 61 (2), 181–197. Smith, D., Wolf, L., & Morrison, D. (1995). How women’s colleges facilitate the success of their students. Journal of Higher Education, 66 (3), 245–266. Solnick, S.J. (1995). Changes in women’s majors from entrance to graduation at women’s and coeducational colleges. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48 (3), 505–514. Solomon, B.M. (1985). In the company of educated women: A history of women and higher education in America. New Haven: Yale University Press. Stoecker, J.L., & Pascarella, E.T. (1991). Women’s colleges and women’s career attainments revisited. Journal of Higher Education, 62 (4), 394–411. Studer-Ellis, E. (1997). The social transformation of four-year United States women’s colleges, 1960–1990. Doctoral Dissertation, Duke University. Tidball, M.E. (1973). Perspectives on academic women and affirmative action. Educational Record, 54 (1), 130–135. Tidball, M.E. (1989). Women’s colleges: Exceptional conditions, not exceptional talent, produce high achievers. In Pearson, C.S., Shavlik, D.L., & Touchton, J.G. (Eds.), Educating the majority: Women challenge tradition in higher education (pp. 157–172). New York: American Council on Education/ Macmillan Series on Education. Tidball, M.E. (1980). Women’s colleges and women achievers revisited. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 5 (3), 504–517. Townsend, B.K. (1989). A search for institutional distinctiveness: Overview of process and possibilities. In Townsend, B.K. (Ed.) A search for institutional distinctiveness. New Directions for Community Colleges, 65 (pp. 23–32). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics. (1996). Digest of education statistics. Washington DC: author. Veres, H.C., & Moore, K.M. (1975). Career innovative and non-innovative women in the two-year college: Implications for counseling. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington DC.


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Whitt, E.J. (1994). I can be anything! Student leadership in three women’s colleges. Journal of College Student Development, 35, 198–207. Wolf-Wendel, L. (1998). Models of excellence: The baccalaureate origins of successful African American, European American and Hispanic women. The Journal of Higher Education, 69 (2), 144–172. Wolf-Wendel, L. (1997). Research Issues on Women’s Colleges. Paper presented at the Women’s College Roundtable sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning and the American Association of University Women. Washington, DC. Woodruff, R.H. (1990). A history of resilience. In R.H.Woodruff (Ed.), The viability of the private junior college. New directions for community colleges, 69 (pp. 3–8). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

CHAPTER 3

Two-Year Historically Black Colleges Janet A.Guyden

Higher education research has identified the success of four-year historically black colleges (HBCs) in meeting the academic and developmental needs of their students in ways that majority institutions do not. There is consistent reporting of higher retention rates, higher self-esteem, and greater satisfaction with the overall college experience at HBCs. An examination of two-year historically black colleges is in order to determine whether the same results accrue to students that attend these institutions. Therefore, this chapter will explore the definition, origins, and evolution of the historically black two-year college. The history of black higher education will be used to contextualize the development of this group of institutions, including the social issues that drove their founding and the curriculum debate that continues to cloud institutional roles. Partly through the use of a case study, this chapter will identify lessons that might be learned from the work of two-year HBCs so that majority-culture institutions, both two- and four-year, can work more effectively with black students. DEFINING THE TERMS Essential to any discussion is the necessity of defining the terms being used so that everyone understands the conversation from similar perspectives. The focus of this chapter is the two-year historically black college in contrast to black-serving institutions (BSIs) and 85

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predominantly black institutions (PBIs). Historically black colleges (HBCs) are those institutions established prior to 1964, whose principle mission was and is the education of black Americans (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES] 1996, p.1). In addition to those institutions founded prior to 1964, Title 20, Section 1061 of the United States Code, expanded the definition to include any branch campus of a southern institution of higher education that, prior to September 30, 1986, received a grant as an institution with special needs under Section 1060 of the same title and was formally recognized by the National Center for Education Statistics as an historically black college or university (HBCU). Each HBCU is authorized by the state and must be accredited by a nationally recognized agency or association as determined by the United States Department of Education. Twoyear institutions that meet the criteria as set out in the federal statutes are listed in Table 3.1. H. Council Trenholm State Technical College is representative of this post-1964 category of historically black college. The college is named for a past president of Alabama State University, the historically black state university also located in Montgomery. The two-year school’s founding was authorized by the Alabama State Legislature in 1963, construction began in 1965, and instruction began in July 1966. The inclusion of nonblack students occurred at Trenholm in 1970, after desegregation mandates driven by federal court order. Trenholm’s current (1997) student body is 78 percent black. Black-serving institutions have been defined in this work (see Chapter 1) as those institutions in which black enrollment lies between 25 and 50 percent, whereas in predominantly black colleges, black enrollment is at least 50 percent of the total student enrollment. Although the definitions seem clear and uncomplicated, the evolution of the institutions belies simplistic categorization based only on the numbers. In many cases these labels mask the social nuances that moved the institutions to their present states. Many of these schools have gone through growing pains that have involved mergers, name changes, and attempts to close them down. Thus, defining the terms only gets at the most superficial layer of the institutional stories. The telling difference lies in the reality that even those institutions founded after 1964 were founded in environments that were still functionally if not legally segregated. Many black-serving institutions were founded as majority institutions to serve a white constituency, but the mandates of

Two-Year Historically Black Colleges

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Table 3.1. Historically Black Two-Year Colleges, 1997

desegregation and shifts in demographic patterns had the effect of changing the enrollment from predominantly white to significantly black. Copiah-Lincoln Community College is representative of this group. In the original junior college configuration in Mississippi, Copiah-Lincoln was designated as one of the white institutions; black students could not have enrolled there prior to desegregation. The junior college was founded in Wesson in 1928 from an already established agricultural high school. The Natchez campus, established in 1972, has been identified as a black-serving institution with a black enrollment of over 25 percent. Black enrollment at the Wesson campus

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has also reached 25 percent. As the examples demonstrate, the label alone cannot communicate the full story of an institution. THE ORIGINS OF BLACK HIGHER EDUCATION Anderson (1988) pointed out that slaves and freedmen had a culture of literacy from their earliest times on the American continent. This culture stimulated the quest for knowledge and education in the liberal tradition. The black community had always seen literacy as the tool against enslavement and an important means to acquire acceptance into the American mainstream. But deeper than the motivation for providing education for their children was the realization that finding one’s self and giving expression to one’s own gifts was, in part, one of the outcomes of education. While early attempts to establish education were often models of classical liberal education, educational programs were often the result of very complex compromises. This chapter lays out a scenario that seems to indicate that the black twoyear college, in its earliest conception, was a people’s effort to expand on the culture of literacy by providing schools that would provide conduits to baccalaureate degrees. But more subtle themes can be found within this framework. In essence, the country’s black colleges and universities were founded and developed outside the national system of education, a condition unlike that of other colleges and universities (Whiting, 1991, p.13). As Manley (1995) states, Black colleges were founded when black students had few opportunities for higher education. These colleges emerged in response to the same system of segregation that made it impossible for African-Americans to eat in the same restaurants as whites, to sleep in the same hotels, or to use the same bathrooms and drinking fountains. The emergence of black colleges was thus in part a response to white separatist policies that closed the doors of higher education to young black men and women in the South, (p. ix)

Complicating this effort to educate blacks at the collegiate level were the needs and aspirations of the incoming students. They often had been held back by the conditions of their lives that precluded a high level of investment in learning or achievement in terms of content mastery. Black students often arrived at post-high school institutions without having been able to invest sufficient time in learning in the


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liberal sense. Many students were raised in conditions that did not afford the comparative luxury of sufficient time to study or resources to invest in the tools of learning. In addition to these limitations, conditions for learning in the K-12 schools available to them were often deplorable and prepared them poorly for more advanced study. Bright children who had attended school regularly often began their work at post-high school institutions without the skills one would expect to see in children of high ability who had attended K-12 school on a regular basis. Lastly, students were often saddled with aspirations reflective of the sociology of their identity and their limited hopes of finding employment in the professional fields that most require a liberal education. Thus the names of the early black educational institutions usually contained the words normal school, college, or university, but their curricula often ranged from elementary to postsecondary work. As Holmes (1934) noted, at the beginning of the Civil War, the “Negro began his academic education at zero.” Given that situation, “…the attainment of any institution of learning…must be measured from that point” (p. 8). These factors culminated in a complex interaction between students’ unbounded hopes and aspirations and the more limited types of educational programs that provided training for the employment that was available for young blacks. The complexity of these issues and the educational compromises that emerged as educational programs have been the subject of continuing debate. Even to this day, the debate continues about whether vocationalism is an important and useful adaptation to conditions in the real world or a hurtful concession that limits life’s possibilities for young people. The history of education is replete with the consequences of this debate, but nowhere in the United States is this issue more significant than in the black community. In 1860 the population of the United States consisted of approximately 4 million black slaves, and 27 million whites. Ninetytwo percent of the blacks resided in the South along with 8 million whites. During this period in the South, law forbade formal education for blacks. Thus, over 90 percent of the South’s adult black population was illiterate (Roebuck & Murty, 1993, p. 21). After emancipation, free blacks had little or no access to the social and economic mainstream. This condition of perpetual educational and social deprivation gave rise to the conviction that education was the single most effective path to an expanded life and upward mobility (Whiting, 1991, p. 2). Blacks were quick to support movements in

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favor of universal education (Anderson, 1988, p. 2) and to establish institutions to facilitate the achievement of those objectives. The foundation and structure of these unique institutions for black education provided a sense of identity as well as a means of advancement for black youth and adults. By the end of the Civil War and throughout the period of Reconstruction, the responsibility for providing educational instruction for the free blacks had been assumed at a limited level within the black community (Anderson, 1988). The federal government joined the effort through its Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (The Freedmen’s Bureau) established in 1865 (Anderson, 1988; Roebuck & Murty, 1993; Whiting, 1991). The Freedmen’s Bureau provided elementary education to free blacks and poor whites by enlisting the cooperation and assistance of northern missionary societies to operate the schools. Thus, the education of blacks became a joint effort of the black community and churches, the Freedmen’s Bureau and missionary societies from the North. The dominant missionary societies involved in the effort included the American Missionary Association (AMA) and the American Baptist Home Mission Society. The AMA founded seven historically black colleges and 13 normal schools between 1861 and 1870 (Roebuck & Murty, 1993; Whiting, 1991). In addition to the black colleges founded by white missionary societies, many black church groups and individuals made major contributions in the founding of 13 institutions (Whiting, 1991). The black churches leading the way included the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. The private colleges founded by black individuals included Tuskeegee Institute founded by Booker T.Washington; Livingstone College founded by Joseph C.Price; and BethuneCookman founed by Mary McCleod Bethune (Whiting, 1991). With the exception of Hampton Institute, founded by Samuel C.Armstrong, and Tuskeegee, the schools were set up to provide liberal education. The great curricular debate, epitomized in the black educational community by the conflict between W.E.B.DuBois, who favored liberal education, and Booker T.Washington, who favored vocational or industrial education, was a reflection of the same curricular debate taking place in the mainstream of American higher education: liberal learning versus vocationalism. Only in the black community, the stakes were higher. Education for the industrial trades represented a doubleedged sword: a chance to work for wages, but within the context of a


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closed society in which the fruits of the labor belonged to someone else. Liberal education broadened the mental capacity and prepared its recipients for professions to which they might never have access. Spivey (1978) explored the nuances of this issue extensively when he described the industrial education model that emerged after the Civil War as “schooling for the new slavery.” Black public colleges were established under the second Morrill Act of August 30, 1890. This legislation paved the way for the development of legally separated black and white public colleges in the border and southern states. The black public colleges of the period provided elementary and secondary programs; four-year college programs were established later (Roebuck & Murty, 1993). Vocational education was emphasized within the black public institutional curriculum in keeping with the intent of the Morrill Act to provide higher education institutions that would focus on agricultural and mechanical improvements. The industrial education model that was espoused by Armstrong at Hampton Institute and Washington at Tuskeegee was widely proclaimed but not fully embraced by the black community (Anderson, 1988; Spivey, 1978). The liberal arts education remained as the goal worth striving for. As the publicly controlled institutions expanded vocationally oriented programs, the continuation of the liberal arts focus remained the focus of the private black institutions. Within the liberal arts curriculum, the primary professional positions available to blacks were teaching and the ministry (Roebuck & Murty, 1993). Although the social organization of the day precluded the inclusion of educated black people into the wider professional arena, the liberal arts education was considered a prized possession. THE TWO-YEAR COLLEGE WITHIN THE HISTORICALLY BLACK EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK Out of this historical context, the black two-year postsecondary institution emerged. For the purposes of this discussion, the term junior college is used to refer to those educational institutions that provided two years of education beyond the secondary curriculum. Lane (1933) noted that the two-year “system for Negroes” that evolved mimicked the larger American system. Changes and shifts in the larger system stimulated similar changes within the “Negro system.” Thus, the junior college movement in the American education system had its parallel

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within the “system for Negroes” (p. 272). The dates identified with the initiation of junior college curricular offerings at black institutions range from 1895 to 1932, dates consistent with the emergence of the junior college on the larger American educational scene. Lane (1933) noted that the Junior College Journal’s “Directory of the Junior College, 1933” listed the Mississippi Southern Christian Institute founding date of 1895 as the earliest black junior college of record, but that an actual junior college curriculum could not be authenticated. His work indicated that as early as 1919, Walden College in Nashville, Tennessee offered a pure junior college curriculum (p. 277). The curricula in these early institutions ranged from elementary to postsecondary work and the early junior colleges in the black system reflected this variation. The attempt to describe clearly this group of schools was difficult because they were in a constant state of change. Lane (1933) noted that some of these schools were junior colleges in name only and offered elementary and secondary course work. Others remained junior colleges as long their limited resources restricted them from growing into four-year baccalaureate institutions (p. 273). From an original list of 26, Lane (1933) identified 19 junior colleges “for Negroes” by eliminating normal schools and colleges that offered a four-year curriculum. Of the 19 junior colleges, 15 had active high schools operating at the time of the study and only one indicated that it did not offer a high school curriculum. The enrollment in the high school divisions was significantly larger than that of the junior college divisions. An examination of Lane’s work yields other interesting information. Fourteen of the 19 junior colleges were controlled by religious organizations. Two of these 14 were state colleges under dual control: the state shared control with a religious denomination. There were three other state schools, and 14 colleges were private, most with church affiliations. Eighteen of the 19 reported accreditation by the state, three institutions reported accreditation by a regional accrediting body, and one indicated no accreditation. The stated aims of the colleges in Lane’s work ranged from general to specific. Specific purposes, where clearly stated, indicated that programs were to provide two years of college-level work that would enable students to transfer to baccalaureate degree programs. Even in the cases where agriculture and home economics were emphasized, they were seen as providing a foundation for transfer to four-year


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degree programs (p. 279). This is consistent with the early desire and push for liberal education. In fact, eight of the 19 institutions in Lane’s work later became four-year colleges. His evaluation of their curricular offerings revealed that “most of them emphasize…the preparatory and preprofessional aims of the junior college and advance the typical argument and claims in their behalf” (p. 282). Two things that are evident from the historical tracings of the historically black two-year colleges: they were predominantly private and liberal arts based. All of the institutions were caught up in the social realities of their time. Vocational training was offered and several of the schools required their students to work on the grounds to cover the cost of their education. But vocational training was seen as a concession to the social reality rather than the educational end. Including both historical and more recent information, McClinton (1978) identified 109 black institutions that included “junior college” in their names or provided junior college work. Forty-six of the 109 institutions were closed by 1978. Thirty-five were identified as public or state controlled, 55 were church-related, 12 were independently controlled, two were controlled by the AMA, and five had no information regarding control. A comparison of McClinton’s list and the HBC list generated by the NCES (1996) reveals a significant drop in the number of historically black colleges. The demise of the clearly identifiable two-year private colleges, the bastions of the liberal arts curriculum, is particularly evident. These schools were traditionally underfunded and charged minimum tuition and fees (Lane, 1933). This, coupled with the desegregation of public education during the 1960s and 1970s, proved devastating to this group of schools. The public black junior colleges were not spared. Desegregation had become the law of the land and it was often accomplished by closing the black institutions in communities that had both white and black schools within their boundaries. An examination of the development, duration and demise of the 12 black junior colleges in the Florida public system is instructive. Eleven of the 12 schools were founded after Brown v. Board of Education (1954) upon the recommendation of the Florida Community College Council (Smith, 1994, p. xiii). The former governor of Florida, LeRoy Collins, noted in the prologue to Smith’s work that, although desegregation was the law of the land in 1957 when the Council issued its report, the Florida Constitution clearly prohibited the teaching of black and white students

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in the same school. Thus the dual system of junior colleges in Florida was established and flourished from 1957 until 1965. The black communities became deeply involved with their institutions. Campus activities, cultural, and athletic events became part of the community life. Students, their families, and anyone who had an interest participated in the activities on the campuses. Student affairs personnel and faculty encouraged and supported students in community service. The colleges became more than just classrooms; they became vibrant social entities embedded in the communities. By 1967, all of the black junior colleges in Florida had been merged with existing white institutions in their respective communities. Although this brought compliance with the federal law and newly established state law, the black communities suffered a severe blow to their social networks. Smith (1994) described the mergers as “devastating” and reported that “black student enrollment in the twoyear colleges declined significantly after the merger.” Students and personnel found the majority institutions less comfortable (p. xiii). The review of the literature on historically black colleges reveals an extensive list of “dead colleges.” The implications of institutional death for the black communities that these institutions served were many. If Smith’s (1994) portrait of the black junior colleges in Florida is indicative of the way these institutions interacted with their communities, then these schools served multiple roles within their communities. In addition to providing educational opportunities for students who were denied access to white institutions, the colleges provided community centers for athletic, social, and cultural activities (Smith, 1994; Young & Ewing, 1978). Despite the geographic proximity of black and white institutions and the existing doctrine of “separate but equal,” the academic programs appeared to be anything but equal. Miller (1962) examined the academic programs of the black public junior colleges and found them to be significantly different from the white public junior colleges in the same communities. He noted that all of the colleges in his study offered parallel programs for transfer to four-year colleges, but the technical and specialized courses that would prepare students for the rapidly changing employment opportunities of the future were not available at the black public junior colleges. While the white public junior colleges were providing vocational/technical programs in line with the increasing technological demands of industry like applied sciences and nuclear and industrial management, the black public


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junior colleges in the same towns offered terminal programs in auto mechanics, cosmetology, and shoe repair. Even the parallel programs seemed to be “restricted to standard courses in science, arts, education and business” (pp. 389–390). PROFILES OF CURRENT TWO-YEAR HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES Fourteen two-year colleges that meet the federal statutory criteria for the historically black classification are currently in operation. As stated earlier, these institutions were established prior to 1964 for the specific purpose of educating black students or were established after 1964 and meet the criteria set forth in Title 20, Section 1061 of the United States Code. Alabama. S.D. Bishop State Community College is located in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1927 as a branch of Alabama State University. Bishop State Community College’s original campus “sits on nine acres of land donated by a local citizen so that the minority populations would have access to post secondary technical training, which they were unable to obtain at the existing state technical school due to discriminatory practices” (Bishop State Community College Catalog, 1996, p. 12). The college currently has four campuses, including the Carver Campus that became part of the college with the merger of Carver State Technical College, another two-year HBC, in 1993. The college’s statement of purpose indicates that Bishop State Community College provides high quality educational opportunities and services that are responsive to individual and community needs at an affordable cost. This purpose is accomplished through the provision of general education and collegiate freshman- and sophomore-level programs that prepare students for transfer to other colleges and universities; technical, vocational, occupational, and career education that prepares students for immediate employment; business and industry training; developmental education; and continuing education (Bishop State Community College Catalog, 1996, pp. 13–14). The beliefs articulated in the catalog address issues of access, social well-being, and responsible citizenship. C.A. Fredd State Technical College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was established in 1963. In 1994, it was consolidated with Shelton State Community College. The 1963 institution continues to function as

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the Fredd Campus of Shelton State Community College and has retained its identity as a HBC. In addition to the overall institutional mission, the Fredd Campus continues its specific mission of fostering educational access and opportunity for African Americans (Shelton State Community College Catalog, 1995, p. 4). The institution accomplishes its mission by providing general education programs at a level equivalent to the first two years of college; academic programs to prepare students for transfer; occupational, technical, and specialized training; developmental education; student support services; opportunities for aesthetic, cultural, and physical development; and responsiveness to the educational needs of the community. Concordia College, in Selma, Alabama, was established as the result of a movement in 1916 to establish a school to train professional church workers. The outcome was the 1922 opening of the Alabama Lutheran Academy and College. The Missouri Synod of the Lutheran church assumed full control of the college in 1962. In 1981, the name was changed to Concordia College. It received full accreditation as a junior college in 1983. The institution has begun to award baccalaureate degrees in early childhood and elementary education. Rooted in its religious orientation, the mission of Concordia College is to provide education in the liberal arts tradition in accordance with the Christian faith (Concordia College Catalog, 1996, p.6). J.F.Drake State Technical College is located in Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1962, the school was established on 30 acres of land deeded by Alabama A&M University. Originally established as Huntsville State Vocational Technical School, the school’s name was changed to J.F. Drake State Technical School in 1966. Technical college status was granted by the state of Alabama in 1973. The institution’s commitment is to training for employment in vocational, technical, and industrial areas. The stated mission is to provide excellence in vocational/technical training. The mission statement also articulates concern for diverse population by “respecting clients’ values, traditions and aspirations” (J. F. Drake State Technical College Catalog, 1995, p. 13). Lawson State Community College is located in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1963, Lawson State Community College actually emerged from the merger of Wenonah State Technical Institute and Theodore Alfred Lawson State Junior College. The stated mission of the college is to provide comprehensive, flexible, and accessible educational program and services. The institution’s relationship to


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the community is clearly articulated. Specific goals identify university parallel programs, education for diversified employment, developmental education, community services, and active programs for student personnel services as important to the college (Lawson State Community College Catalog, 1995). Trenholm State Technical College, located in Montgomery, Alabama, began instruction in 1966. It is one of several public postsecondary occupational education institutions in the Alabama College System. The college is named for the late Dr. Harper Council Trenholm, a past president of the neighboring Alabama State University (Trenholm State Technical College Catalog, 1997, p. 12). The institution’s state philosophy is to prepare students for meaningful employment, leadership, and citizenship by developing students’ ability to think clearly and critically, to communicate effectively, and to use various discipline to solve problems (p. 13). The college also addresses additional goals that specifically emphasize career orientation and the development of student leadership qualities. Arkansas. Shorter College is located in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded in 1886, Shorter College is controlled by the 12th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Originally named Bethel University, the school’s first classes met in the basement of Bethel A.M.E. Church. In 1888, the school moved to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and was renamed Shorter University in 1892 and was chartered under that name in 1894. The college acquired property and buildings in North Little Rock and maintained campuses in both locations until 1898. Operations were consolidated at the North Little Rock campus and in 1903 the institution was renamed Shorter College. For a brief period, Shorter became a four-year college but resumed operations as a two-year institution in 1955 (Shorter College Catalog, 1993). The mission of the college articulates an open door admission policy to all ethnic groups. It also states the institution’s intention to provide a quality education in a Christian atmosphere; to provide opportunities to those who may be disadvantaged; and to provide a liberal arts education leading to an associate degree in arts or science. Louisiana. Southern University, Shreveport-Bossier City Campus is located in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1964 as a public, two-year, coeducational commuter community college, it is a unit of the Southern University System. The college catalog (1995) describes the institution as a comprehensive community college that

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prepares students for careers in technical and occupational fields by offering university parallel programs, career programs, developmental education, community service and continuing education, and comprehensive student development services. An interesting reference was made in the institutional history about the institution’s early mission being ambiguous and the state governing board’s clarification of the mission. Michigan. Lewis Business College is located in Detroit, Michigan. It was founded in 1929 by Dr. Violet T.Lewis to provide postsecondary business education to urban students who were unable to obtain training from private or public institutions. Its first location was a storefront in Indianapolis, Indiana. The college’s stated mission is to provide opportunities for educational freedom and justice to those who find these difficult to obtain elsewhere. Mississippi. Coahoma Community College was founded in 1949 as part of the public junior college movement in Mississippi. Coahoma’s history actually dates back to the founding of the Coahoma County Agricultural High School in 1924, as one of the first black high schools established in Mississippi. As was the case with most of the junior colleges in Mississippi, the junior college was grafted onto the high school after the passage of enabling state legislation that provided for funding the process. According to an early catalog, cited in Young & Ewing (1978), “In June, 1949, the Board of Trustees and Supervisors extended the curriculum to provide for two years of college work” (p. 194). Coahoma became the first educational institution for black students to be included in Mississippi’s system of public junior colleges and to be eligible for state funds (Coahoma College Catalog, 1993, p. 24). The school was integrated in 1965. The mission and goals of Coahoma articulate providing higher education access, meeting community needs, and developing student ability. These are accomplished through a two-year parallel program and the facilitation of transfer programs with four-year colleges. Vocational training and life-long learning opportunities are also available. Hinds Community College, Utica Campus, was founded in 1903 by Dr. William H.Holtzclaw, a pupil of Booker T.Washington, as the Utica Normal and Industrial School for the training of young black men and women in Utica, Mississippi. The school took on many of the characteristics associated with Tuskeegee Institute, with students being instructed in both academic and vocational subjects. Under the leadership of Dr. Holtzclaw’s son, negotiations were begun to establish


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an agricultural high school for black students in Hinds County. The result was a special act of the state legislature that made Utica Normal and Industrial School an agricultural high school. The official name of the school had several transitions: Hinds County Negro Agricultural High School (1946 to 1947); Utica Institute-Hinds County Agricultural High School, Colored (1947 to 1954); and Utica Junior College (1954 to 1982). In 1982, Utica Junior College merged with Hinds Junior College, the white junior college in Hinds County, to become Hinds Junior College, Utica Campus. The merger was a result of a federal court order. The mission of Hinds Community College is to provide college transfer programs, occupational programs to prepare students for employment, continuing education program, short courses and workshops, and high school general education and vocational services. The goals of the college avow a supportive, caring student environment through a wide range of student support services. Mary Holmes College is located in West Point, Mississippi. Founded in 1892 as a two-year, coeducational, liberal arts college, the college is controlled by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). In its effort to educate young men and women for responsible and creative participation in a changing society, the mission of Mary Holmes College is to combine the critical pursuit of knowledge with the cultivation of religious conviction. The mission also links academic achievement with dedicated community service. The stated institutional goals include the provision of career-oriented programs to prepare students for immediate employment; quality competencybased instructional programs; courses that will be transferable to a four-year baccalaureate degree; developmental courses; public service to the community; and student support services in both academic and nonacademic areas (Mary Holmes College Catalog, 1996). South Carolina. Denmark Technical College is located in Denmark, South Carolina. It was founded in 1947 as the Denmark Branch of the South Carolina Trade School System. For 21 years after its establishment, Denmark Technical College functioned as an allblack, residential trade school. In 1969, it became a member of the South Carolina Technical Education System and its name was changed to Denmark Technical Education Center. In 1979 the institution was accredited by the regional accrediting body and was renamed Denmark Technical College. It has become a comprehensive two-year college with a mission to meet the demand for skilled manpower through

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educational programs and services that facilitate the liberal and technical education of learners (Denmark Technical College Catalog, 1990, p. 15). An emphasis is placed on the institution’s being student centered and on its contributions to economic development and community enrichment. Texas. St. Philips College is located in San Antonio, Texas, and was founded in 1898 by an Episcopal bishop as an industrial school for girls. Episcopal missionaries directed the instructional program. In 1927 St. Philips became a junior college to serve the needs of the black community. It became a municipal junior college in 1942 through its affiliation with San Antonio College, under the auspices of the San Antonio Independent School District. The institution is a comprehensive community college that provides programs for general education, career preparation, college transfer, and developmental studies. The mission articulates the commitment to opportunity and access through the provision of counseling and student support (St. Philips College Catalog, 1993). Commonalities and differences. The existing schools that were established as private institutions were founded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Shorter College was founded in 1886. Mary Holmes and St. Philips were established in 1892 and 1898 respectively. Utica Institute, the predecessor of Hinds Community College, Utica Campus, was established in 1903. Shorter College, Mary Holmes, St. Philips and Concordia were established as churchrelated institutions; Utica Institute and Lewis Business College were founded as private independent schools. The remaining eight colleges were established as public institutions with dates of establishment ranging from 1927 through 1965. Utica Institute became a public agricultural high school for black students in 1946 and joined Coahoma Agricultural High School to become the two public institutions serving black students in the Mississippi public system. When Mississippi moved to develop junior colleges by adding two additional years to existing agricultural high schools, Coahoma and Utica were in place and became the public junior colleges for black students. St. Philips College was founded as a private, churchrelated institution and moved to public control in 1942. Ultimately, 10 of the colleges became public institutions. Three institutions, Concordia, Mary Holmes, and Shorter Colleges, have continued to operate under church control. Lewis Business College continues under independent control.


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The mission and purpose statements of all the institutions attest to access and quality educational programs accompanied by support services for students. Thirteen of the 14 colleges offer college-parallel programs that would support transfers to baccalaureate institutions. J.F. Drake State Technical College and Trenholm State Technical College are the only institutions in the group that clearly espouse terminal vocational/technical education as their missions. Three of the colleges (Concordia, Mary Holmes, and Shorter) make clear references to curricula rooted in the liberal arts. Each of these colleges is private and church-related. For a brief period in the early 1950s, Shorter College functioned as a four-year institution but resumed operating as a junior college in 1955. Concordia’s 1996 catalog listed baccalaureate programs in early childhood and elementary education. The fourth private college in the group, Lewis Business College, presents a mission that was specifically focused toward business education. The public junior colleges cluster into two distinct curricular groups: comprehensive community colleges and technical colleges. The comprehensive community colleges are Bishop, Lawson State, Coahoma, Hinds, St. Philips, Southern, and the C.A. Fredd Campus of Shelton Community College. Denmark, Drake, and Trenholm are clearly technical in their focus. The comprehensive public junior colleges allocate a significant proportion of their curricula to vocational/technical educational programs while providing avenues for the two-year parallel programs. Their enrollments also tend to be larger. Most of the private junior colleges that offered the liberal arts curriculum and stressed the continued educational effort for black students have closed. Only four remain, representing a mere vestige of the 100-plus institutions that emerged to feed the educational dreams of the newly freed black Americans after the Civil War. Of these four, one is committed to a specific mission of business education (Lewis), one is moving purposefully toward status as a four-year college (Concordia), and two have maintained a commitment to the liberal arts (Mary Holmes and Shorter). The public junior colleges in this group, although historically black in their origins, increasingly serve larger, more diverse student bodies. Like their four-year equivalents established under the Morrill Act, their commitment is more clearly focused on education for employment, education for the workforce. The education to support the multidimensional growth that sustains

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students throughout their lives is more likely to be lost in the emphasis on skill development. The analysis of these institutions’ program offerings leads to interesting speculation about the role that these institutions play in providing avenues into the American mainstream. Education for employment is a seductive lure, but the question that emerges secondarily revolves around education for living and empowerment. The Washington/Dubois debate ricochets into the present as black students seek viable paths to secure futures in a world economy that increasingly depends upon cognitive complexity. CLOSE-UP: A CASE STUDY OF MARY HOLMES COLLEGE In an effort to find out what lessons might be learned from a two-year historically black college that has retained a consistent link to its origins, a single case was chosen from the group for examination. The information was gathered through document examination and interviews with a senior administrator, a staff member with historic roots to the institution, and a graduate who is currently enrolled in a large, four-year historically black college. Mary Holmes College is representative of the historically black two-year colleges in its founding and evolution into the present day. It was founded in 1892 in Jackson, Mississippi, as Mary Holmes Seminary by the Board of Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. The Reverend Mead Holmes and his daughter, Miss Mary Emilie Holmes, were the driving forces behind the school, which was established as a memorial to the dedicated missionary work of their wife and mother, Mrs. Mary D.Holmes, for whom the school was named. Dedicated to the Christian education of “Colored” girls in the domestic arts (Mary Holmes College Catalog, 1996, p. 9), the school enrolled students from the fields and kitchens of the farms and plantations throughout the state of Mississippi. Pfeifer (1982), citing the history written by Mary E.Holmes, noted that “ninety girls sat at the table at the first meal in the great dining-room. To many, this was the first meal at a table” (p. 10). After the school in Jackson was destroyed by fire in 1895, it was rebuilt in West Point, Mississippi, and reopened in 1897. Despite two more major fires, the school survived. Major events in the school’s history mark a 106-year struggle to accomplish a mission dedicated to providing education to the youth


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of Mississippi and the Mississippi Delta region. “In 1932, the school became coeducational and added the college department with the primary purpose of training elementary school teacher” (Mary Holmes College Catalog, 1996, p. 9). This step in the school’s evolution was consistent with the pattern of development of so many of the black schools in the south at that time. Mary Holmes and its peer institutions were instrumental in preparing the black teachers who served the black communities throughout the region. As the state assumed more responsibility for the education of black students, the high school department was discontinued in 1959. In June 1969 the school was chartered by the state of Mississippi and became Mary Holmes College, Incorporated, with its own board of trustees. This action removed the institution from church ownership and placed it into affiliation with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States (Pfeifer, 1982, p. 42.). At the present time, Mary Holmes College operates as an open admission, two-year, historically black, coeducational, residential institution related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The college’s statement of philosophy and purpose clearly articulates its purpose to “serve a student population from the Southeast regions of the United States which is primarily under served and economically disadvantaged” (Mary Holmes College Catalog, 1996, p. 4). The students enrolled at Mary Holmes College are drawn primarily from Mississippi and the surrounding states. Others come to the college from urban centers of the Midwest and from the West Coast. Many of these students come poorly prepared for the college experience and are not able to meet the admission criteria of traditional higher education institutions. Special courses and programs are provided to assist educationally disadvantaged students in preparing for and completing the liberal arts curriculum. Entering students undergo a series of tests to determine their level of functioning in English, math, and reading. In addition to placing students into developmental classes when necessary, the college provides an extensive array of support services to insure the student’s success. Indeed, the President’s Message in the catalog states that the institution’s intent is “to move students from where they are to where they need to be” (Mary Holmes College Catalog, 1996, p. 4). Faculty and staff members make every effort to ensure that students understand the implications of the placement test results to encourage students in their efforts students as they progress through academic

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programs. Doors are always open and students can and do spend a lot of time interacting with the faculty and staff. A staff member reports that students “know that we care about them. They know that they are expected to follow the rules; we are firm but caring” (B.McClendon, personal communication, February 12, 1998). This approach seems to support a tradition of student success. That 75 percent of the entering students graduate and 80 percent of these graduates continue on to pursue their baccalaureate work is more than a matter of chance. Mary Holmes College has established articulation agreements with several private colleges in Mississippi and surrounding states. It has also made the effort to establish recognition of its programs with the colleges in the Mississippi system of higher education. Transfer days are regularly held on campus in which the students have the opportunity to interact with college and university representatives. The college also sponsors campus field trips that provide opportunities for students to visit colleges and universities. Alumni attribute their successes to the foundation that was provided at Mary Holmes College. Although the academic rigor and challenge provided by the school appear as key elements, the dominant responses attest to the one-on-one personal attention, the nurturing of selfconfidence, the caring for the overall student, and the teachers who cared what happened to their students. Several alumni note the opportunities that the school provided for them to develop and exercise leadership. Others referred to feelings of connection and support (Mary Holmes College, 1992). These reports are consistent with the research that looks at the comparative student outcomes of predominantly white and historically black institutions. A Look at the Data A look at institutional data is helpful in the analysis of these institutions. The look reveals several things. First of all, enrollments in the public two-year HBCs exceed the enrollments in the private ones. Next, according to the 1993–1994 data available from the National Center for Educational Statistics, most of the private colleges had minimal enrollment of students of other races. The figures reveal that with the exception of Bishop, Drake, and St. Philips, the enrollments have remained overwhelmingly black. Black enrollments at Bishop and Drake are 52 percent and 43 percent respectively and white enrollments

Source: The data for this table were extracted from “Historically Black Colleges and Universities: 1976–1994,” National Center for Educational Statistics (1996).

Table 3.2. 1993–1994 Enrollment in Two-Year Historically Black Colleges by Race/Ethnicity

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are 44.5 percent and 51.4 percent. However, Black enrollment at St. Philips constitutes only 19 percent of the student population. Its white enrollment is 33.7 percent and Hispanic enrollment is 43.8 percent. Furthermore, the number of associate degrees awarded by all twoyear HBCs is relatively small. Only 3.2 percent of black college graduates earned associate degrees from HBCs in 1993–1994. Since this number includes associate degrees awarded by four-year HBCs, the number of these degrees awarded by two-year HBCs is even smaller. About 48 percent of the associate degrees awarded by HBCs went to nonblack students (United States Department of Education, 1996, pp. 7–8). Table 3.2 provides an opportunity to view the distribution of associate degrees to black students at the institutions discussed in this chapter. Although the information about graduation rates and degrees awarded is readily available from the United States Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, and analysis of Integrated Postsecondary Education System data, information about transfer rates to four-year institutions is scant. With the noted exceptions, this group of schools provides college-parallel programs and espouses transfer to the baccalaureate level as an important outcome. The collection and dissemination of that data provide significant information for assessing that outcome. An examination of the fields of study in which degrees are awarded also provides some insights into transfer mobility to four-year colleges. Table 3.3 provides information on associate degrees awarded by these two-year HBCs by field. The United States Department of Education (1995) reports that black and white college students tend to major in different fields at associate and baccalaureate degree levels. At the associate degree level, black males are more likely than white males to major in business and less likely to major in trade and industrial fields. Black women are more likely to earn an associate degree in business than are white women (p. 15). A review of the information for those institutions that have significant white enrollment (see Table 3.4) reveals that a significant proportion of the business degrees was awarded to black students; computer science and engineering degrees were proportionally fewer in number. Although these figures provide interesting information for speculation, no real inferences can be made.

Note: The data for this table were extracted from “Historically Black Colleges and Universities: 1976–1994,” National Center for Educational Statistics (1996).

Table 3.3. 1993–1994 Associate Degrees Awarded by Two-Year Historically Black Colleges to Black Graduates in Comparison to Total Associate Degrees Awarded

Hum=Humanities; SS=Social Sciences; NS=Natural Sciences; C&E=Computer Science and Engineering; Educ=Education; Bus=Business; Other=An inclusive area encompassing agriculture, natural resources, communications, health sciences, home economics, library & archival sciences, military science, parks & recreation, protective services, public affairs, transportation, and material moving. Source: The data for this table were extracted from “Historically Black Colleges and Universities: 1976–1994,” National Center for Educational Statistics (1996).

Table 3.4. 1993–1994 Associate Degrees Awarded by Two-Year Historically Black Colleges by Field to Black Graduates in Comparison to Total Associate Degrees Awarded


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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The black community has a long history of belief in and support of education as a means for upward mobility. History reveals that whenever the possibility arose, the community worked to establish educational institutions. Those institutions focused on traditional liberal curricula with vocational education seen as secondary. After the Civil War, other groups joined in the effort to educate the newlyenfranchised freedmen: the AMA, the Freedmen’s Bureau, church denominations, and individuals. The second Morrill Act provided support for states to establish educational institutions for blacks within the “separate but equal” rubric. This led to the growth of a parallel educational system for blacks in which changes and developments shadowed those in the dominant white system. Thus, as the two-year college movement took hold in the white educational setting, a parallel movement emerged in the black system. Early in the process, more of the institutions were private. The same pattern was also evident in white institutions during this early period. By the mid-twentieth century, public institutions dominated the field. The early public institutions were usually developed as extensions of existing high schools. Desegregation and demographic shifts altered enrollment patterns that forced the closure of many of the private schools and the merging a public schools into white institutions that were often located in the same communities. The closing of these schools had major social implications because they had become integral parts of their communities. The current group of two-year historically black colleges consists of four private colleges and 10 public institutions. Their mission statements and purpose statements have common themes of access and opportunity, community service and involvement, developmental studies, and student support. All but one provide college transfer programs. These findings are in line with the expectations of the twoyear college as espoused in the literature. The question that begs to be answered is “What makes these institutions different?” A response to this question may not be found in the present-day institutions, but in their history. In an attempt to gain some insight, Mary Holmes College was selected for review to provide some insights into how these institutions succeed in their efforts with students despite limited resources. The college has a history of working successfully with students who would not be considered

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college material. The institutional documents, staff, and alumni provide evidence of a commitment to caring, faculty and staff availability, and both academic and affective support for students. Specific programs are in place to provide academic support for those students who need it. Advanced students are provided with the challenge and stimulation that will motivate them even more. Faculty and staff interaction with students is encouraged through an opendoor policy. The institution makes clear, purposeful statements about its expectations for behaviors in both the academic and social domains, and the students have a clear understanding of the consequences of behavior. The beliefs and expectations are readily reinforced in the intimacy of the smaller campus environment. Even disciplinary actions are carried out within the context of the positive purpose. The results of this concerted institutional behavior are graduation rates of over 75 percent, and 80 percent of the graduates continue on to four-year institutions. As with the case of Mary Holmes College, the history of the twoyear historically black colleges is rich with images of community. The schools were central to the communities’ being, more than just buildings for conducting classes. The events of the college became community events and ownership was vested in the whole community, not just the students. The schools fostered the sense of responsibility to the community by encouraging students to be involved in service projects. Faculty and staff members were usually involved in the community, so involving their students was not a great task. Resources for the schools and the students were limited. The pulling together to make the most out of whatever was available developed strong bonds. These schools existed in spite of the larger system and seemed to generate human success. Additional research should be pursued to get at the stories of the individuals and the institutions from this past era. Information about how these institutions weathered the transitions of desegregation would also provide valuable insights. The present must learn from the past in order to inform the future. NOTE 1.

Hinds Community College, Utica Campus, reported total degrees awarded; information was not provided by major.


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REFERENCES Anderson, J.D. (1988). The education of blacks in the South, 1860–1935. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. Bishop State Community College Catalog. (1996). Mobile, AL: Author. Coahoma Community College Catalog. (1993). Clarksdale, MS: Author. Concordia College Catalog. (1996). Selma, AL: Author. J.F. Drake State Technical College Catalog. (1995). Huntsville, AL: Author. Denmark Technical College Catalog. (1990). Denmark, SC: Author. Hinds Community College Catalog. (1997). Raymond, MS: Author. Holmes, D.O.W. (1934). The evolution of the Negro college. College Park, MD: McGrath Publishing Company. Lane, D.A., Jr.(1933). The junior college movement among Negroes. The Journal of Negro Education, 2, 272–283. Lawson State Community College Catalog. (1995). Birmingham, AL: Lawson State Community College. Manley, A.E. (1995). The legacy continues: The Manley years at Spelman College, 1953–1976. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Mary Holmes College (1992). Capture the vision: A candid look at today’s alums [Brochure]. West Point, MS: Author. Mary Holmes College Catalog. (1996). West Point, MS: Author. McClinton, C.E. (1978). Constituency group perceptions of goals in a historically black, rural two-year institution. Dissertation Abstracts International, 39–12A. University Microfilms No. AAG7912521) Miller, C.L. (1962). The Negro publicly-supported junior college. The Journal of Negro Education, 31, 386–395. Pfeifer, H.E. (1982). Something of a faith: A brief history of Mary Holmes College. West Point, MS: Mary Holmes College. Roebuck, J.B. & Murty, K.S. (1993). Historically black colleges and universities: Their place in American higher education. Westport, CT: Praeger. Shelton State Community College Catalog. (1995). Tuscaloosa, AL:Author. Shorter College Catalog. (1993). North Little Rock, AR: Author. Smith, W.L. (1994). The magnificent twelve: Florida’s black junior colleges. Winter Park, FL: Four-G Publishers, Inc. Southern University, Shreveport-Bossier City Catalog (1995). Shreveport, LA: Author. Spivey, D. (1978). Schooling for the new slavery: Black industrial education. Westport CT: Greenwood Press. St. Philips College Catalog. (1993). San Antonio, TX: Author. Trenholm State Technical College Catalog. (1997). Montgomery, AL: Author.

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U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (1995). The educational progress of black students (NCES Publication No. 95–765). Washington, DC: NCES. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (1996). Historically black colleges and universities: 1976–1994. (NCES Publication No. 96–902). Washington, DC: NCES. Whiting, A.N. (1991). Guardians of the flame: Historically black colleges yesterday, today and tomorrow. Washington, DC: American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Young, J.B., & Ewing, J.M. (1978). The Mississippi public junior colleges. Jackson, MS: The University Press of Mississippi.

CHAPTER 4

Tribal Colleges D.Michael Pavel, Ella Inglebret, and Mark VanDenHende

And their impact is real. Research, site visits, accreditation reports, and government audits all confirm their effectiveness. Tribal colleges have proven their ability to enroll students who were not served by higher education, to graduate students who have dropped out from other institutions, and to sponsor successful community development programs. They have also proven their ability to responsibly manage themselves as institutions, gaining respect of Washington lawmakers and private foundations. No less remarkable has been the ability of most to gain acceptance within their own communities and to navigate through the shifting winds of tribal politics. Indeed, the tribal college is often the most stable institution on a reservation. (Boyer, 1997, p. 2)

It has been said that “tribal colleges offer only [a] two-year degree [and] remain a small player in Native American higher education, together enrolling the equivalent of 11,096 full-time students, a fraction of the 121,000 Native Americans in U.S. colleges” (Marklein, 1998, p. 4D). Such a position ignores both time and proportion. Time because in just 30 years tribal colleges have profoundly influenced the direction of higher education for generations to come. Proportion because fewer than 30 tribal colleges enroll a significant percentage of Native Americans when compared to their overall enrollment in over 3,000 colleges. The role of these institutions has to be conceived of for the long term and envisioned with regard to the fact that there are over 500 Native nations, each of which could some day have its own tribal college. 113

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This chapter focuses on the tribal community college. It begins with a historical overview to provide a context for understanding the state of American Indian higher education and briefly describes selected historical events that have affected tribal colleges’ modern day success. Selected institutional portraits will then be presented to add insights about the uniqueness of each tribal college’s mission, curricular offerings, support services, programs, and accreditation history. The third section of this chapter presents a case study documenting tribal college impact on increasing postsecondary access. The chapter ends with perspectives on future prospects of tribal colleges in American higher education. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW From pre-European migration to early contact. From the ancient Zapotecs of the Oaxacan region of Mexico to today’s 30 Native American colleges,1 Native people have had control over the mission, scope, and influence of the education system. Tribal elders are quick to share oral history dating back to the dawn of creation detailing the ritual, ceremonial, and everyday practices that convey knowledge from one generation to another. Archeological estimates of when the first Native peoples migrated from Asia to North America range from 10,000 to 50,000 years and document the extant developments in economics, architecture, agriculture, art, medicine, and other fields of study. Early tribes of American Indians migrated, colonized, and eventually developed into the many American Indian tribes that prospered long before the time of European contact. Independent cultures found ways to communicate with each other by drawing upon a thousand ways of knowing (Lopez, 1990). Unfortunately, from their initial meeting, no peaceful coexistence would exist between the European migrants and indigenous populations. “From the very beginning, it became clear that the building of empires in the Americas would be a process of destruction as well as creation, of cruelty as well as achievement” (Chambers, Raymond, Herlihy, Rabb, & Woloch, 1995, p. 430). Both cultures were polarized by each others’ appearance, beliefs, ideals, customs, spirituality, economics, and education, resulting in entrenched mistrust and violence (Jacobs, 1992; Maddox, 1993). The opinion of early colonists that the Native people were in need of proper education or destined for extinction was ethnocentric indeed.

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For example, on June 17, 1744, the commissioners from Maryland and Virginia negotiated the Treaty of Lancaster with the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As part of the Treaty, or rather as a show of good will, the Iroquois leaders were invited by the Virginia commissioners to send their sons to William and Mary College to be educated. Out of respect, no response was given at this point and the two sides parted with the agreement to meet the next morning. The next day, as Benjamin Franklin documented, the Iroquois leaders signed the treaty but declined the offer of education as follows. …for we know that you highly esteem the kind of Learning taught in those Colleges, and the Maintenance of our young Men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are convinc’d, that you mean to do us Good by your Proposal; and we thank you heartily, But you, who are wise, must know that different Nations have different Conceptions of things and you will therefore not take it amiss, if our Ideas of this kind of Education happen not to be the same as yours. We have had some Experience of it; Several of our young People were formerly brought up at the Colleges of the Northern Provinces; they were instructed in all your Sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad Runners, ignorant of every means of living in the Woods, unable to bear either Cold or Hunger, know neither how to build a Cabin, take a Deer, or kill an enemy, spoke our language imperfectly, were neither fit for Hunters, Warriors, nor Counsellors; they were totally good for nothing. We are however not the less oblig’d by your kind Offer, tho’ we decline accepting it; and, to show our grateful Sense of it, if the Gentleman of Virginia will send us a dozen of their Sons, we will take Care of their Education, instruct them in all we know, and make Men of them. (1794, pp. 28–29)

Clearly, the Native people had control over the mission, scope, and influence of the education system from the far reaches of their many histories (Crum, 1989). It is equally distinct that this period of control was to become shattered and disrupted. The concepts of rights and truths that were self-evident to early American leaders were equally self-evident to the Native occupants of the land. The difference is in the freedom to practice and enjoy such principles. The Native people, we have seen, lost many of these freedoms (Weatherford, 1988). Removal policies. Removal, it seemed to many, would be the only viable resolution of conflicting land use claims that persisted between

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colonists and Indians (Haymond, 1982). By the summer of 1763, government policy was enacted by the British in an effort to solve continuing problems in the colonies. A separation policy arose from their differences over land ownership and trade. The English declared the Proclamation Line of 1763, after English soldiers pushed back the Iroquois Confederacy in an effort to quell further hostilities. The defeat of Pontiac at Bushy Run enabled the colonies to establish an artificial boundary on the Appalachian divide, separating Indians to the West and European settlers to the East. This separation policy was the beginning of a long series of failed British and later United States government actions implemented to solve what was to later become known as the problem of “what to do with the Indian” (New York Times, 1884). After the wars of 1776 and 1812, the United States continued to follow Britain’s lead in enacting American Indian removal legislation passing the Indian Removal Act in 1830. By this time, most whites and many American Indians in power assumed that the only solution to conflicts over land and resources was separation. Andrew Jackson conveyed this sentiment in his message to Congress in 1832 when he said that he was “more and more convinced that the destiny of the Indians within the settled portion of the United States depends upon their [entire] and speedy migration to the country west of the Mississippi” (as cited in Hurtado & Iverson, 1994, p. 218). This policy of separation and “Redskin removal” would continue to be favored throughout the rapid settlement of the West. Public opinion concerning such policies spanned a wide spectrum, ranging from paternalistic sympathy to unbridled aggression regarding “what to do with the Indian.” Federal government control. The government debated many policies on how to open the country to settlement with the least amount of interference. Establishing treaties to “concentrate” American Indians was a popular and prevalent method of control and possible appeasement during the mid-1800s because of the federal government’s debt-ridden treasury and other domestic issues. To facilitate the rapid white expansion while pacifying Indian tribes, treaties and alliances were understood to be good policy. The Plains tribes, including the Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, Arapaho, Pawnee, Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche represented a “superior adversary” in conflicts that many government officials preferred to avoid rather than battle if possible (Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, Williams, & Roberts, 1990). In

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addition to treaties, Christian education was believed by many whites to be the key to making Indians more civilized and therefore more agreeable in negotiating agreements. Indian Affairs Committee members Smith and Turner conveyed the logic of appeasing American Indians when they stated, “The Indian under no circumstances should be permitted to become dispirited, or lose confidence in public authorities; for if they do, all efforts to civilize them or to improve their condition must be unavailing” (Nicholson, 1854, p. 9). Federal government management. Official policy had moved away from treaties, Christian indoctrination, and toleration toward direct military force to control American Indians and to protect homesteaders and settlers (Conlin, 1987). As the western Indian nations fought to save their way of life, the sympathies of the public and the Cavalry were with the railroads, miners, cattlemen, and farmers who occupied Native lands. Prevalent among society was the simple philosophy of Cavalry General Philip H.Sheridan, who was reputed to have told a Commanche chief at Fort Cobb, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian” (Conlin, 1987, p. 541). Consequently, by the 1870s, with only 225,000 American Indians roaming the Great Plains (Conlin, 1987), treaties were no longer made and the majority of Indians became socalled wards of the federal government. Dawes Severalty Act. In 1887, the Dawes Severally Act was approved by Congress to finally solve the problem of what to do with the Indian (Hodge, 1981). The act was devastating in its efforts to “humanize, Christianize, and educate the Indian” (Haymond, 1982, p. 51). By dividing reservations, it resulted in the “checkerboarding” of American Indian lands, thereby dissolving tribes and families. Allotted land was divided and sold, leaving American Indian individuals with 60-acre parcels that were generally useless to hunt and unfeasible to farm. The effects of the legislation were spectacular. The unclaimed excess land, particularly the Oklahoma Territory that was thrown open to settlers, was bought at below market values or simply appropriated. To gain an understanding of the impact: When the Dawes Act passed in 1887, American Indians still owned 138,000,000 acres, and when it was repealed in 1932, American Indians owned 55,200,000 acres (Nash, et al., 1990). Paternalism. By the end of the nineteenth century, the pendulum of public opinion regarding the “Indian situation” rapidly swung toward paternalism. Government officials realized that the traditional Indian life that had been assumed to be “on the verge of extinction”

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still persisted. Popular opinion now perceived assimilation into white culture and “proper” education once again as the only viable answer. People became aware that whites had cheated Indians out of their homeland, so American Indians began to be portrayed as victims rather than aggressive savages. By the turn of the century, the Progressive movement placed the American Indian firmly under the wing of government control. Public opinion revolved around the need for Indian education, welfare, and conversion to an agrarian lifestyle. Remarkably, merely thirty years after General Sheridan’s statement, “the only good Indian is a dead Indian,” middle-class reformers and politicians were debating Indian rights issues and government payments in accordance with past treaties. It would be these treaties, which almost uniformly committed the Federal government to provide for the welfare and education of Indian children, that later would serve as the legal foundations to support Indian self-determination and education movements. Therefore, treatment of American Indians had come full circle from hate and fear through the 1880s to pity and paternalism in the 1930s. Meriam report. In 1928, the problem of “what to do with the Indian” evolved into the first major report on the status of American Indians, The Problem of Indian Administration (Miller, 1971, p. v). Commonly known as the Meriam Report, The Problem of Indian Administration reviewed the effectiveness of federal administration regarding American Indians. The in-depth look primarily dealt with administrative problems and possible solutions spurred by the status of the American Indians still considered to be hovering on the edge of disaster (Szasz, 1977). The focus of the report centered on changing government policy regarding “what to do with the Indian.” John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1933 to 1945, used the report during his tenure to effect new policies that sought to make the Indian a self-sustaining, self-respecting American citizen just as rapidly as this could be brought about. It had finally become painfully obvious to many in Washington, D.C. that the so-called Indian problem had not been solved (Ellis, 1957; Miller, 1971; Tyler, 1973). The goal of “freeing the Indian” was now in mind. According to the Meriam Report, “the whole Indian problem is essentially an educational one” (Meriam, 1928 in Miller, 1971, p. 348). Therefore, most of its recommendations were concerned with elementary education, although higher education was dealt with briefly. The portion of the report dealing with postsecondary level work

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primarily addressed the increasing numbers of high school students who could later go to college. Also pinpointed were the lack of adequate reservation facilities, low academic standards, the need for scholarships and loans, and the lack of properly trained instructors (Haymond, 1982). In partial response, Congress authorized the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, thereby ending the allotment period and establishing what has been called, “The Indian Bill of Rights.” Education was a key in the effort to establish long range goals and objectives geared toward “deIndianizing the Indian” (91st Congress, U.S. Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, 1969, p. 13). John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs and progressive reformer, responded by starting programs in bilingual education, adult basic education, teacher training of Indian instructors, and Indian culture training (U.S. Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, 1969). His colleague, Will Carson Ryan, Director of Education for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, followed Collier’s example. Treaty termination policies. Like all American Indian policies, the progressive self-determination focus of the early part of the century had all but vanished by the 1950s, in large part due to the efforts of Dillon S.Myer, Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner. As head of Indian affairs in 1950, Myer sought to return to the dominant government policies of the past. To do so, he supported the termination of Federal recognition and services for American Indians, recommending the removal of Indians from reservations. The termination policy resulted in a major catastrophe to the Indian people by separating them from their land base, destroying their link with culture and ancestral ties, and dissociating the responsibility of the federal government to fulfill treaty obligations (91st Congress, U.S. Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, 1969, p. 13–14). The ravages of termination policies lasted throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, ending many of the policy gains acquired by the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934. A number of termination bills were passed and enforced before 1961, when the Kennedy administration called for its own study and subsequent recommendations on “what to do with the Indian.” As a result, by 1965, the Bureau of Indian Affairs had shifted its policies toward economic and community development to provide American Indians the opportunity to participate in and to have control of their own programs (91st Congress, U.S. Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, 1969).

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With the end of the termination movement by the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, additional funding and assistance became available for social, economic, and educational purposes. In addition to more resources, the civil rights movement swayed popular opinion and government policymakers toward a proactive stance on domestic issues. Of those domestic concerns, education at all levels and social reform programs saw a dramatic increase in financial and moral support. As the termination period was extinguished, the path for American Indian self-determination was gradually cleared. Subsequently, educational and self-determination developments included the growth of Indian education organizations, the establishment of individual tribal schools, and more community control, along with a growing Indian participation in public school direction (Szasz, 1977). These developments were supported by individual constitutional rights to equal protection under state and federal laws. Yet legislators also opened the door for entitlement benefits such as Impact Aid, Johnson-O’Malley, and Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Acts. In support of such programs, civil rights and minority rights activists in the 1960s swayed public opinion regarding a number of social issues, including American Indian civil rights. Education continued to be seen by many in the light of the Meriam Report assumption that the whole Indian problem is essentially an educational one. The 1960s were a time of tremendous educational expansion. This expansion was partly due to public pressures on federal leaders and was correspondingly fueled by renewed interest in educational programs spurred by increased enrollments. Because of the subsequent increases in need, interest, and funding, the decade realized a huge expansion of existing schools and colleges, as well as the creation of new facilities and institutions. Tribal college movement. In the late 1960s and 1970s American Indians were, “for the first time in their long contact with Whites, able to have a significant voice” (Oppelt, 1990, p. ix) in the mission, scope, and influence of the education system, and in the planning and control of their educational destiny. Using autonomy gained from more liberal and popular government policymaker opinions, American Indians capitalized on the social upheaval of the 1960s to move officials toward a more proactive stance on Indian domestic issues. Of those domestic concerns, education at all levels and social reform programs, as well as civil rights issues, were at the forefront. Public

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and political pressures spawned a new era of legislation and policies addressing the “growing dissatisfaction” of Americans regarding social welfare and education. One such response was “offered by Senator Harrison Williams of New Jersey when he introduced the Comprehensive Community College Act of 1969” (Gleazer, as cited in Ratcliff, Schwartz, & Ebbers, 1994, p. 34). The Comprehensive Community College Act, part of the community college movement, set aside funds needed for the dramatic increase in number of twoyear colleges. The expansion of the community college system was profound, with the total number of public two-year colleges increasing by 42 percent from 1968 to 1978 (Stein, 1988, p. 38). In 1968, as part of the community college movement, an organization of American Indian political and educational leaders founded Navajo Community College, the first tribal community college. For American Indians in higher education, the changes that resulted were certainly profound. The tribal community college network developed quickly due to the dramatic effects of legislative and financial aid. The availability of funds to operate tribal colleges opened the higher education door for many rural, reservation-based American Indians who had previously been excluded from having adequate access to institutions of higher education. To illustrate the effect, in 1961 approximately 600,000 American Indians lived in the United States and of that total only 66 graduated from four-year institutions (Raymond, 1982). By comparison, the number of American Indian students enrolled in higher education during the 1972–1973 academic year totaled 23,000 (Stein, 1988, p. 14). Like most community colleges, tribal colleges are “expected to serve the needs of both individuals and communities” (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, as cited in Pavel & Colby, 1992, p. 1). In response to this mission, tribal colleges have primarily reflected the reservation communities that they serve by becoming more diverse in course offerings, personnel, staff, and support services (Pavel, Swisher, & Ward, 1995). As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in enrollments of American Indian students and their non-Indian counterparts in rural America. This outreach to American Indians has enabled thousands of Indian students to prosper and succeed in and beyond higher education, with yearly enrollment in tribal colleges climbing to over 12,000 students by 1996. To give a sense of how tribal colleges serve Native Americans, the following section provides brief institutional portraits of a sample of

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tribal colleges (See Table 4.1 for a list of tribal colleges and Figure 4.1 for a map showing their location). INSTITUTIONAL PORTRAITS Blackfeet Community College. “[W]hen Blackfeet Community College was chartered, the [Blackfeet Tribal] council realized that although we teach students the academic structure of mainstream America, they also need the knowledge of their own world—the world of the Blackfeet” (Carol Tatsey-Murray, President, Blackfeet Community College, as quoted in the Blackfeet Community College Catalog 1996– 19, p. 6). The move to create a community college represented the view of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana that quality education was essential to ensuring future survival of the tribe through economic development, promotion of self-sufficiency, and human resource development. Subsequently, it utilized federal resources made available to tribes for adult education by the 1964 Office of Economic Opportunity programs and by the 1972 Indian Education Act. This led to the chartering of the Blackfeet Community College (BCC) in 1974, as part of a 10-year comprehensive plan for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The college began as an extension center offering courses through a cooperative agreement with Flathead Valley Community College. With acceptance of the Blackfeet Community College charter by the Blackfeet Tribe in 1976 and federal financial support, the extension courses were expanded. Increased interest led the college to establish itself as an independent institution in 1979. The Blackfeet Community College became a candidate for accreditation in 1979 and went on to receive full accreditation, as a two-year higher education institution, from the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges in 1985. As stated in the Blackfeet Community College Catalog 1996–1998, the college represents “a tribal effort to achieve a balance between educational advancement and cultural preservation” (p. 12). The college’s mission reflects tribal needs by seeking to provide “access to education for all members of the Blackfeet Tribe and all of those who wish to participate in the betterment of their future… The education will include the traditional areas of Blackfeet culture, including historical and geographical identity” (p. 12). The college has grown in size to include nine buildings housing

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academic programs, a library, a child care program, the Tribal Business Information Center, and the “Spirit of the Circle” program. This latter program is designed to “restore the position of girls and women in the Blackfeet contemporary society” (Blackfeet Community College Catalog 1996–1998, p. 31) through an empowerment process that rejuvenates their traditional role. Recently, BCC has begun offering undergraduate and graduate course work through telecommunication and satellite linkages in cooperation with two Montana state universities (Blackfoot Community College, 1997). Cankdeska Cikana Community College. Cankdeska Cikana Community College (formerly Little Hoop Community College) was founded in 1974 to serve the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe in North Dakota. It received its name in honor of a World War II hero, Cankdeska Cikana (meaning Little Hoop), which was the Indian name of Paul Yankton, Sr. From 1974 to 1981 the college operated as a satellite campus of Lake Region Community College. Initiating the accreditation process in 1981, Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC) became fully accredited as a two-year higher education institution in 1990. The 1996–1997 Cankdeska Cikana Community College Catalog indicates that the philosophy of the college is based on the circle, which represents the totality of learning in a lifetime. The Dakota way of thinking is based upon the circle and its meaning in relation to the sacred hoop of life. The circle stands for the togetherness of people united in peace. The tipi is a ring in which people sit in a circle, part of a larger hoop, representing an individual nation…. The College stands within the circle of the Spirit Lake Sioux Nation and through the power of learning strives to maintain the Dakota way of thinking, (p. 5)

The catalog also states that the mission of the college is to provide both traditional and contemporary aspects of learning in a comprehensive postsecondary education system. “The College focuses on educating our students to live successfully by assisting each in reaching a goal that is desirable and attainable for their needs in this multicultural world” (p. 5). The mission is further explained by Erich Longie, Interim President, as strengthening “knowledge through basic skills programs and the courses needed for career development or

Table 4.1. Tribally Controlled Colleges: Charters, Accreditation, and Enrollment (in order of charter date)

Source: Bureau of Indian Affairs (1997) Colleges with missing data did not provide it to the Bureau.


Figure 4.1. Tribally Controlled Colleges: United States locations

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college transfer. It is further challenged to maintain programs which meet tribal industrial and social needs, as well as the continuation of the Sioux culture and heritage” (p. 4). Diné College. Established in 1968 as Navajo Community College, Diné College was the first tribally-controlled college in the United States. Located in Arizona, the college serves both residential and commuter students through seven campus locations in its efforts to provide educational opportunities to support the Navajo Nation’s social and economic development. For over 20 years, Diné College has been fully accredited to offer two-year educational programs. As stated by the Navajo Community College 1995–1996 General Catalog, the college’s educational philosophy is “the Diné traditional living system, which places human life in harmony with the natural world and the universe. The philosophy provides principles both for protection from the imperfections of life and for the development of well-being” (p. 6). The catalog goes on to identify a four-part mission consisting of the following: “(1) strengthen personal foundations for responsible learning and living consistent with the Diné traditional living system, (2) prepare students for careers and further studies, (3) promote and perpetuate Navajo language and culture, and (4) provide community services and research” (p. 6). In carrying out its mission Diné College keeps its student-faculty ratio low to ensure personalized instruction. Physical facilities of the main campus in Tsaile take the form of the Navajo hogan to symbolize the college’s grounding in Navajo traditions. Navajo culture also serves as a focal point for the college’s newly established Institute for Integrated Rural Development. This institute serves as an umbrella for three centers emphasizing community development, economic development, and natural resources management, and was formed as a result of tribal colleges receiving designation as land-grant institutions. In an effort to increase access to its educational services, Diné College participates in the Navajo Learning Network, a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation to build the technological infrastructure of the Navajo Nation’s educational institutions (Diné College, 1997). Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) represents a unique cooperative venture between the State of Minnesota and tribal governments. In 1987 the college was both established by the Minnesota Legislature and chartered by the Fond du Lac Reservation. The idea of a tribal

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college grew in the early 1980s after the need for higher education opportunities was documented by the Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee. In 1985 classes were first offered on the Fond du Lac Reservation in cooperation with Mesabi Community College. Eventually, design development for a new community college facility was authorized by the Minnesota Legislature. Representatives from tribal and civic government, area community colleges, and business worked collaboratively with an architect to create a campus reflecting both the Indian and non-Indian cultural values of Northeastern Minnesota. The new campus opened in 1992 and plans are underway for an expansion to include housing and more classroom and office space. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1997. According to the FDLTCC 1995–1997 Catalog, the college’s mission is “to acknowledge the right of each individual to achieve a sense of self-actualization and to provide for the building of educational and civic relationships through the medium of education and lifelong learning. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College will enhance the academic, economic, and cultural growth of the community through programs of educational excellence and a commitment to celebrate the diverse cultures of our community” (p. 7). As part of its efforts to achieve this broad mission, the college seeks to “provide educational access to historically underserved populations, particularly Anishinaabe communities” (p. 7) and to “promote the language, culture, and history of the Anishinaabe” (p. 7). To provide access to higher education the college currently offers a variety of student services, including a Center for Academic Achievement, child care, and disability services. The college also offers courses to high schools and other higher education institutions in Minnesota through interactive telecommunications. Fort Berthold Community College. Fort Berthold Community College (FBCC) in North Dakota was chartered by the three affiliated tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in 1973 to provide training for tribal members and to play a role in preservation of the tribal cultures. Classes were initially offered on an extension basis with three coordinating accredited institutions, Mary College, Minot State College, and the University of North Dakota, Williston Center. Through long-range planning, a framework for carrying out the FBCC mission and goals was formulated leading to improvement in

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the vocational and educational programs offered to communities throughout the Reservation. In 1988 Fort Berthold Community College became accredited by the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges. As stated in the FBCC 1996–1997 Bulletin, “the philosophy of the Fort Berthold Community College emphasizes the interweaving of tribally distinctive cultural elements into the post-secondary process” (p. 11). The Bulletin also states that “the mission of the college is to address tribal needs and concerns, and to perpetuate tribal heritage, history, and culture through education” (p. 11). Emphasis is placed on: (1) taking a leadership role in reservation development, (2) acknowledging the positive relationship between achievement and selfconcept, (3) facilitating individual acquisition of a positive self-image and a clear sense of identity, and (4) preparing tribal and community members to function effectively in a multicultural society. As part of the college’s current cultural preservation efforts, all students studying for a degree are required to participate in a three affiliated tribes culture seminar and in cultural/student activities. To give students the opportunity to gain work experience while attending the college, several cooperative education formats are available. The college reaches out to farm/ranch families through the federally-funded Assistance, Counseling, and Training (ACT) Project designed to facilitate improved farm/ranch management. The ACT Project is the first of its kind in the United States. Fort Peck Community College. In 1978 Fort Peck Community College (FPCC) in Montana was chartered by the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes. Postsecondary educational opportunities were initially made available to the Reservation through extension courses offered by Dawson Community College from 1969 to 1986. Overlapping this relationship was a cooperative agreement from 1977 to 1986 in which extension courses were provided through Miles Community College. With the establishment of the Fort Peck Education Department in 1986 came the foundation for the development of Fort Peck Community College. The college received full accreditation from the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges in 1991. According to the Fort Peck Community College Course Schedule 1995–1997, the college is based on the belief that higher education opportunities should be available on the reservation, especially for those who choose not to leave their homelands. The college should

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function “to preserve Indian culture, history, and beliefs, and to perpetuate them among Indian people of all ages… Self-awareness through education is a foundation that is necessary to build a career, to create a lifestyle, and to achieve a true sense of self-pride” (p. 7). The college now provides educational programs at four sites on the reservation. The main campus in and near Poplar consists of various facilities, including classrooms, computer and electronics labs, a learning center, a photography darkroom, a teacher training center, a child care center, an automotive and building trades center, and a science building. A new college library simultaneously serves as the community and tribal library and houses a specialized legal collection. The library was constructed by the college’s building trades department, which has been responsible for renovating additional college facilities. To assist students with academic, personal, and career decisions, Fort Peck Community College offers the federally-funded student support services WINGS program. Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College. The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin chartered the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College (LCOOCC) in 1982 to encourage the intellectual and personal development of students. Upon receiving land grant status in 1994, the tribal governing board granted the college 120 acres of land for agricultural and natural resources research, demonstration, and training. Plans include both elders and students in using the site for culturally relevant activities. Accreditation from the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges was granted in 1986. The Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College Catalog 1995– 1998 states that the college’s mission is “to provide, within the Indian community, a system of post-secondary and continuing education with associate degree and certificate granting capabilities” (p. 8). The college “curriculum will reflect Ojibwa culture and tribal selfdetermination…[and] will provide opportunities for individual selfimprovement in a rapidly changing technological world, while maintaining the cultural integrity of the Ojibwa” (p. 8). To increase student access to educational opportunities, LCOOCC has developed an interactive distance learning studio with state-ofthe-art capabilities. The studio provides students with a range of educational programs and also provides a means for teaching the Ojibwa language at area high schools. For students who do not have transportation, the college provides van service to and from classes.

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Additionally, the college has developed a two-plus-two agreement with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to facilitate completion of bachelor of nursing degrees. Students will complete the first two years of the degree at LCOOCC and the last two at Eau Claire. Plans are underway to develop three more two-plus-two programs with other higher education institutions conferring bachelors and masters degrees, as well as to establish four-year degrees in natural resources, teaching, and social work. Leech Lake Tribal College. “In 1990, the year our College was founded, it was time to recreate a tribal educational institution which would carry indigenous voices and teach a curriculum which would express our tribal values and yet remain consistent with higher education standards from the western non-tribal colleges in America” (Larry P.Aitken, President, Leech Lake Tribal College, as quoted in the Leech Lake Tribal College Catalog 1997–1998, p. 3). For the first two years after its chartering by the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa (Anishinabeg) in 1990, Leech Lake Tribal College in Minnesota offered extension courses in cooperation with the University of Minnesota at Duluth, Bemidji State University, and Itasca and Brainerd Community Colleges. In 1992 Leech Lake Tribal College started offering its own courses leading to two-year degrees. Student interest continued to increase, particularly when the college moved into a former high school building in 1994. Classes are now also offered at community buildings throughout the Reservation. Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) is in the process of seeking accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools for its vocational and adult programs. The LLTC Catalog 1997–1998 lists a seven-part mission consisting of the following: 1. To provide all persons a quality education grounded in spirituality, history, and culture of the Anishinabeg; 2. To nurture a knowledge and respect for women as leaders of their clan families, and as traditional and contemporary leaders of the Anishinabeg; 3. To develop Anishinabe cultural and language studies as an area of study, and to recognize that the Anishinabe language is the first language of the Anishinabeg; 4. To provide courses leading to fully transferable Associate of Arts degrees;

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5. To provide opportunities for studies leading to two-year Associate of Applied Science technical degrees and one-year diploma programs; 6. To assist tribal members to be active and creative members of their communities and of the Leech Lake Nation or their tribal nation; and, 7. To provide Leech Lake tribal members with opportunities to improve skills and understanding in the arts and sciences, business, education, health, and human services, (p. 5) Reflective of the curricular content, Larry Aitken, President, states “Leech Lake Tribal College offers people from our tribal society—as well as anyone else with a sincere heart—opportunity to learn about our time-tested ways of counseling, healing, understanding the natural world, governing, and living a good life” (p. 3). Little Priest Tribal College. “In the Winnebago heritage of respect, integrity and self reliance, Little Priest Tribal College is chartered by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska” (Little Priest Tribal College General Catalog 1997–1998, p. 6). For many years the Winnebago Tribe sought to ensure that quality educational opportunities existed for its members. Beginning in 1973, it cooperated with the Omaha and Santee Sioux Tribes in providing higher education programs. However, when improved academic performance was observed in young Winnebago students in association with the adoption of new curriculum standards, tribal council members anticipated increased academic growth overall for its students. Reevaluating the programs then available at the Nebraska Indian Community College, the tribal council decided to withdraw and establish its own higher education institution. This new institution, Little Priest Tribal College, was chartered in 1996 and received its name from Little Priest, the last war chief of the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people. Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC) is seeking accreditation from the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges. Its current offerings are sponsored by Wayne State College. LPTC strives to “prepare its students to succeed in a multi-cultural world by emphasizing quality education of the highest level, humanistic values, and life skills” (Little Priest Tribal College General Catalog 1997–1998, p. 6), while at the same time recognizing that “there is a link between education and the economic success of the Tribe” (p. 7).

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Oglala Lakota College. During the early years of the Lakota Higher Education Center, postsecondary programs were offered on the Pine Ridge Reservation through affiliation with Black Hills State College, the University of South Dakota, and South Dakota State University. As stated in the Oglala Lakota College 1996–1997 Catalog: With the advent of efforts to extend tribal sovereignty by American Indians throughout the United States came a recognition by Lakotas that control of education is also the control of its destiny. On March 4, 1971, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council exercised its sovereignty by chartering the Lakota Higher Education Center. This marked the commencement of a vision’s realization which continues to evolve in the history of the Oglala Lakota. (p. 6).

The evolution of the college is reflected in its name changes. When it became a community college in 1978, the college was renamed Oglala Sioux Community College. In 1983 the college underwent another name change to Oglala Lakota College (OLC) to incorporate the tribal language and the college’s four-year degree-granting status. Oglala Lakota College became a candidate for accreditation from the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges in 1979. It received accreditation to offer associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in 1983. Subsequent accreditation in 1987, 1992, and 1994 increased the number of disciplines in which bachelors degrees could be granted and added a master’s degree in tribal leadership. To carry out its mission of providing a “diverse range of education from community service offerings to graduate courses” (Oglala Lakota College Catalog 1996–1997, p. 4), the college “stresses Lakota culture and Tribal self-determination. The College prepares students to understand the larger society as well as the customs and beliefs of the Lakota people” (p. 4). From its original inception as one of the first tribal colleges in the United States, Oglala Lakota College has grown to a total student enrollment of approximately 1000. The college provides extensive student support services to enhance persistence and graduation rates, as well as to facilitate transfer to or from OLC. The college has taken on a decentralized, dispersed configuration with college centers in each of the nine reservation districts. The college’s learning resource center serves as a library that is linked with each district center via computer to provide research capabilities across the widespread

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campus. Funding from the National Science Foundation will allow OLC and four additional tribal colleges to expand their communications infrastructure and delivery systems in the near future. Salish Kootenai College. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana established Salish Kootenai College (SKC) in 1979 to improve education for tribal members. The college was granted full accreditation by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges in 1993. According to the SKC Catalog 1995–1997, the college is open to everyone but its “primary purpose is to meet the needs of the Indian population” (p. 11). To that end, the college offers programs, including at the baccalaureate level, “designed to meet the special needs of the Native American Population,” (p. 11) both locally and in the entire United States. Furthermore, the college “strive[s] to provide opportunities for individual self-improvement for survival in a rapidly changing and technological world, while maintaining the cultural integrity of Salish and Kootenai people” (p. 11). The college currently offers bachelors’ degrees in human services—rehabilitation, Native American human services, and environmental science, as well as a variety of associate degrees and certificates. SKC provides technical assistance to small businesses on the reservation through its tribal business assistance center. The library includes an extensive collection of materials related to area tribes that also serves as a resource for the community. The college media center coordinates production of audiovisual materials and operates a public television station serving as an integral part of video production training. Students have access to computer, science, and dental laboratories. To meet the needs of nontraditional students, dental assistant training is being packaged in modules that will be made available via computer. The college is also making special efforts to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities through its ACCESS services. Some student housing is available. Sitting Bull College. Sitting Bull College (SBC), formerly known as Standing Rock Community College, was chartered by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council of North Dakota in 1973, making it one of the first tribal colleges in the country. At that time various colleges were offering courses on the reservation, but there was no coordination among them. Tribal officials chose to associate with one college, Bismarck Junior College (BJC), and obtained a Higher Education Act grant through BJC to establish Standing Rock Community College.

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Sitting Bull College began seeking accreditation from the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges in 1975, achieved candidate status in 1978, and received full accreditation in 1984. In 1984 the name of the college was changed to Standing Rock College in recognition of its accreditation and continued growth. The name was again changed in 1996 to Sitting Bull College in honor of Sitting Bull, one of the most well-known American Indian leaders. Sitting Bull College expresses a vision of “catching the spirit to fulfill a dream through culture, academics, technical training, and responsible behavior for now and for the future” (SBC 1996–1998 Bulletin, p. 6). The college views its mission as improving the educational level of the people it serves by expanding existing academic and technical areas; developing four-year programs; providing continuing education; enhancing the Dakota/Lakota culture and language; and assisting with the social and economic development of the Standing Rock Nation, creating vision and responsible behavior (p. 6).

According to its philosophy “all people grow to their full potential by knowing and understanding their beautiful and profound cultural heritage; therefore, Dakota/Lakota culture will permeate a holistic educational process, which will permit all people to develop in balance from the elders’ teachings to live in the present world” (p. 6). In addition to vocational and associate degrees, SBC offers course work in affiliation with Minot State University and Sinte Gleska University that can lead to bachelors’ degrees. Over time the college has expanded to three campus sites in North and South Dakota. Its library has recently been expanded and includes both a legal collection provided by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a teacher resource center containing materials available for use by all teachers on the reservation. To increase student access to higher education, SBC now provides bus service. Summary of Selected Institutional Portraits. A comparative analysis of the institutional portraits reveals relatively new institutions with the mission to provide basic adult and vocational technical education, advance quality academic programs, facilitate transfer to other fouryear colleges and universities, promote cultural education and programming, serve the tribal community’s interests, and assist tribal institutions/community organizations. Throughout tribal colleges

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efforts are made to make available self-improvement opportunities for students in an increasingly technological society, while maintaining cultural integrity and addressing the occupational needs of individuals and employment opportunities in the region. The purpose and mission of tribal colleges demonstrates a commitment to be in line with and articulate the wishes of the tribal community. To achieve this alignment, the tribal college administration’s ability to move from mission to program development requires that all stakeholders in the community (i.e., college personnel, the board, and community members) be involved in the formal and informal decision-making processes. This democratic decision-making process takes longer to arrive at a result and requires more visibility in the community, but as President Joe McDonald of Salish Kootenai College suggests, “the nature of American Indian communities calls for a lot of discussion to take place prior to any decision being made.” “Anything that affects the college is a very collaborative process,” says President Jim Shanley at Fort Peck Community College, adding that it is “important to bring all the different groups of people together because it [the college] all hinges on the survival of the Sioux and Assiniboine as a people” (Pavel, 1996). In the end, it is the governing board, comprised of representatives from through out the tribal community, that establishes the institutional mission. The presidents (and the general college community), however, play a vital role by representing the institution, knowing the community, and clarifying to the college governing board the capabilities of the institution to meet the needs of the community. CASE STUDY: INCREASING POSTSECONDARY ACCESS Promoting postsecondary access among American Indians is perhaps one of the most central missions of tribal colleges. The question is no longer whether tribal colleges provide postsecondary access to a population historically underserved in a country that boasts the most sophisticated and impressive higher education system in the world. They do. The question is no longer whether people and communities benefit from the personally enriching and deeply satisfying achievements given life by having access to a college education. They do. In fact, over the course of one generation, tribal colleges have progressed from probing questions aimed at determining the validity of their presence to questions whose answers describe an inspiring

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array of community-based and spiritually guided initiatives that are indicative of a powerful and humble people. Tribal colleges reach out to the underserved and provide American Indian people with the means to discover their myriad talents and their propensity to go beyond mere survival in order to reach a higher order of existence that will enable them to flourish. This section of the chapter, therefore, addresses through an examination of three tribal colleges the following questions: How have tribal colleges been successful at reaching out to the underserved? What have these institutions done right? What challenges remain to promote and achieve postsecondary access for the underserved? What can we learn from their experiences? Several years ago, three Montana tribal colleges—Salish Kootenai College, Fort Belknap College, and Fort Peck Community College— were selected, along with six other rural community colleges, to participate in a pilot phase of the Ford Foundation’s Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI). The RCCI twin goals are to provide rural community colleges with the financial support and technical assistance to enhance: (1) postsecondary access to underserved sectors of the population and (2) the colleges’ role in economic development. In their RCCI projects to improve access, Salish Kootenai College, Fort Belknap College, and Fort Peck Community College have established effective local practices to promote postsecondary access among American Indians that can serve as lessons for all higher education institutions in America. While two of the three colleges have programmatic similarities in their RCCI projects, all three institutions share similar philosophical foundations and approaches (Pavel 1996, 1997a). Salish Kootenai College and Fort Belknap College have used RCCI funds to expand and support business assistance and information centers, respectively. The two centers make available a wide array of services that include consultation, technical assistance, and educational opportunities. Fort Peck Community College has used RCCI funds to support a minigrant program to inspire local participation in community improvement and to create a Center for Family and Community Development with the aim of providing services to the families of current and potential residents of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Salish Kootenai College, Fort Belknap College, and Fort Peck Community College developed RCCI projects primarily to improve education for tribal members and to foster tribal economic prosperity. In the process these colleges have been able to expand services

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beyond tribal members to provide quality, postsecondary educational opportunities for other American Indians and non-Indians living on or nearby the reservations. In rural areas of Montana that routinely experience high unemployment rates and dismal economic prospects, the tribal colleges strive to provide ample opportunities for participants to compete in a rapidly changing technological world while preserving the cultural identity and integrity of ancient tribal cultures. Reaching out to the underserved. As with tribal colleges in general, all three tribal colleges have been exemplary in demonstrating what it means to reach out to the underserved prior to and during RCCI. Salish Kootenai College started a tribal business information center and has dramatically increased enrollment (from none to over 40 students in a two-year period) in a newly formed business program while many others have signed up for entrepreneurship classes and have participated in a variety of workshop/educational endeavors. Fort Belknap College’s small business assistance center offers entrepreneurship courses to complement its business program and has implemented economic development workshops and other educational activities, attracting over 100 people who often have to travel 30 to 50 miles to participate. While keeping an open door policy for dozens of tribal members to use the computer facilities, the center staff has started a computer training class for elders. Fort Peck Community College’s Center for Family and Community Development administered a minigrant program supporting nearly 40 community improvement proposals and sponsors a variety of community-based programs— Domestic Abuse, Dysfunctional Family Issues, Grief-AdditionRecovery, How to Stay Sober, Communicating With Your Child’s Teacher—for welfare recipients and community members. These programs routinely attract upwards of 110 people, who fill up a gymnasium to participate in programs that can last all day. Those with experience developing programs for tribal members on reservations will agree that participation rates in RCCI-related projects at these three tribal colleges are amazing and admirable. How did these colleges promote and achieve such an impressive record of access? Overall insights. Tribal college personnel know they have to serve a wide variety of needs within the community, and the expanded nature of this target population results in programming that is designed to reach the people who need to be served. The RCCI projects reach out

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to a service population that includes individuals with: (1) learning disabilities (some people cannot read or write due to physical impairments), (2) no postsecondary educational aspirations and low academic confidence (there are tribal members who do not want to go to any school or do not think they can do well in a classroom setting), (3) a desire to make contact with college staff but an inability to do so because of conflicting demands (people have jobs, a need to make money, a family to take care of, an abusive spouse, and so on), (4) the willingness to begin making contact with the college (people who are served often start by calling up or talking in person to a college representative), (5) the initiative to take advantage of services offered by the college to further their education (a lot of tribal members who eventually enroll in classes take advantage of consultation to develop a business plan, use daycare facilities, and get personal counseling), (6) a need to participate in training and workshops (people interested in applying for a loan, learning how to talk with their child’s teachers, and so on, come to the college for help), (7) intentions to enroll in one or two courses to learn more about a particular topic and then want to continue learning more (people often enroll in a marketing, management, or finance course and find out they need to gain more knowledge), and (8) aspirations to obtain a college degree (when one school offered a degree in business, it had more people enroll than it had classroom space for). On the reservation, there is a pervasive belief among all tribal college employees (faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, and students) that promoting access by being able to initiate a conversation with somebody who is functionally illiterate is just as meaningful as being able to clarify a program of study for a student who wants to enroll in a degree program like business. Although people need to be able to read and write before gaining admission to the college, it is apparent to college representatives that being able to talk to the full range of prospective students is part of fulfilling the needs of and being of service to individuals, families, and the community. For example, one staff member who had been watching people arriving for a particular RCCI sponsored event said, “Hey, Bert (not his real name) hasn’t arrived yet. I wonder if he needs a ride,” and then picked up the phone to call him. Turns out that “Bert” did need a ride and the staff member said she would be right over to pick him up. It was over a 70-mile round trip from Bert’s house to the college. Despite the fact that she would not be reimbursed for the trip, the staff member made the effort

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to be of service. Although this may not be entirely reflected in institutional enrollment records, RCCI team members, college staff, administrators, and faculty nonetheless gain a deep sense of personal satisfaction when reaching out to serve people in need, regardless of the need. Whether a person needs help reading, a ride to and from the college, or academic advising to get fully enrolled in a degree program, access is promoted and achieved by tribal college personnel who care about, encourage, and attend to the needs of the person and his or her families. Caring at the tribal colleges is characterized in a variety of ways; above all it must be sincere. “You have to be sincere when representing the college and working with people here on the reservation,” said a member of one college’s staff. Encouragement is knowing when to let people know about an opportunity, being helpful, giving support, offering reassurance, motivation, and providing comfort. Words like caring, sincerity, genuine, honest, heartfelt, true, encouragement, helpful, support, reassurance, motivation, and comfort are powerful reminders that when unspoken and not acted upon, nothing happens. However, when a dedicated group of tribal college personnel speak and act upon these words, then words and actions provide fertile ground for a growing sense of optimism among potential and current students. For the most part, college personnel speak and act individually and collectively as one mind and one spirit. Together, they send out mailings, put up flyers, phone people, conduct home visits, visit local K-12 schools, talk with people in passing, welcome anybody who arrives on campus, have an open door policy, and promote the college by example. The belief among tribal college personnel is that they can make a difference “by providing postsecondary access to anybody who needs and wants it” and truly believe “it will help every individual if it first meets the person’s needs and interests and takes into account the extended kinship of tribal culture.” At Fort Belknap College, Caroline Brown, as director of the Small Business Development Center, routinely surveys tribal members and states: Providing access means making contact with tribal members to find out what they are interested in and developing programs to meet their needs. But simply developing the programs isn’t all you do. You have got to make continual contact and promote the program while removing any barriers to participation that impact the individual and family.

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At Salish Kootenai College, the widely respected President Joe McDonald, who seems to know everybody on a first name basis, explains, Removing barriers to postsecondary access means being of service to any aspect of learning while providing quality instruction, addressing issues of affordability, knowing the person’s family situation, and helping people go step-by-step through the application and enrollment phases with a kind and cordial personality.

Margarett Campbell, Vice President of the Department of Community Services at Fort Peck Community College, offers, To promote access, you have to be compassionate, coordinate and focus all available services and resources, provide financial aid and other assistance, address learning needs especially among adults needing a GED, expand program offerings, contact people using any means possible, offer quality instruction, and be willing and able to work with each and every student beyond what is expected.

What we learn from these quotes is that the tribal college orientation to make contact, be of service, and convey compassion appears essential to reducing access barriers. Developing programs that people need, providing quality instruction, and coordinating and focusing all available resources is a matter of necessity. Moreover, it is through a process of extension, community awareness, and willingness that tribal college personnel are able to address issues that are systemic and generational in order to promote postsecondary access. Fort Peck Community College’s Center for Family Community Development (CFCD) provides interesting strategies to increase postsecondary access. At the heart of the CFCD are the team leader and members. As team leader, Vice President Campbell provides presidential quality leadership and commitment to community that is heartening. The team, which can number as many as 15 members, is largely comprised of women intimately familiar with various communities throughout the Fort Peck Reservation. The women, most of whom are American Indian, primarily work as staff for the college and have themselves encountered many of the hardships that conspire to prohibit postsecondary access within the community (low academic achievement, family responsibilities, little family support, abuse, low income, etc.). In addition to being deeply committed to bettering their

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own lives, being part of the CFCD has empowered team members to develop an array of activities that respond to the community’s requests for programs and services. President Shanley, in a recent letter to the Ford Foundation, said, [B]ecause of the unique nature of the RCCI/FPCC project, and its application to the specific characteristics of this local initiative, new and innovative practices designed to meet individual, family, and community needs are being implemented…[and] CFCD was established as that medium through which educational access and economic development strategies could be conveyed to these people.

As RCCI team dialogues emerged, it become very apparent that family and community are so central to Fort Peck Community College’s mission that it was necessary to create the Department of Community Services that now includes the Center for Family and Community Development, Distance Education Program, the Continuing Education Program, Summer School, Adult Education, the Even Start Literacy Program, the High Plains Rural Systemic Initiative, Land Grant Status Initiatives, the Fort Peck Community Business Assistance Center, the new Community Health and Wellness Center, and new initiatives in the areas of culture and language. The Community Health and Wellness Center, in particular, was born out of the team’s process for identifying critical needs that have to be addressed in order to promote all aspects of well-being among community members. It is through this well-being among individuals and families that a higher level of postsecondary access and tribal economic development can be achieved. The RCCI team at Fort Peck Community College was able to garner widespread support from the tribal community, local agencies and groups, and the federal and tribal government to renovate an inoperative recreation building on the reservation. The renovated buildings will house administrative and counseling offices, exercise and weight training areas, a sauna, bathrooms and showers, and a large multipurpose area suitable for aerobic exercises, walking and jogging, yoga, and other activities for community members of all ages. Strategies to promote postsecondary access through the Community Health and Wellness Center include activities presented by qualified staff, tribal members (often elders), and visiting professionals with

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requisite skills essential to human development and that affect the individual, the family, and the tribal community. Special interest seminars will be scheduled, with recruitment and access being the primary objective, acting as entrees to continuing education, GED preparation, degree programs, and vocational training. Target groups include but are not limited to teen parents, single parents, young families, displaced adult workers, pre-GED, welfare clients, potential farmers and ranchers, recovering substance abusers, law enforcement, and correction officers. Challenges that remain. Are tribal colleges able to serve the postsecondary access needs of everyone on the reservations? No. There are myriad challenges that remain to be addressed to promote more widespread postsecondary access and achievement. These challenges are characterized by the ever present lack of adequate financial resources and personnel, coupled with a tremendous level of unmet needs. While new initiatives are emerging, there is always the challenge of finding more financial support to operate existing programs. Along with the emerging success of RCCI activities and programs comes the challenge to manage growth of RCCI projects with limited staff and resources. Administrators, faculty, and staff are generally underpaid compared to counterparts at other community colleges across the country, and they are asked to carry out a wide array of duties beyond their job description. Nevertheless, RCCI team members realize that it is an everyday challenge to solicit more time and involvement from faculty and community members, and team members know the need for more involvement will only intensify in the midst of welfare reform. Other challenges include the great distances involved in meeting the needs of tribal members living in communities spread out on reservations that are between one and two million acres in size and where harsh weather, poor road conditions, and limited communication services abound. More classroom and facility space is critical, especially as new and much needed educational opportunities are implemented through the RCCI. More culturally-appropriate personal counseling and family therapy are necessary to bolster the self-esteem and self-confidence of individuals and families on the reservation. Finally, despite the challenges, achievements are occurring and more of the success stories need to be promoted. Summary on increasing postsecondary access. The purpose of developing a tribal college is, among other missions, to promote

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postsecondary access. The ongoing effort of Native people to regain their greatness in American society has cultivated an environment prompting the creation of tribal colleges and the remarkable achievements that continuously evolve. Additional catalysts include an increasing number of community members who seek learning in all its forms and expanding attempts of the tribal colleges to meet pressing needs of tribal communities. The tribal college has been accepted as being especially qualified to become a community-serving educational institution, and it is this community-serving function that has become the hallmark of their existence. From their inception, the tribal colleges were created to realize their purpose of serving the community as broad rather than narrow, to meet the needs of the community and not the individual, and to do it with a collective spirit and not as the sole responsibility of a few people. The lessons that can be learned from assessing how RCCI has promoted postsecondary access at the three tribal colleges are timeless. There has be a willingness to envision a broad nature of the service population. This is so essential to ensure that the tribal college is fulfilling one of its central missions: to provide quality postsecondary opportunities to American Indians. Any contact with or effort to be of service to the people on the reservation, either individually or as an extended family kinship, is meaningful. Caring and encouraging personalities among all tribal college employees are immensely important to helping prospective students and newly admitted students to navigate the various stages of attaining a higher education. That all tribal college representatives (students, staff, faculty, administrators, and trustees) are of one mind and spirit when speaking of and acting in service is vital to overcome powerful forces that prevent community members from wanting and experiencing a college education. Finally, there must be an undying belief that the tribal college has and will continue to make a difference in the lives of the people and the community they are dedicated to serve. FUTURE PROSPECTS The tribal college movement has gained momentum and has recently attained land grant status, but tribal colleges still continue to struggle to receive adequate funding from federal and state governments. Pavel (1997b) found that federal support for tribal colleges has always lagged in the amount of administrative funding necessary to operate a college

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and to educate each student, and the Pell Grant Program has not kept pace with rising tuition levels or the ability of students to pay for college. The Tribal College Act authorized $5,860 per full-time equivalent student enrollment but tribal colleges have never received anything close to this amount, and currently receive only $2,861. Complicating the matter is that tribal colleges do not receive federal support and state governments are reluctant to help pay the cost of educating non-Indian students attending tribal colleges. The answer does not lie in turning away non-Indian students because many of these students confront the same hardships of going to college as do Indian students. The answer lies in getting states to contribute some financial support for each non-Indian student attending a tribal college. (Pavel, 1997b, p. 53)

The lack of support for tribal colleges is surprising, given that tribal colleges play an essential and vital role in terms of meeting the educational, cultural, spiritual, and economic development needs of the communities in which they are located. Despite the importance of adequate funding, the future prospects of tribal colleges will be tied to culture. The cultural embodiment of tribal colleges is deeply rooted in traditional value systems. Each tribal community must remain steadfast in its approach to ensure that tribal values serve as a catalyst leading to quality education systems supported by healthy families, active communities, and robust economic opportunities (Whirlwind Soldier, 1995). At the same time, tribal colleges will be challenged to balance the integrity of at least two cultures (Gagnon, 1997). Deloria (1993) indicates that tribal colleges offer educational opportunities that must be represented and respected in the broader “intellectual community as possessing a long-established and particular body of knowledge….” (p. 31). Moreover, tribal history and cultural courses enable the tribal college to help tribal members to gain control over their lives (Haase, 1993). The tribal colleges have stimulated a cultural renewal that provides the means to powerfully address systemic social, mental, and physical health issues (Butterfield, Boyer, & Reddish, 1992; Hill, 1992; Hornby & Dana, 1992; McDonald, McDonald, & Thomkins, 1992; Rosado & Teuber, 1992). As noted by Reyner, Lee, and Gabbard (1993), “It is bad social and educational policy to force students to choose between home and school….” (p. 28).

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The tribal colleges will continue to promote wisdom and traditional culture through language, because the traditional languages are sacred and, when lost, the individual and community experience a destruction of intimacy, the dismemberment of community, and a loss of rooted identity (Dennis-Olsen, 1991; Slate, 1993). At the same time, the representation of culture through art will continue to be a powerful influence of the tribal colleges. Tribal colleges will provide studios and instructional programs for artists, while promoting traditional and contemporary approaches to imbuing a sense of meaning into everyday objects (LaFramboise & West, 1993), and they will be responsible for improving relations between tribal communities and non-Indians (Syzmanski & Dennis, 1993). With traditional cultural imperatives to protect the environment and new-found status as land grant institutions, tribal colleges are in an ideal position to help the process of healing the effects of environmental degradation (Cordero, 1992), as they are being charged by their communities to educate Native-born environmental professionals to incorporate traditional values associated with environmental protection (Semken, 1992). In the ongoing struggle of tribal self-determination, tribal college adherence to tribal culture will cultivate strategies that can sustain tribal identity and empower students to become effective tribal leaders (Badwound, 1991). Finally, traditional wisdom recognizes the value of spirituality that pervades all aspects of life and that is the foundation of all knowledge. NOTE 1.

The 30 Native American colleges include the tribal colleges, three federally funded institutions, and Red Crow College, a Canadian institution (Boyer, 1997).

REFERENCES Ambler, M. (1992). The wealth of (Indian) nations: Tribes are creating a new model of economic development by building on old strengths. Tribal College, 4 (2), 8–12. Badwound, E. (Summer, 1991). Teaching to empower. Tribal College, 3 (1), 15– 19. Blackfeet Community College. (1996). Blackfeet community college catalog 1996– 98. Browning, MT: Blackfeet Tribe.

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Blackfeet Community College. (1997, November 5). Blackfeet community college, http://polaris.nmclites.edu/eoc/bcc.htm. Boyer, P. (1989–1990). The tribal college: Teaching self-determination. Community, Technical, and Junior College Journal, 60 (3), 24–29. Boyer, P. (1997). Native American colleges: Progress and prospects, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bureau of Indian Affairs. (1997). FY 96 tribal college enrollment. Washington, DC: Office of Indian Education Programs, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Butterfield, N., Boyer, P., & Reddish, J.G. (1992, Summer). Cultures in recovery. Tribal College, 4 (1), 8–11. Cankdeska Cikana Community College. (1996). Cankdeska Cikana community college 1996–1997 catalog. Fort Totten, ND: Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe. Chambers, M., R.G., Herlihy, D., Rabb, T.K., & Wooloch, I. (1995). The western experience (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Conlin, J.R. (1987). The American past (2nd ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Cordero, C. (1992, Winter). Healing the Earth. Tribal College, 3 (3), 8–10. Crum, S. (1989). The idea of an Indian college or university in twentieth century America before the formation of the Navajo Community College in 1968. Tribal College, 1 (1), 20–23, Deloria, V. (1993, Autumn). Tribal colleges and traditional knowledge. Tribal College, 5 (2), 31–32. Dennis-Olsen, L. (1991, Spring). Speaking of the past. Tribal College, 2 (4), 13. Diné College. (1997, November 5). Diné college. http://crystal.ncc.cc.nm.us/ index.html. Divine, R., Breen, T.H., Fredrickson, G.M., Williams, R.H., & Roberts, R. (1990). America: Past and present (2nd ed., Vol. 2). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman/ Little, Brown. Ellis, Mabel. (1957). U.S. Government policy toward American Indians: A few basic facts. Pamphlet prepared for the Subcommittee on Indian Legislation, Friends Committee on Legislation: Pasadena, California. Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College. (1995). Fond du Lac tribal & community college 1995–1997 catalog. Cloquet, MN: Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Fort Berthold Community College. (1996). Fort Berthold community college bulletin 1996–1997. New Town, ND: Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Arikara, & Hidatsa. Fort Peck Community College. (1995). Fort Peck community college course schedule 1995–1997. Poplar, MT: Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes. Franklin, B. (1794). Two tracts: Information to those who would remove to America,

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and remarks concerning the savages of North America (2nd ed.). London: Printed for John Stockdale. Gagnon, G. (1997, Spring). Cultural brokers: Explaining “them” and “us” in Indian country. Tribal College, 8 (4), 12–14. Haase, E. (Spring, 1993). Healing the generations. Tribal College, 4 (4), 20–23. Haymond, J.H. (1982). The American Indian in higher education: From the college for the children of the infidels (1619) to Navajo Community College (1969). Unpublished dissertation: Washington State University, Pullman, WA. Hill, B. (1992, Summer). A most violent institution. Tribal College, 4 (1), 15–18. Hodge, W.H. (1981). The first Americans. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Hornby, R., & Dana, R.H. (1992, Summer). Human service training in tribal colleges. Tribal College, 4 (1), 24–27. Hurtado, A.L., & Iverson, P. (1994). American Indian history. Washington, DC: Heath and Co. Jacobs, W.R. (1992). Francis Parkman: naturalist, environmental savant. Pacific Historical Review, 61 (3), 341–356. Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College. (1995). Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa community college catalog 1995–1998. Hayward, WI: Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Chippewa. LaFramboise, C., & West, M. (1993, Summer). Mixed media. Tribal College, 5(1), 8–11. Leech Lake Tribal College. (1997). Leech Lake tribal college catalog 1997–1998. Cass Lake, MN: Leech Lake Band of Chippewa. Little Priest Tribal College. (1997). Little Priest tribal college 1997–1998 general catalog. Winnebago, NE: Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Lopez, B. (1990). The rediscovery of North America (The Thomas Clark Lectures for 1990). Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. Maddox, R.J. (Ed.). (1993). American history: Pre-colonial through reconstruction (Annual Editions Series, 12th ed., Vol. 1). Guilford, CT: Dushkin. Marklein, M.B. (1998, April 13). Tribal colleges bridge culture gap to future. USA Today, p. 4D. McDonald, A., McDonald, J.D., & Thomkins, D. (1992, Summer). Healthy body, healthy mind. Tribal College, 4 (1), 20–21. Miller, F.C. (1971). The problem of Indian Administration. An unaltered reprint of the work originally published by Lewis Meriam in 1928. Johnson Reprint Corporation: New York. Navajo Community College. (1995). Navajo community college 1995– 1996 general catalog. Tsaile, AZ: Navajo Nation. New York Times editorial. (1884, August 1). Sec. 3, p. 6.

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Nicholson, A. (1854). Commissioner of Indian affairs annual report, 1854. Washington, DC: Indian Affairs documents. 91st Congress. (1969). Indian education: A national tragedy—a national challenge. Report of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. Submitted to the Special Subcommittee on Indian Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Oglala Lakota College. (1996). Oglala Lakota college 1996–1997 catalog. Kyle, SD: Oglala Sioux Tribe. Oppelt, N.T. (1990). The tribally controlled Indian college: The beginnings of self determination in American Indian education. Tsaile, AZ: Navajo Community College Press. Pavel, D.M. (1996). Rural community college initiative: Salish Kootenai, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck community colleges. Washington, DC: American Council on Education and the Ford Foundation. Pavel, D.M. (1997a). Promoting postsecondary access through tribal colleges. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges and the Ford Foundation. Pavel, D.M. (1997b, Winter). Who pays to educate tribal college students? Tribal College, 9 (3), 52–54. Pavel, D.M. & Colby, A. (1992, September). American Indians in higher education: The community college experience. ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior Colleges: University of California at Los Angeles. Pavel, D.M., Swisher, K., & Ward, M. (1995). Special focus: American Indian and Alaska Native demographic and educational trends. In Carter, D.J., & Wilson, R. (Eds.), Thirteenth annual status report: Minorities in higher education. Washington, DC: American Council on Education. Ratcliff, J.L., Schwartz, S., & Ebbers, L.H. (Eds.). (1994). Community Colleges. Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster. Reyner, J., Lee, H., & Gabbard, D. (1993, Spring). A specialized knowledge base for teaching American Indian and Alaska Native students. Tribal College, 4 (4), 26–29. Rosado, J., & Teuber, H. (1992, Summer). Looking inward. Tribal College, 4 (1), 19. Salish Kootenai College. (1995). Salish Kootenai college catalog 1995– 1997. Pablo, MT: Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation . Semken, S. (1992, Winter). Looking after the land. Tribal College, 3 (3), 11–12. Sitting Bull College. (1996). Sitting Bull college 1996–98 bulletin. Fort Yates, ND: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Slate, C. (1993, Spring). Finding a place for Navajo. Tribal College, 4 (4), 10–14.

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Stein, W.J. (1988). A history of the tribally controlled community colleges: 1968– 1978. Unpublished dissertation, Washington State University, Pullman, WA. Syzmanski, S., & Dennis, L. (1993). The sculptor, the basket weaver, and the carver. Tribal College, 5 (1), 27–28. Szasz, M.C. (1977). Education and the American Indian: The road to selfdetermination since 1928. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. Tyler, S.L. (1973). A history of Indian policy. Washington, DC: Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Department of Interior. Weatherford, J.M. (1988). Indian givers: How the Indians of the Americas transformed the world. New York: Fawcett Columbine. Whirlwind Soldier, L. (1995, Winter). Wancantognaka: The continuing Lakota custom of generosity. Tribal College, 7 (3), 10–12.

CHAPTER 5

Two-Year Hispanic-Serving Colleges Berta Vigil Laden1

Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) have existed as a distinct category in higher education only for the last 11 years. Not until 1992 were they recognized by Congress as an institutional type, largely because of the work of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. The study of Hispanic-serving institutions has been largely neglected by researchers or practitioners. Existing literature includes Olivas’ (1982) work, recent annual status reports on minorities in higher education by the American Council on Education that include degrees conferred by Hispanic-serving institutions, and a few brief references in recently published works (Justiz, Wilson, & Björk, 1994; Padrón, 1994; Rendón & Garza, 1996). This gap is rather surprising when one considers that approximately half of all Hispanic 2 students in postsecondary education are enrolled in HSIs and that HSIs grant more degrees to Hispanic students than any other colleges or universities. As Townsend acknowledges in Chapter 1, some Hispanic-serving institutions are known also as predominantly Hispanic-serving institutions (PHIs). The distinction among some educators and policy makers is that HSIs refer to two- and four-year institutions serving a total student enrollment that is 25 percent or more Hispanic, whereas PHIs refer only to those institutions serving a student enrollment that is 50 percent or more Hispanic. For the purposes of this chapter, all institutions that have a total student enrollment that is 25 percent or 151

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more Hispanic are referred to as Hispanic-serving institutions. The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities goes a step further by also recognizing as associate members those two- and four-year institutions with a 10–24 percent Hispanic student enrollment, or those having at least a minimum enrollment of 1,000 or more Hispanic students. In this chapter, I use broad brush strokes to present a panoramic view of Hispanic-serving institutions. Since so little has been written about these institutions, this chapter is an effort to put together a framework that begins to offer us some awareness and understanding about this recent and still relatively unknown category of postsecondary colleges. While the focus is on two-year HSIs, it is necessary to include data about four-year HSIs in order to get a clearer picture of their overall distinct place and contributions within higher education. Hence, the purpose of this study is to begin to examine the unique niche Hispanic-serving institutions occupy among colleges and universities and to ascertain what we can learn about them and from them to inform research, policy, and practice. The principal guiding questions for the study were: What are Hispanic-serving institutions? What special role do they assume within higher education? What can majority institutions learn from HSIs to better address the needs of Hispanics and other underrepresented students in their institutions? To answer these questions, an overview of the conceptual and historical development of the construct of Hispanic-serving institutions is first presented. Second, the economic and educational conditions of Hispanics are discussed using national demographic data. Third, a presentation of the demographics of HSIs, disaggregated by various subcategories, follows. The fourth section focuses on the distinct contributions HSIs make to increasing women and minority attainment of associate to graduate degrees. Fifth, a discussion of how HSIs facilitate Hispanics’ educational attainment with some examples follows next. A more in-depth illustration of an HSI is offered as a case study in the sixth section. Lastly, future prospects of HSIs and implications for research and practice are explored. Qualitative methods were used to collect data about HSIs. These included semistructured interviews with administrators and faculty associated with two-year HSIs, and a review of the extant research literature, reports, newsletters, catalogs, brochures, and other archival data pertaining to the economic and educational conditions of Hispanics and the status of HSIs. Identifying the number of two-year

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HSIs proved to be problematic, as no two available lists agreed in their entirety. Nonetheless, the data presented here were derived from Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997), the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Membership Directory (1996b), the Office of Civil Rights (1997), the California Postsecondary Education Commission (1996c), and telephone interviews with admissions offices of some two-year HSIs. All data were triangulated for each institution before it was added to the working list of identified HSIs. Nonetheless, it is possible that errors were made and some two-year colleges were omitted and others included that should not have been. HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT OF HSIS Through the efforts of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), Hispanic-serving institutions emerged as a viable category of postsecondary institutions as a result of the 1992 Reauthorization of Higher Education Act.3 In that year, Congress recognized these institutions for the first time as a national higher education priority, including them as a new institutional category under Title III of the 1992 Reauthorization of Higher Education Act (HACU, 1997a; Mealer, 1998), which allowed them to be eligible for some federal assistance. The act provided grants and related assistance to HSIs to serve Hispanic and other low-income students. Moreover, it also gave HSIs official standing for future appropriations, similar to the status of historically black colleges and universities. Two years later, Congress approved a special allocation of $12 million in Title III grant set-asides for HSIs, available on a competitive basis under the Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions programs (HACU, 1994). Why is creating a distinct category and being recognized by Congress important to these institutions? Specifically, approximately half of all Hispanic students in postsecondary education are enrolled in Hispanic-serving institutions, which grant more degrees to Hispanic students than do any other colleges or universities (Carter & Wilson, 1997; HACU, 1995). Moreover, while HSIs represent a mere 3 percent (160) of all U.S. colleges and universities (HACU, 1995), their success rate in serving Hispanics exceeds all other predominantly white higher education institutions. Despite its Congressional recognition as an institutional category, HSIs are not identified separately in the Carnegie Classification System

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of Institutions of Higher Education, although historically black colleges and universities have long been part of this classification system. Moreover, tribal colleges were added as a separate classification as recently as 1994. The importance of an institutional typology is readily apparent in the Carnegie classification system, which frames much of what is known about American higher education (Katsinas, 1996). Massaging of the Carnegie classification system, first issued in 1973 and subsequently revised in 1976, 1987, and 1994, has led to incorporating more descriptive subcategories for four-year colleges. Essentially, the revisionists have neglected doing the same for community colleges as these institutions too have evolved and changed dramatically over the same period of time. By grouping all two-year colleges under one broad category, Katsinas argues that the Carnegie style of classifying colleges and universities does not currently allow for presenting the rich diversity of two-year colleges. An example in point is the omission of recognition of Hispanic-serving institutions as a distinct group of colleges. The result is that the present classification system presents “a single, one-size-fits-all group” (Katsinas, 1996, p. 16) picture of two-year colleges which represent approximately onethird of all higher education institutions and educate at a minimum 40 percent of all college students (Cohen & Brawer, 1996). No educational system comparable to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) or tribal colleges has been established for Hispanics, despite their rapidly increasing number in the U.S. population, coupled with their low educational attainment and underrepresentation in higher education as a group. Unlike the current number of 104 HBCUs and 29 tribal colleges, most HSIs were not founded for the specific purpose of serving Hispanics or addressing their educational needs, aside from a few institutions established during the era of the Civil Rights movement. A number of short-lived alternative colleges for Hispanics were founded in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Two survive today: the public Hostos Community College of the CUNY system, founded in 1969, and the private four-year Boricua College, founded in 1974. Both were established to serve the Puerto Rican populations initially in Washington, DC and New York City (Olivas, 1982). Another experimental institution of note from the 1970s was the founding of Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl University (D-Q University) on a vacated Army site in northern California as a Native American-Hispanic “indigenous controlled institution of higher learning” (D-Q, 1997). Although D-Q University


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remains committed to its mission and still serves Hispanics, Native Americans, and other racial and ethnic groups, it became a tribally controlled community college in 1974. The private, four-year National Hispanic University, founded in California in 1981 primarily to serve Mexican American/Chicano students, is much more recent and the sole addition since then. However, it has struggled to survive amidst the extensive public two- and four-year higher education system in the state. Most Hispanic-serving institutions that exist today are essentially a result of geographic incidence. First, during the 1960s and 1970s, many states increasingly responded to the educational needs of their growing communities by building more postsecondary institutions, especially community colleges. In response to community and demographic needs, some of these community colleges were built in areas where Hispanics and other ethnic minorities have historically resided in large numbers. Secondly, over the past 30 years as immigration to the United States has steadily increased and racial/ethnic populations shifts have occurred in urban, suburban, and rural areas, college demographics have reflected these shifts, especially in two-year institutions. To illustrate the point, HSIs are located in only 11 states that have high concentrations of Hispanics—and these are primarily around the perimeter of the United States. These states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and Washington (Justiz, Wilson, & Björk, 1994). Institutions with a preponderance of Hispanic students lack the formal structures of the historically black colleges and universities and their extensive historical network of alumni (Olivas, 1982) who promote national visibility, provide a portfolio of successes, and procure political and federal financial support on a large scale. Hence, the emergence of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) in 1986 as a national advocate was critical. It resulted from the developing national awareness in the 1980s of colleges with increasingly high concentrations of Hispanic students. Its role in bringing national attention to the educational and economic needs of Hispanics, especially those already concentrated in a number of twoand four-year colleges, has been crucial in overcoming the historical “benign neglect…accorded Hispanic groups living in the Southwest and Puerto Rico once these lands became United States territory” (Olivas, 1982, p. 39). The notion of linking all colleges and universities serving high proportions of Hispanics into a professional association to gain national

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recognition and resources was due to a highly active group of predominantly Hispanic educational and business leaders. This visionary group of individuals included nationally prominent educators, such as Antonio R.Flores, the current executive director of HACU; Tomás Arciniega, president of California State University, Bakersfield; Eduardo J.Padrón, president of Miami-Dade Community College; Hector Garza, director of the American Council on Education Office of Minority Affairs; Richard E.Peck, president of University of New Mexico; and Miguel A.Nevarez, president of University of Texas-Pan American. Nationally, these leaders mobilized the public and the private sectors, garnering resources to strengthen two- and four-year colleges and universities serving large numbers of Hispanic students. Working relationships with Fortune 500 firms, major foundations, and federal government agencies were formed to increase funding and services to HSIs. More specifically, HSI supporters and HACU founders sought direct assistance to promote special enrichment, leadership, and transition educational programs; comprehensive scholarships, and internship opportunities for Hispanics. The founders’ overall goal was to promote the upward mobility and transition of Hispanics through the educational pipeline (HACU, 1995). The supporters formed the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, incorporating in San Antonio, Texas, and establishing national headquarters there. They also established a second office in Washington, D.C., to parlay HACU into a national player in the educational, political, and policy making arenas. Underlying its advocacy role from the first, HACU’s efforts have been to educate policy makers and national leaders about Hispanic educational needs and the resulting economic and political implications for a more democratic and just society. In keeping with these intentions, the mission statement of HACU reads as follows: The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) is a national association of institutions of higher education in the United States dedicated to bringing together colleges and universities, schools, corporations, governmental agencies and individuals to establish partnerships for: Promoting the development of Hispanic-serving colleges and universities; Improving access to and the quality of postsecondary educational opportunities for Hispanic students; and Meeting the needs of business, industry and government through the development and sharing of resources, information and expertise. (HACU, 1996a, p. 1)


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One significant outcome of HACU’s increasing activism occurred four years after its founding. In 1990, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) took a decisive, supportive step to recognize the needs of Hispanics and other racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in higher education by establishing the Commission to Improve Minority Education with the intent “to increase the success of minorities at all levels of the community college experience” (Kee, 1997, p. 7). The commission issued a minority education initiative as a policy statement of its intent. A concrete outcome has been the creation of a minority resources center in 1994 with the charge to serve as a focal point for all issues affecting the success of minorities in community colleges. Another outcome emanating from AACC has been the re-establishment of the National Community College Hispanic Council, first created in the early 1970s and reactivated in the early 1990s, to address Hispanic concerns more directly (Kee, 1997). This initiative has the goal of “assist[ing] colleges with the adoption of aggressive policies and practices to improve the recruitment, retention, and success of students, helping to guide minority students through a successful college experience” (Padrón, 1994, p. 91). For the past 11 years, HACU has continued to be an advocate for federal and state public policies and initiatives that support HSIs. Eduardo J.Padrón (1994), president of Miami-Dade Community College and a founding member of HACU, notes that “if Hispanic students are to be successful in…college, then the community must mobilize to ensure that sufficient resources are devoted to afford them a second chance of success” (p. 90). Padrón adds that he believes the increasing activism and self-assertion of Hispanics within higher education is due in large part to organizations such as HACU and AACC that have served to increase national awareness of the needs of Hispanic students. DEMOGRAPHICS OF HISPANICS Certainly, HACU has just cause for soliciting direct, active national support, given the rapidly increasing population, poor socioeconomic conditions, and overall low educational attainment of Hispanics in the United States in the last part of the twentieth century. As of 1997 there were over 27.5 million Hispanics living in the United States, representing approximately 10.4 percent of the population, or one of every 10 persons in the nation. Their median age is approximately 26

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years old; thus Hispanics are a very young population, evenly balanced with approximately 50 percent males and 50 percent females (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1997). Also, it must be remembered that although Hispanics share Spanish as a common first or second language and other cultural commonalties, they are a heterogeneous population, representing people from various nationalities and cultural subgroups. In fact, Jorge Klor de Alva (1996) states, “Latinos are homologous with the totality of the United States. That is, Latinos can be of any race” (p. 54). Of just those Hispanics living in the continental United States, 65.3 percent identify as Mexican Americans, 9.9 percent as Puerto Ricans, 13.4 percent as Central or South Americans, 4.2 percent as Cubans, and 7 percent as other (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1997). In addition to the 2.7 million Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states, 3.7 million live on the island of Puerto Rico, thus bringing the nation’s known total Hispanic population to over 30 million (U.S. Bureau of the Census, March 1994). Given the projected growth, Hispanics will continue to constitute a significant proportion of the students in higher education throughout the United States. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau projections suggest that Hispanics will continue to have rapid growth for the remainder of the century and well into the next (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1993b), moving to a representation of nearly one in five persons in the nation by the first half of the twenty-first century (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1993a). Concentrated primarily along geographic proximity to the American and Mexican borders, nearly 90 percent of Hispanics live in nine states (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1994). Table 5.1 shows the Hispanic population for selected states. For example, New Mexico has the highest number of Hispanics with 39.1 percent. It is followed by California with 28.4 percent, Texas with 27.3 percent, and Arizona with 20.2 percent. Again, the majority of the population, nearly 90 percent of all Hispanics, live in urban areas, attracted by jobs and opportunities to improve their life situations. Finally, they account for at least 20 percent of the population in 9 of the nation’s largest cities, including San Antonio with 56 percent and Los Angeles with 40 percent (Justiz, Wilson, & Björk, 1994). There is increasing educational concern about the growing number of 18- to 24-year-old Hispanics, expected to rise from 13 percent in 1995 to approximately 20 percent in 2020 (Justiz, Wilson, & Björk, 1994). Of special concern, however, are the low educational attainment and economic returns of Hispanics. In 1992, for instance,


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Table 5.1: Hispanic Population in Selected States, 1994

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1997

only 53.3 percent of Hispanics had graduated from high school, 10.8 percent had less than a fifth grade education, and 31 percent had less than an eighth grade education. A grim economic interpretation of these figures is that at least one in every six person (18 percent) living in poverty in the United Stated is of Hispanic origin (U.S. Census Bureau, 1994). The economic impact is significantly heightened when one considers the low numbers of Hispanics enrolled in higher education institutions. In 1992, Hispanics accounted for only 6.6 percent of the total enrollment in higher education. The good news was that the college participation rate of the traditional 18- to 24-year-old youths who typically attend college immediately after high school graduation was 37.1 percent, the highest in 15 years and 6.9 percentages points above the 15-year average rate of 30.1 percent, but still lower than the White non-Hispanic rate of 42.2 percent (Carter & Wilson, 1994). Only at two-year colleges do Hispanics participate in higher education at a rate closely representative of their population. In 1992, nearly 10 percent of the total Hispanic population was enrolled in two-year colleges whereas a mere 4.7 percent was enrolled in four-year institutions (Carter & Wilson, 1994). Another interpretation of these numbers indicates that of all Hispanic students in college, 56.2 percent were enrolled at two-year colleges

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in 1994 (Carter & Wilson, 1996). These numbers have greater implication when one examines Hispanic student representation in all of higher education. Hispanics make up only 8 percent of all undergraduate students. The picture becomes even grimmer after that with a 4.4 percent Hispanic representation of all professional students, and an even lower 3.7 percent among all graduate students. Also noteworthy is the fact that overall Hispanic enrollment is primarily in lower-cost public institutions, with 86.1 percent of them enrolled in public two- and four-year colleges and universities in 1994 (Carter & Wilson, 1996). DEMOGRAPHICS OF HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS Reports vary as to the exact number of either two- or four-year HSIs; however, the number used here is 163 HSIs, based on the most recent data from HACU, Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Schools 1998 (1997), the Office of Civil Rights, and the California Postsecondary Education Commission. Of the 163 identified HSIs, 127 of them are located in the continental United States and 36 in Puerto Rico. More importantly, of the identified two-year HSIs (see Table 5.2), 83 are located in the United States mainland, including eight private/independent colleges. For the purposes of this chapter, only two-year colleges in the continental United States are considered. The 83 two-year Hispanic-serving colleges are concentrated in 11 states; five of them in the Southwest alone. Nearly all are public. Only eight are private institutions; of these, two are single sex colleges: Table 5.2. Two- and Four-Year Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico

Sources: Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Schools 1998; HACU Membership Directory, 1996; HACU Annual Report, 1995


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Lexington Institute of Hospitality Careers for women and Don Bosco Technical Institute for men. Lexington is a small independent college located in Chicago, established in 1977 by a group of Hispanic women. In keeping with its intent to stay focused exclusively on hospitality management, Lexington enrolled only 52 students in Fall 1996. Eighteen (35 percent) of its students were Hispanic. Don Bosco Technical Institute is a very small Catholic men’s college founded in 1955 in Rosemead, California, to educate graduates of Don Bosco Technical High. In its Fall 1996 enrollment of 240 students, 158 (66 percent) identified themselves as Hispanic (Peterson’s Guide to TwoYear Colleges, 1998, 1991). Table 5.3 depicts the 183 HSIs by state. As Townsend indicates in Chapter 1, among the 11 states, California leads the way with 36 HSIs (43.4 percent), followed by Texas with 15 HSIs (18.1 percent), New Mexico with 10 HSIs (12.0 percent), and Illinois with 6 (7.2 percent). The remaining 16 HSIs (19.3 percent) are distributed among the seven other states. Five of the 36 HSIs in California are independent institutions. However, of the five, three are business and technology schools, the fourth is a men’s technical institute, and the fifth is a small private college. Located in Salinas, Milpitas, and Fresno, the three schools known as Heald College offer business and technical training. The fourth is Don Bosco Technical Institute, noted above. The fifth is a relatively small institution in San Diego, Kelsey Jenney College, which was founded in 1888. In Fall 1996, it had an enrollment of 900 students, including 60 percent Hispanic and 75 percent female students. It is not surprising that California leads the way with the highest number of HSIs in the nation in light of two facts. First, at least one out of every four residents in California is Hispanic. Second, the state has a vast system of 106 community colleges, the largest in the United States. In fall 1996, California community colleges had a total enrollment of 1.3 million students. Of these, a remarkable 45.3 percent, nearly one of every two students, were Hispanic (CPEC, 1997c). On the other hand, Florida’s representation of one HSI belies the fact that this particular institution, Miami-Dade Community College, consists of five separate campuses with a combined enrollment of 51,011 students in fall 1996. At least 59 percent (approximately 30,000) of all students at Miami-Dade Community College are Hispanic. Given its aggregate enrollment, Miami-Dade ranks as the largest community college in the nation. Some associations, such as HACU, however,

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Table 5.3. Number of Two-Year Hispanic-Serving Institutions by State

identify each of the five campuses as distinct, separate entities with individual memberships. The 83 two-year HSIs can be further subdivided into two groups according to their enrollment of Hispanics. There are 56 institutions with an enrollment of 25–49 percent and another 27 institutions with an enrollment of 50 percent or more, also referred to by some as Predominantly Hispanic institutions (PHIs) because of their higher enrollment. Among the 11 states, the border states of Texas and California lead the way with the highest number of students enrolled in Hispanic serving two-year colleges. Texas has 10 two-year colleges with enrollments of more than 50 percent Hispanic students and California follows closely with nine PHIs schools. Nonetheless, it is interesting to note that Saint Augustine in Chicago, a small private college with a total enrollment of 1,298 in 1996–1997, exceeds all institutions in both states with an enrollment of 95 percent Hispanic students. This is very much in keeping with its mission since 1980 to serve low-income and underserved populations, especially Hispanics. Moreover, Saint Augustine is dedicated to offering an array of bilingual courses in order to provide greater assess and raise the educational attainment rates of its students (HACU, 1997c).


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DEGREE ATTAINMENT To dramatize the plight of Hispanics’ educational attainment rates, one must also examine both the number and level of degrees earned. In 1994, Hispanics earned only 6 percent of all associate degrees, 4.3 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, 3.1 percent of all master’s degrees, and 2.1 percent of all doctorates awarded (Carter & Wilson, 1996; National Center for Education Statistics, 1996). Among Hispanics, women continue to exceed the number of men in postsecondary enrollment, transfer, and graduation rates. Although Hispanic men are enrolling in increasingly higher numbers, they still do not exceed women’s enrollment or completion rates for some degrees. Overall, more Hispanic women earned associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees in 1993 than Hispanic men. However, Hispanic men continue to exceed women in the number of professional and doctoral degrees earned, although this gap is beginning to narrow, particularly at the doctoral level (Carter & Wilson, 1996; Justiz, Wilson, & Björk, 1994). Hispanic-serving institutions would seem to offer women a supportive college environment. This is clearly reflected by the fact that nearly all of the 183 HSIs have a majority of women students. More specifically, of the available data and excluding the sole women’s college and sole men’s college, only six two-year HSIs have less than 50 percent women students enrolled in their institutions. Interestingly, leading the way with 79 percent women students of 4,836 total enrollment is Hostos Community College of CUNY, which, in keeping with its original mission, serves 64 percent Hispanic students. Only Heald College of Technology in Milpitas with its 470 students has a low enrollment of women students: 15 percent (Peterson’s, 1997). Although overall the total number of degrees awarded to Hispanics is quite low, the significance of the 183 two- and fouryear Hispanic-serving institutions is paramount when one takes into account the number of degrees they award to Hispanics. Table 5.4 illustrates the overall number of degrees earned by Hispanics in 1994 and the percentage awarded by HSIs. For instance, HSIs granted 42.6 percent of all associate degrees, 19.25 of all bachelor’s degrees, 16.4 percent of all master’s degrees, and 5.7 percent of all doctorates (Carter & Wilson, 1996; National Center for Education Statistics, 1996). The data surely cause one to

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Table 5.4. Level of Degrees Earned By Hispanics in 1991

Source: Carter & Wilson, 1996; National Center for Education Statistics, 1996

ponder as to what the status of Hispanic educational attainment might be without the existence of HSIs. FACILITATING HISPANICS’ EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT How do HSIs facilitate educational attainment for Hispanic students? As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the most outstanding feature of HSIs is that they grant more associate degrees, as indicated in Table 5.5. The most recently released list is for 1994–1995 (Community College Week, July 1997); the list reveals that the colleges listed are nearly identical to those of the HSI list. As Table 5.5 shows, the number one associate degree granting college for Hispanics is Miami-Dade Community College. More than half of all its degrees awarded in 1994–1995 were to Hispanic students. Women earned 1,374 and men earned 948 of the associate degrees for a total of 2,372 (53.4 percent) of all degrees. Miami-Dade also ranks second in granting associate degrees to African Americans. For the same year, it awarded 422 degrees to African American women and 120 to men for a total of 642 (14.8 percent) degrees. In total, Miami-Dade awarded a remarkable 68.2 percent of all its associate degrees to Hispanic and African American students. Some researchers (Laden, 1994; Rendón, 1982; Rendón & Nora, 1992, Turner, 1988) have found certain characteristics in community colleges that experience high student academic success rates, especially among Hispanics. These characteristics include institutional commitment, cultural awareness, leadership, and allocation of resources. Each is an important factor in welcoming Hispanic students

Table 5.5. Top 50 Associate Degree Granting Colleges for Hispanics in 1995


Source: Community College Week. Analysis of U.S. Department of Education Data, July 1997.


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and assisting them to meet their educational and career goals successfully. Providing financial aid, culturally congruent curricular programs, tutoring, transfer centers, mentoring, and links with the business community all combine to form strong, supportive institutional systems that foster student success. However, many HSIs also struggle with scarcity of resources and contend with competing demands for the few available dollars. Thus HACU has been instrumental in bringing national recognition to and financial assistance for these institutions. Therefore, it is important to highlight some of HACU’s contributions in light of their mission and 11-year commitment to improving the educational attainment of Hispanics. Understanding how individual institutions address the needs of Hispanics and other racial and ethnic groups on their campuses can shed light on how other colleges struggling with similar issues can learn from like institutions. While responses to addressing institutional problems are context specific, nonetheless it is important to showcase some examples of success in working with Hispanic two-year students in order to demonstrate the range of responses as well as provide the opportunity to learn from them. The role of HACU in promoting Hispanic success. In living up to its mission statement “to improve access to the quality of postsecondary educational opportunities for Hispanic students,” through its various partnerships with business and industry, HACU offers a variety of enhancements to promote their academic advancement. Calling upon its collaboration with governmental agencies and national organizations, HACU raised nearly $500,000 in 1995 from various national corporate sponsors and individual donors to fund scholarships and fellowships. Additionally, to develop career opportunities for students, HACU’s National Internship Program (codified by the Department of Education in 1995) provides paid summer internships from freshman to graduate students in Washington, D.C., with USD A agencies as well as other internships with corporations in local and national offices. It also arranges an array of institutional services, such as bringing in financial resources and collaborative projects with corporate and foundation sponsors with the aim of increasing Hispanics’ academic and career skills and overall educational completion rates (HACU, 1996a). Special partnership programs cosponsored by HACU also extend from K-12 to graduate school in supporting programs to improve Hispanics’ college-going rates. The Hispanic Student Success


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Program, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, is an example of HACU partnership efforts into high school and lower grades. Goal objectives are to raise young Hispanic students’ awareness about college, to assist them to stay in school, improve academically, and encourage them to take appropriate college preparatory courses. In line with these outreach efforts, tutoring and mentoring relationships among postsecondary institutions and in predominantly Hispanic K12 schools, college and community volunteers are considered fundamental to helping these students to not only raise but achieve their educational goals. In Los Angeles, San Antonio, Miami, or College Station, HSI community sponsored tutoring and mentoring programs for Hispanic youth continue to attract participants of all ages. For example, Mount St. Mary Hispanic students go into the Spanish-speaking areas of Los Angeles to tutor young school children. In San Antonio, The University of Incarnate Word and St. Mary’s University offer afterschool programs and summer camps. Miami-Dade Community College’s Wolfson Campus sponsors Project ChiSpa, a bilingual preschool program, and Parent Packs, a program encouraging parents to read to their children in English and/or Spanish. Events sponsored by colleges such as San Francisco State University’s “I’m Going to College Day” for fourth graders, are not uncommon and are seen as crucial to developing Hispanic children’s commitment to education and an interest in career goals at an early age (HACU, 1995; 1997a). The role of HSIs in promoting Hispanic success. The research literature is filled with studies that focus on barriers to college participation for low income, first-generation, and students of color (Hayward, Brandes, Krist, & Mazzeo, 1997). Frequently cited barriers include lack of information for students about college opportunities, high costs of higher education, college admissions and placement test requirements, insufficient counseling and advisement in both high school and college, and course-taking patterns that include noncredit developmental/remedial courses. Yet, increasingly, higher education institutions, especially two-year colleges, are focusing on effective, efficient, student-centered strategies, practices, and programs leading to retention and academic success for low-income, racially diverse, first-generation students. Hispanic-serving institutions have been among those promoting the success of their students through an array of individual and institutional offerings. In fact, since HSIs award approximately 43

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percent of all associate degrees earned by Hispanics (Carter & Wilson, 1996), clearly they are doing some successful things worth examining. A few high performance, student-centered programs and practices are highlighted here as exemplars. Creating a welcoming environment with a system that adapts culturally to students can do much to reduce first-generation college students’ bewilderment and sense of intimidation (Laden, 1998). Miami-Dade Community College, the number one associate degree producer for Hispanics and African Americans, provides some examples. At the Wolfson campus, an inviting, less formal atmosphere is created in the admissions office by eliminating counters and other physical barriers between staff and students who come to register (Padrón, 1992). Prospective students are greeted warmly upon arrival, given admissions forms, and invited to sit at a table to fill them out with the help of a bilingual staff member. Upon matriculation, students’ attendance and academic progress is monitored throughout the term, keeping them apprised of problems and offering them solutions before things get worse. Other personalized approaches include calling students at home to discuss problems or if they are absent; sending them individualized letters with specific information relevant to improving their situation; pairing high risk students with faculty mentors they meet with twice a month; and requiring college orientation classes covering basic standard college practices that demystify college processes and experiences while continuing to keep student morale and aspirations high. An added incentive for completing the associate of arts degree at Miami-Dade is the highly developed state articulation system that allows graduates who wish to continue their education to be accepted as juniors at any four-year institution in Florida and some out of state. Among its out-of-state agreements Miami-Dade recently added one with Smith College, a private, selective, liberal arts college in Massachusetts (Manzo, 1998). Many community colleges have added transfer or university centers as part of their academic and student affairs offerings. Since the early 1990s, in many California community colleges where minority populations now constitute the “new majority,” transfer centers have been created to increase their transfer rates, particularly for this population. Among the various efforts to increase transfer rates, a number of HSI community colleges, such as Evergreen College and San Jose


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City College, offer transfer students special articulation transfer contracts with four-year institutions like San Jose State University, an HSI institution. Benefits for students include a waiver of the $55 application fee, early admissions notification, and priority registration after continuing students (Stephens, 1998). Some community colleges with diverse populations also hire bilingual/bicultural student workers to attract and assist Hispanic and other racial/ethnic students in the transfer centers and invite minority four-year college representatives to meet with transfer students individually and during workshops and transfer days held only for students of color (Laden, 1994). Also in California, at least 39 community colleges, in a partnership with the University of California, offer a special transfer-oriented program for Hispanics known as the Puente Project (Laden, 1998). A team approach by an English instructor and a counselor (at least one of whom must be Hispanic) incorporate Hispanic students’ cultural experiences into the English curriculum during their first year of college. Together, the two faculty members focus on building students’ self-esteem and confidence through writing about what they know best—their own culture. The faculty incorporate teaching college success strategies; bringing in Latino writers and artists as guest lecturers; encouraging students to aspire to a baccalaureate degree and assisting them to prepare for transfer; attending motivational events in the community and on university campuses; and meeting with parents in the evenings or weekends to help them understand the college process. Educators and business professionals from the Hispanic community serve as mentors and role models who support Puente students to reach their goals. The success of the Puente Project has been noted by the California Task Force on Latino Eligibility, a group commissioned by the University of California President’s Office for five years to study Hispanic higher educational attainment in the state. Essentially, the task force found that the transfer rate for Hispanics is 44 percent higher in community colleges with the Puente Project than in those institutions without it (McGrath & Galaviz, 1997) and an increasing number of the transfer students are going on to graduate school (Laden, 1998). Today all students regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status need to be able to read, write, and compute, but they need technological skills as well. For many Hispanics, the college campus is the only place they have access to computers. Yet, too many twoyear HSIs are either not funded well enough to set up state-of-the-art

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computer labs or if they have computers, they are often outdated equipment. Hence, HSIs are continually challenged to educate their students with inadequate resources in a rapidly changing technological society. Access to and adequate training in how to use technology and acquire salable skills remain highly important educational and economic issues for Hispanics. Lack of adequate and up-to-date technological facilities and the dramatically low number of Hispanics with high-tech skills remain major concerns. While a number of different institutional and business partnership efforts are currently underway, two community colleges illustrate how they are exposing Hispanic students to the world of technology. The Texas State Technical College system of three campuses and four extension centers offers technically oriented programs that meet business and industry’s needs (HACU,1997b). Success is noted by higher completion and graduation rates of its students, high placement rates of graduates in well-paying jobs, and excellent preparation of transfer students majoring in computer science, engineering, and related science areas. With this in mind, Texas State Technical College (TSTC) has formed partnerships with high-tech companies in the state to facilitate the training, preparation, and job placement of students. In addition, a number of these firms, such as Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Instruments, and Motorola, help equip TSTC’s laboratories with state-of-the-art technology. They also assist in training faculty, staff, and students in effective use of the equipment and in the integration of the technology with academic learning. Each of the Texas State Technical College campuses and extension centers have specialized in programs in order to avoid duplication (HACU,1997b). The three main campuses in Waco, Harlingen, and Sweetwater offer more than 50 distinct technology programs in programs such as aquaculture, aviation and avionics, laser electrooptics, semiconductor manufacturing, and telecommunications. Additionally, TSTC-Harlingen has a new $2.5 million health science technology building. A professional health grant led to developing a dental hygiene program in partnership with the Texas Health Science Center at the University of Texas in San Antonio. The Waco campus received a grant to provide economically and educationally disadvantaged women training in their high-tech programs. At Miami-Dade Community College, Homestead Campus’s efforts to rebuild after the destruction of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 have led to providing cutting-edge, state-of-the-art facilities. Students use the


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new Information and Technology Center, for instance, as a resource center with linkages to other libraries around the state. The facility also has extensive distance learning capabilities, thus expanding programmatic offerings to a much larger community beyond the campus. Classrooms are equipped with the latest technology including Internet access through a bank of computers for students. There also are an array of chemistry, physics, anatomy, and nursing laboratories that serve to prepare students technically and academically. The highest priority for the Homestead Campus is to provide extensive technological access for its students through as many avenues as it can in light of the low home ownership of computers by many Hispanic and other students of color. In summary, all of the programs described here have several key elements in common. The primary key element is giving personal attention to students, removing the anonymous and depersonalized approach often found in institutions of higher education. Welcoming Hispanic students by affirming who they are and recognizing the value of the cultural perspective they bring are critical steps. Accepting Hispanics as a distinct population with distinct needs and adapting the educational system at times to them rather than always expecting students to adapt to the system can reduce confusion, alienation, and early departure. Another significant key element that follows is developing trusting relationships with students that indicate their educational and personal well-being are really of concern and will be positively promoted in and out of the classroom. Also key is reaching out into the Spanish-speaking community by involving the parents and other family members, four-year colleges, the business sector as partners in the educational process. Interacting with the community includes reaching into elementary grades through high school to promote higher education from an early age, offering tutoring, GED, citizenship, and language courses to individuals of all ages, and participating in various community projects, including job training, neighborhood revitalization, and health education efforts. These key elements are well illustrated in the case study that follows. ILLUSTRATIVE CASE STUDY: EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE Rich in history in its own right, East Los Angeles College readily comes to mind as a distinctive college among California’s 106

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community colleges and within those 36 HSIs in the state. In its 53year history, East Los Angeles College has always served a predominantly Hispanic population by virtue of its location. It is situated on an 82-acre site just six miles southeast from downtown Los Angeles in the heart of a historic Spanish-speaking area of Los Angeles County (East Los Angeles College, 1997a). Once a part of the community of East Los Angeles itself, the college was included in land annexed by the city of Monterey Park in the late 1970s. Known affectionately as ELAC (pronounced eé-lak), the college was established in 1945 just in time to respond to the educational demands of returning World War II G.I.s. It was initially located at Garfield High School until its own campus was completed in 1947. It is now one of nine community colleges that make up the Los Angeles Community College District. These colleges stretch across the greater metropolitan area of the county, from the San Fernando Valley in the north to the harbor area in the south, and serve approximately 100,000 students (CPEC, 1997a, 1997c). Six of the nine community colleges are HSIs: LA Mission College (64 percent Hispanic), and LA Valley College (28 percent Hispanic) are in the valley to the north; LA City College (38 percent), LA Trade-Technical College (38 percent Hispanic), and ELAC (67 percent Hispanic) ring the inner confines of the county and are in close proximity to downtown Los Angeles, while LA Harbor College (36 percent Hispanic) hugs the coast to the southwest. East Los Angeles College is situated in a historical area long populated by Angeleños of Mexican descent, who once claimed the land as their own before the American takeover of California in 1848 following the Gold Rush. The area has always been a haven for Spanish-speaking immigrants, mainly from Mexico, although there is a strong representation from Central and South America as well. However, it is an area undergoing demographic changes. East Los Angeles College is bounded by single family dwellings occupied by working class Chicanes and other Latinos on both the west and south sides. In recent years, the south side has seen a steady influx of Asians seeking affordable housing. Just a few blocks past the homes on the west side is a federal housing project known as Maravilla that is part of the East Los Angeles community. To the north of ELAC are middleand upper-middle-income homes owned primarily by Asians. To the east is Atlantic Square, a shopping center referred to locally as “the mall,” which contains the only comprehensive supermarket in that entire area. Thus it is where nearly everyone shops.


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“The college is a beautiful campus, it really is, but it needs a lot of attention,” stated Daniel Solorzano who taught there for 10 years. The physical facilities of ELAC are a blend of old and not so new according to the president, Ernest H.Moreno. Now aged and weatherbeaten, bungalows brought in from Fort McArthur in 1947 still remain in use. Newer buildings are primarily one story with a few two-story buildings here and there. There is a long waiting list for new buildings appropriations from the state, with the wait being at a minimum five years. Although ELAC is in serious need of renovation and more space, it, too, must wait. Currently, the college master plan committee is assessing its facilities needs and priorities in order to submit a proposal for new buildings. Nonetheless, ELAC has some superb facilities and acquisitions, the envy of other colleges. In 1980, when Los Angeles hosted the summer Olympics, ELAC was selected to host the field hockey games and house the teams. The Olympic Committee built the needed facility that now functions as a football stadium and attracts major local, national and international outdoor events to the site. The college also houses the Vincent Price Art Gallery, containing a $5 million private art collection of over 2,000 works by Dürer, Picasso, Goya, and others. Price’s affinity for ELAC was long noted by his occasional surprise visits for over four decades to lecture in art classes (East Los Angeles College, 1997b). Projections from ELAC’s 1996 master plan suggest that the campus racial/ethnic composition will continue to be dominated by individuals of Hispanic origin (71.6 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (23.8 percent). In fact, the same study notes that over 40 percent of individuals within the service area do not consider themselves proficient in English. Of this group, over 83 percent are primarily Spanish speakers. Besides Monterey Park and East Los Angeles, ELAC serves an extensive portion of the Spanish-speaking communities of the Southland, including Alhambra, Bell, Bell Gardens, City of Commerce, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Los Angeles, Maywood, Montebello, Rosemead, San Gabriel, South San Gabriel, South Gate, and Vernon. In fall 1997 ELAC opened the Southeast Education Center in South Gate to reach out into its community and make higher education attractive to the predominantly Hispanic population there. In all, the populations ELAC most serve are working-class and low-income individuals, students who lacked academic guidance in high school and thus enter ELAC underprepared for college, students who view the institution as the

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only viable, cost effective, affordable college for them, students who believe that ELAC is their only choice, and students who seek to improve their job opportunities by getting an associate degree and/ or prepare for transfer to a four-year college, upgrade their vocational skills, get technical training, learn ESL, and/or improve their basic literacy skills. In the mid 1970s the first Hispanic president was appointed, beginning a tradition that has been maintained. In 1994 the current and seventh president of ELAC, Ernest H.Moreno, assumed office after serving as the academic vice president for two-and-a-half years. In his inaugural address, Moreno promised to upgrade the college infrastructure and to mount a major capital construction program for new math/science and fine arts buildings, promises he states he has been working hard to keep. When Moreno first arrived at ELAC as vice president, he found a college deep in debt and an infrastructure that was in desperate need of reorganization. Beginning with the philosophy that he was going to help ELAC realize its untapped potential and become solvent again, Moreno reorganized the infrastructure and brought in new administrators with needed expertise in finance management and enrollment management. Class schedules were reorganized to fit the community’s own work and transportation schedules, adding evening and Saturday classes, arranging for different bus schedules and stops, eliminating underattended courses and adding those in high demand. With the changes students were able to take more classes, which led to an increase in weekly student contact hours (WSCH) and higher full-time equivalence (FTE) attendance rates. Moreno stated: When I arrived, we were a debtor college that was being carried financially by the Los Angeles district office and the other colleges. Now, we are financially solvent and lead the district as the premier creditor. We carry them. That could not have happened without the comprehensive changes in the curriculum, scheduling, and creating new programs that stimulate students to stay in college and excel. Also, I have hired more Latino faculty although it is still predominantly a white faculty. We have talented faculty who run high quality programs in science, engineering, nursing, to name a few. These are what I attribute our recent successes to and what have helped us get more students to complete certificate programs, the associate degree, and to transfer.


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Enrollment at ELAC continues to increase and with the new off-campus facilities, the growth is expected to become more rapid. Not only does Moreno plan to stay focused on getting more facilities built to meet the demand, but he intends to focus on who is not coming to college in great numbers, namely Hispanic males. “We cannot afford to continue to ignore this population any longer,” Moreno stated. “We need to get them involved in college, have them become a more visible presence, and prepare them to become economically empowered. They are our future just as much as the women are. It is time we seriously address this problem.” Supported by the Los Angeles Community College District philosophy, the mission statement of ELAC embraces the cultural diversity and dynamic urban setting that define its environment. It contains an explicit commitment to developing and nurturing the unique potential of each individual student through a complete range of educational and service programs. Fall 1996 enrollment figures indicate ELAC serves over 15,000 students, of which 73.3 percent are Hispanic. Statewide, Hispanics represent 22.1 percent of the 1.3 million students enrolled in the 106 community colleges; thus, Hispanic student enrollment at ELAC is far above the norm. Asians constitute 14 percent of the ELAC student body, whites 2.8 percent, and African Americans 1.8 percent (CPEC, 1997c). Over 55 percent of the students are 25 years old or younger and nearly 60.5 percent of all students are women. As with many community colleges in California, approximately 70 percent of the students are enrolled less than full time. A further examination reveals that 37 percent of ELAC’s students attend day classes, 23 percent attend both day and evening, and 40 percent attend only evening classes (East Los Angeles, 1996). In the academic year 1995–96, ELAC conferred 642 associate degrees, 57 percent of them to Hispanics. Moreover, ELAC consistently has led among the 106 community colleges in the number of Hispanic transfer students to four-year institutions. For example, 366 students transferred in 1995–96, representing 17.1 percent of all Hispanic transfers. Of the 366, 51 (13.9 percent) transferred to the University of California (UC) and 315 (86.2) to the California State University (CPEC, 1997a, 1997b). These data are noteworthy because of where ELAC is located and how limited its fiscal resources are compared to institutions such as Santa Monica College and Santa Barbara City College. Both these schools are located in affluent communities, have a larger proportion

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of their students enrolled full time; hence, they qualify for higher allocation of state funds, and lead the state in both overall transfer rates and in transfer to the highly selective UC system. What accounts for ELAC’s high transfer rate? Eddy Estrada, director of the University Center, stated: When I go to state and regional meetings on transfer, everyone always gives me a hard time about our transfer rates. They say it’s because we just have such a large pool of potential students to draw from in the Chicano community, that of course we are going to have high transfer rates while they have to go searching for theirs. Sure! We work really hard at ELAC to get our students into college against all odds—lack of family support or understanding about college, dependents, jobs, lack of money—and then we work even harder to keep them in. And we don’t have the fancy facilities everyone else takes for granted. We don’t have a learning center or a media center, for example. We make it in spite of the lack of those kinds of resources.

Estrada credits the administrators, faculty, and staff who are committed to creating a positive, nurturing environment for the students, the majority of whom are first-generation college students, with limited knowledge about college, and often academically underprepared as well. The academic and instructional support programs ELAC provides are not unlike those found at some of the other community colleges in the state, yet ELAC offers the right combination that leads to raising students’ aspirations, helps them strengthen their skills, provides career direction, and leads to academic success. However, Estrada is quick to add, ELAC students are tough. They are tough because they have to be to survive all the distractions and disincentives they get from the outside—and even from the inside. If students can survive here, they can survive anywhere. But let me tell you: it’s tough to get out of East LA. Once students transfer, though, they are in an environment where everyone has the same goal, getting a B.A. Any thing students from ELAC encounter at a university, they can deal with it. They know they are going to make it! And, of course, we are always here if they need us.

The University Center, formerly known as the transfer center, offers a variety of services that introduce ELAC students to the possibilities


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surrounding transfer to four-year colleges and universities. Estrada, the center director, noted that the name was changed to articulate the goal of the center: to prepare students to attend a university for at least a bachelor’s degree. Beyond disseminating information, the University Center has a small staff dedicated to frequent contact with students, including counseling sessions, workshops, visits by fouryear recruiters, and visits to nearby universities, to help transfer students get on and stay on the most efficient academic tracks. Relying on extensive transfer articulation agreements (known as TAAs among participating institutions) with the University of California and California State University, the agreements both allow the counseling staff at the University Center to guide students smoothly through the transfer process and to assure students that if they fulfill all the course and grade point average requirements, they will be granted early admissions. In addition to the University Center, the Transfer Alliance Program/ Honors (TAP) offers a package of services to students who excel academically. This program offers a cohort of full-time students special academically enriching honors classes, University of California library access, and priority consideration for transfer to participating UC campuses. Another program critical to the success of ELAC Hispanics is the innovative statewide Puente Project, described earlier in this chapter, and established at ELAC in fall 1989. The program addresses three areas where Hispanic college students are typically at a disadvantage: lack of writing skills, lack of professional role models, and unfamiliarity with the educational process. In this instance, Estrada serves as the Puente counselor and Carol Lem as the English instructor for this team-coordinated program. Successful Hispanic professionals from the community act as mentors, serving as role models in the students’ career areas of interest and giving students a sense of life after college. Parents, too, participate in college activities that allow them to learn about their children’s opportunities and experiences. It is the close, personal contact the Puente Project faculty offers that repeatedly reaffirms students’ own sense of self efficacy and builds their self-confidence and the linkages between their Hispanic culture, the curriculum, and the mentoring. The notion of Si se puede4 pervades the ELAC Puente Project. For example, the faculty meet with students one-on-one to go over assignments with them, call them if they are

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missing class, give them midterm evaluations, offer academic guidance, assist them with personal concerns, and generally make a special effort to help them succeed. The accountability yields high returns according to Estrada: “Our students stay in school longer, have higher GPAs and take more units than other Mexican-American students who don’t do Puente.” As a result, student self-esteem and confidence are high and their academic performance reflects this. Mentors visit the students on campus, meet with them off campus, invite them to their work places, and sometimes accompany them to nearby universities for special events. Also making a difference for ELAC students is the Minority Biomedical Research Program, a national program funded by the National Institutes of Health. The goal of the NIH program, according to its literature, is to put above-average performing minority students with untapped potential on a research track to graduate school. Chemistry faculty member Carcy Chan approached the NIH 12 years ago when she heard it was considering expanding the Minority Biomedical Research Program into community colleges. Chan made a case for bringing the program to ELAC by citing the high representation of students of color, Hispanics and other racial/ethnic students, who begin their higher education in community colleges, not necessarily because they are underprepared for four-year institutions, but due to the lower costs of two-year colleges and the proximity to their homes. Chan was successful in her bid and now annually selects 10 promising ELAC students whom she and several colleagues train as research assistants. A part of their training, students conduct experiments, collect data, coauthor papers with faculty, and present papers in seminars and conferences. Chan noted that “When I take students to seminars, they see Ph.D.s. They know they have a future. They have a goal.” An average of 85 percent of the students who are “superbly trained” transfer to four-year colleges and many go onto graduate school. “The schools take them so fast,” Chan adds. She like to remind admissions committees that ELAC students are far ahead of many other undergraduate and graduate applicants in terms of their research experience. In fact, the program has been so successful that it has been broadened to include more students, varied seminar experiences, field trips, and summer internships in university hospitals and research facilities. The program consistently provides motivation, confidence, and role models for students, according to Chan. Whenever talk at


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ELAC turns to exploring new ways to increase the transfer rate, she reminds other faculty and administrators that the key is not sending out more literature advertising their programs, but continuing to be committed to motivating the students, believing in them, and working closely with them to develop their potential. Another effort to reach low-income and culturally diverse students is the Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS). A statewide program, EOPS offers eligible students a strong package of support services and grants designed to make college a reality for low-income students who wish to study full time. The family income of a dependent student may not exceed $17,000 for a family of four, plus $1,000 per each additional dependent. Counselors and peer advisors work with students on a close basis, monitoring their academic progress throughout each term. Tutoring is provided, often beyond the maximum numbers of hours-per-week limit set for most students. Activities, such as inviting guest speakers, holding workshops with four-year college recruiters, taking field trips to four-year institutions, and attending college conferences, focus on motivating and preparing students to complete the associate degree and to transfer. A related program that works in conjunction with EOPS is the Cooperative Agencies Resource for Education Program (CARE), also a state funded program that assists single parents in reaching their educational goals . This program offers financial assistance with transportation, books, and child care as well as counseling, extra tutoring, and transfer assistance. Many single parents who are eligible for EOPS but require extra assistance because of child care needs are able to pursue education by virtue of this extended support program. A bonus of CARE is that child care is extended to cover both class attendance and study time, recognizing that when parents get home there is virtually no free time to study until late at night, and even then not always in a quiet, supportive environment conducive to studying. Another transfer program targets full-time working adults, who make up a significant number of ELAC students. The Project for Adult College Education (PACE) allows students to earn an Associate of Arts Degree and/or prepare for transfer by taking twelve units of transfer credit during each of five semesters. The program supplements courses from ELAC’s Instructional Television Program (ITV) with eight Saturday teleconference classes and a one-night-a-week class. Each semester the ITV offers over a dozen lower-division general

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education courses that meet transfer requirements. In addition, these are supplemented by one three-hour weekend seminar each month to offer greater flexibility and convenience to working students and those with family commitments. Similar to CARE is the Greater Avenues for Independence Program (GAIN), a short-term program that targets parents receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Students are referred by their social workers and they must be committed to completing a program of study. The GAIN program is designed primarily to help students get off welfare by preparing them to enter the job market, developing their reading, writing, math, and English language skills, and helping them to take a short-term vocational course. To assist with many of the obstacles that GAIN students might encounter, the program offers support services such as counseling, transportation, child care, and financial assistance for books and supplies. Close contact with the Department of Social Services is maintained, as student progress is monitored monthly. A plethora of other programs are designed to ensure student success at ELAC. For example, there is the Mathematics Engineering, Science Achievement/California Community College Program (MESA/ CCCP), a partnership with the University of California to get more minority students interested in math and science. A similar program, the Minority Engineering Program, is a collaborative venture with the California State University, Los Angeles. It offers extensive tutoring during the school year, special study facilities, field trips, job placement, and social events that provide networking opportunities with engineering college students and professional engineers. The Health Related Careers Program is a year-long program that provides weekly seminars and symposia given by medical professionals and includes visits to medical schools and other medical facilities. Among support services are academic advisement, peer counseling, and summer academic enrichment courses. A related program is Chicanos for Creative Medicine, formed by ELAC to provide scholarships, financial aid and other personal support to students who plan to enter the medical profession. Several other outreach programs are noteworthy as well. The Jaime Escalante Math and Science Program searches out low-income junior high and high school youths who have performed poorly in math and science. The students receive peer counseling, tutoring after school, special curricular programs during the academic year and in the


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summer, and they attend Saturday classes. Parents are involved as well from the very beginning, in order to get their cooperation and support. The Bridge to College focuses on first-year students who need developmental courses to enhance their skills. Faculty assist them to understand the college environment, aid them in setting and achieving short- and long-term educational and career goals, and generally provide support in other areas such as applying for financial aid and becoming aware of other college resources. Not only are faculty committed to helping Hispanic and other students achieve success at ELAC, their very presence as a racially and ethnically diversified faculty sends a powerful message to students. Hispanic, African American, and Asian faculty and administrators offer daily reinforcement that “minorities are capable of both learning and teaching math, chemistry, or English or being college president” states Moreno, just like majority students. Accepting students where they are and who they are culturally, as many of the programs at ELAC do, has tremendous impact on building students’ confidence and selfesteem. Adapting the institution to the students, welcoming them through cultural celebratory events, and offering multicultural or culturally specific curricula that expose them to the culture and heritage of their own or different groups go a long way toward involving students in the college and engaging them academically. Clearly, East Los Angeles College is making a difference in a community where the majority who live there are under educated people who work long hours for low wages and struggle daily to improve their lives. The college is committed to improving the lives of its students and increasing the economic conditions of the community through the rich variety of programs it offers. Highlighted here have been only a few as exemplars of ELAC’s commitment, embodied in its mission statement to develop and nurture the unique potential of each individual student through a variety of educational and service programs that meet different needs for different students. FUTURE PROSPECTS The Hispanic population in the nation is projected to continue to grow dramatically according to all U.S. Census data. Consequently, the number of Hispanic-serving institutions will also continue to increase as more Hispanics consider college as a viable and necessary economic path to improving their lives. Policy makers and leaders of majority

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postsecondary institutions must become more committed to being responsive to Hispanic students and the cultural contexts they live in. Decision makers at all levels can facilitate the success of Hispanics and other students of color by allocating sufficient resources for creating academically enhancing programs, developing more diverse and culturally responsive curriculum, and providing comprehensive support services and better financial assistance. Federal and state governments, corporations, foundations, professional associations, and local business communities must work in partnership with public and private two- and four-year colleges and universities to reach into the Hispanic community to help educate and develop Hispanics as part of the next generation of professional, political, educational, business, scientific and medical cadres for an increasingly diversified, multicultural society. Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Public policies are critical to expanding opportunities for Hispanics. Such policies can allocate sufficient resources to enact educational programs and increase economic opportunities that truly make a significant difference for this underserved, severely undereducated population. Certainly, at the heart of current discussions at the national level has been the call for greater equity in distributing federal funds among special focus colleges. The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, renewed by Congress in March 1998, offers the potential for Hispanic-serving institutions to be included as a separate category. Active efforts by congressional leaders, such as Representative Ruben E.Hinojosa (Texas-D) and Senator Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico-D), and by HACU and the Hispanic Caucus have led to proposed legislation that Title III of the Higher Education Act be expanded to recognize HSIs and tribal colleges. The proposal advocated that these groups be recognized as distinct categories to allow them to get their own funds, with the intent to create more consistency among the special-focus institutions. Prior to this latest reuathorization, only historically black colleges and universities have had their own section within Title III, which guarantees them annual federal assistance while HSIs and tribal colleges must compete for funds. In the 1992 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, HSIs meeting the enrollment requirement of having 25 percent or more Hispanic students were placed in a subsection that permitted them to receive up to $45 million (Mealer, 1998), although only $12 million were actually allocated (Dervarics, 1997).


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Recent discussions have centered on what the impact of such a change in Title III would have on funding for HBCUs, the historical basis for Title III. Critics of the proposal claim that creating new categories implies HBCUs, HSIs and tribal colleges all have the same history of discrimination. Advocates for HBCUs note that they gained their own section of Title III in 1986 because of the colleges’ historical mission to educate African-American students, not because a proportion of their students happened to be black (Mealer, 1998). Moreover, it is feared that the funds for the new categories could be siphoned from the HBCUs’ anticipated increase, thereby creating a loss they could not supplement from other sources in an era of shrinking resources for all of higher education. Supporters of the proposal point to the low participation rates in higher education for Hispanics and Native Americans, their economic conditions, and the need for funds to renovate facilities, upgrade aging equipment, provide tutoring, and increase student support services. The Clinton administration has offered its own plan, proposing new sections for HSIs and Tribal Colleges with lower funding gains than those requested by supporters (Dervarics, 1997). The latest changes in the Higher Education Act were passed by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in late March 1998 (Bund, 1998). The House bill would create Title VIII, a new section of the Higher Education Act, through which HSIs would be authorized to receive as much as $80 million a year, up from the current designated $45 million. The change would not give HSIs their own section in Title III as anticipated, but it would give tribal colleges that status. The bill further drops two provisions for HSIs to apply for funding: one, that the majority of Hispanic students in HSIs do not have to be first-generation college going; and two, it lowers from 75 percent to 50 percent the proportion of Hispanic students who must be from low-income families. Getting Hispanic educational issues on the policy agenda continues to have high priority for educators and other stakeholders. At a fall symposium to discuss the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, Ana M.Guzmán, chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, noted that the Congress and federal agencies need to know and understand the Hispanic community better. She added that while the Hispanic voice has become stronger at the national level, few Hispanics are invited to be part of the decision making process (HACU, 1997a).

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The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. What clearly remains important from the national to the local level is to continue advancing the cause of Hispanics’ postsecondary educational opportunities. The Hispanic Association for Colleges and Universities (HACU) has been responsible for increasing national awareness of the conditions of Hispanic education. Among its contributions, the association has been responsible for creating a new and increasingly recognized category of higher education institutions known as Hispanic-serving institutions. It has garnered national attention particularly by having a role in the current reauthorization Higher Education Act, it has gained financial resources for institutional grants and student scholarships, created partnerships and collaborations with the corporate sector, developed national internship opportunities for students, and taken an active role in upgrading the technology in HSIs in order to bring them into the rapidly changing information age. Future prospects for HACU indicate that the role it will play in the next century will be in direct proportion to the rapidly increasing number of Hispanics in the U.S. It will continue its concerted efforts to reverse the low educational attainment rates for this group by responding to the needs of Hispanics concentrated in two-year colleges that often make do with minimal resources, typically located in high-density, low-income communities, and yet manage to make a differences in the lives of so many of their students. The Hispanic educational pipeline and the role of HSIs. The economic and educational gaps between Hispanics and nonHispanics must be addressed not only at the postsecondary education level, but a pipeline approach must be undertaken that includes preschool children to adults. Why is this necessary? A recent report by the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans (1996) documents the abysmal educational conditions—and by implication the economic conditions—of Hispanics in the United States. A brief review of some of these statistics follows. Less than 15 percent of Hispanic children participate in preschool programs, even though such programs have been proved to be high predictors of educational attainment. Yet many early childhood services still are not prepared to deal with linguistic and cultural diversity of these children. For most Hispanic children, elementary school is their first exposure to formal learning; thus even at entry they are already behind their non-Hispanic peers.


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Unfortunately, the gaps in reading and mathematics continue to widen through the upper grades, often resulting in grade retention, loss of self-esteem and the beginnings of disenchantment with and alienation from school. By age 13, these students are at least two years behind in math and reading and four years behind in science. Is it any wonder that by high school the dropout rates for Hispanics is 40 percent compared to 13.5 percent for whites and 11 percent for African Americans? Extending this scenario to adulthood, at least 37 percent of working Hispanic adults, often employed in low-paying, menial labor jobs, do not have a high school diploma, compared to 13 percent of all employees. It remains clear that these conditions provide critical challenges that must be addressed from the local to the national level. Among those who recognize and are addressing some of these problems are Hispanic-serving institutions. Moreover, these HSIs are making a critical difference. The tradition of “giving back to the community” has a strong ethos among Hispanics and is particularly evident among HSIs, as noted in some of the examples in an earlier section of this chapter. HSI outreach efforts from elementary to high school in Hispanic communities are marked by after-school projects such as tutoring, reading and English language clinics, field trips to college campuses, and computer training. While it is not uncommon for community colleges to offer basic skills and ESL noncredit courses as part of the curriculum, it is unusual for these to be offered out in the community where they may be more accessible for working adults. Some HSIs provide adults with free basic education in reading and mathematics in Spanish to facilitate their learning; offer ESL courses, GED and citizenship preparation, computer literacy, and vocational training; and work with parents to help them understand the far-reaching economic implications for them and their children to receive as much education as possible beginning with early childhood. Undertakings such as these give hope to and make a difference for hundreds of Hispanic adults, but much more is needed before a significant impact can be felt. Future prospects for HSIs indicate that as Hispanic students continue to become the majority population in their two-year institutions, and as Hispanic-serving institutions expand in number as a distinct type of college, their community outreach and involvement in creating life-long learning opportunities will increase. Already these ongoing efforts by HSIs as change agents present a

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model for predominantly white two- and four-year institutions as to the educational and service learning linkages that can and must occur within the community if existing conditions for Hispanics are ever to improve. Future research on HSIs. More inclusive approaches to resource allocation, curriculum development and pedagogy affect not only the morale and effectiveness of those who collaborate with one another on such decisions, but the nature and quality of the learning opportunities that are made available to students as a consequence of those decisions. Much more research is need about Hispanicserving institutions in light of the large population of Hispanics they serve and the high success rates in associate degree completion, transfer, baccalaureate, and master’s degree attainment they enjoy compared to all other postsecondary institutions. It is of national significance to continue to examine the differential consequences of specific policies and practices for low-achieving Hispanic and newly arrived, limited and non-English-speaking immigrant students from junior high school through college. Multiyear case studies provide valuable insights into the nature and quality of the students’ schooling experiences with respect to this population, which represents the most rapidly growing segment of our society. A national study using both quantitative and qualitative methods also needs to be undertaken to assess more fully how HSIs differ from majority institutions in promoting their students’ academic success. A number of questions immediately arise in thinking about this largely unexplored area of higher education. How do two- and four-year HSIs differ and compare in their curricular, programmatic, student support services, and other areas? How do HSIs differ by type (public or private/independent), kind (urban, suburban, or rural), region of the country (Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, Northeast, Midwest)? What kinds of partnerships and collaborations do HSIs have with other twoand four-year colleges, the corporate sector, and foundations? How do HSIs respond to the needs of other racial/ethnic groups on their campuses? What are the commonalities and differences among HSIs serving predominantly Mexican-American/Chicano, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republican, or Cuban students? What can we learn from community colleges with smaller but consistent Hispanic student enrollments?


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CONCLUSION The evidence presented here indicates some consistency among institutional and programmatic approaches to help Hispanic students overcome barriers and succeed in college. First of all, commitment from the top down to recruit and retain these students, tightly coupled with allocation of resources to get the job done, remain important. Next, reaffirming the importance of diversity as a core value and goal of the institution can only contribute to the richness of the institution. Also, welcoming students through celebratory cultural events, programs, and curricular exercises that affirm who they are and acknowledge their contributions can yield positive results. With this in mind, programs should be created that consider the students’ cultural background and educational opportunities to date and consider that many Hispanics are the first in their families to attend college and therefore need lots of guidance and understanding if they are to stay and succeed. Furthermore, two-year college partnerships, both with universities at one end of the educational pipeline and K-12 schools at the other end, can result in long-term gains for this group and for society as a whole. Additionally, partnerships and collaborations with the nonprofit and profit sectors must continue to be explored to optimize resources, develop shared responsibility and accountability, and mutually benefit all partners. Financial aid remains important in making college accessible to students who are economically disadvantaged. Federal, state, and local grant programs must recognize their role as crucial and strive to develop larger than average awards for low-income students who absolutely cannot attend college without that assistance. Outreach to parents is crucial in order for them to be informed about viable options they can avail themselves of for their children’s college education and also to upgrade their own. Internships and apprenticeships are effective learning experiences that must be made available to those who would not otherwise have such opportunities. Lastly, research efforts must focus more explicitly on Hispanics and similar populations with the goal of seeking solutions in a variety of ways that are transferable and relevant to the problem of educational attainment. This chapter has barely touched the surface of Hispanic-serving institutions’ efforts to serve Hispanic students. Much remains to be learned and understood about these schools if Hispanics are to become

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fully integrated into the social fabric of mainstream society, instead of being kept at a marginalized, low subsistence level. Hispanics must not remain underrepresented and underserved. Hispanic-serving institutions offer models of how some colleges can indeed inspire Hispanic students in their communities to go to college, stay and excel academically while still managing to get them involved in outreach activities in K-12 and the greater community that make a difference for others as well. NOTES 1.

2.

3.

4.

The author gratefully acknowledges the research assistance of Derek Lee Rodriguez Ohlms, Vanderbilt University, especially in statistical data collection and formulation of tables. The terms Hispanic, Latino, and Chicano are used in this chapter. The author acknowledges the preference for other terms by some members of the Hispanic community and researchers. The U.S. Bureau of the Census defines Hispanic as “a person of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture, or origin, regardless of race” (Justiz, Wilson, & Björk, 1994). The Higher Education Act, first enacted in 1965, is the most important piece of federal legislation for higher education. This law authorizes most federal student aid programs and contains numerous regulations that apply to two- and four-year colleges and universities. Included in this law is Title III, Aid for Institutional Development, and Strengthening Institutions (Part A), initially established to aid historically black colleges and universities. Tribally controlled colleges and Hispanic-serving institutions are currently recognized under Part A. The law must be periodically reviewed or authorized; Fall 1997 was a time for such Congressional review. The law was reauthorized by Congress in March 1998 (Mealer, 1998). Si se puede is an oft repeated Spanish phrase that translates to “You can do it,” or “It can be done.”

REFERENCES Bund, S. (1998, March 20). House committee overwhelmingly passes bill to renew higher education act. The Chronicle of Higher Education: Academe Today. Web site: http://chronicle.com.


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California Postsecondary Education Commission. (1997a). Student profiles, 1997. Commission Report 97–7. Sacramento: Author. ———. (1997b). Degree type data abstract, July 1995-June 1996. Segmental Summary for California Community Colleges. Sacramento: Author. ———. (1997c). Total enrollment by institution: Fall 1996. Segmental Summary for California Community Colleges. Sacramento: Author. Carter, D., & Wilson, R. (1997). Fifteenth annual status report on minorities in higher education. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education. ———. (1996). Fourteenth annual status report on minorities in higher education. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education. ———. (1994). Thirteenth annual status report on minorities in higher education. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education. Cohen, A.M., & Brawer, F.B. (1996). The American community college. (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Community College Week. (1997, July 14). 50 top associate degrees conferred, 1994–95: Hispanic American degrees—all disciplines, p. 11. Author. Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl University. (1997). 1997 Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl University catalog. Davis: Author. Dervarics, C. (1997, November 13). Can a rift be avoided? Black Issues in Higher Education, 14 (19), 21–25. East Los Angeles College. (1996). 1996 East Los Angeles master plan. Monterey Park: Author. ———. (1997a). 1997–1998 East Los Angeles College catalog. Monterey Park: Author. ———. (1997b, Summer). News: Foundation horizons of achievement, 1 (2). Monterey Park: Author. Hayward, G.C., Brandes, B.C., Krist, M.W. & Mazzeo, C. (1997, January). Higher education outreach programs: A synthesis of evaluations. A report commissioned by the Outreach Task Force Board of Regents, University of California. Oakland: University of California. Hispanic Association of College and Universities. (1994). HACU quadrennial report 1991–1994. Author. ———. (1995). Hispanic association of college and universities 1995 annual report. San Antonio: Author. ———. (1996a). Hispanic association of college and universities 1996 annual report. San Antonio: Author. ———. (1996b) Hispanic association of college and universities 1996 membership directory. San Antonio: Author. ———. (1997a, June). Hispanic higher education is focus at HACU reauthorization

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symposium. The Voice of Hispanic Higher Education, 6 (6), 5–7. San Antonio: Author. ———. (1997b, June). This is HACU: Texas state technical college. The Voice of Hispanic Higher Education, 6 (7), p. 5. San Antonio: Author. ———. (1997c, December). New methods encouraging more nontraditional students continue education. The Voice of Hispanic Higher Education, 6 (12), 10. San Antonio: Author. Justiz, M.J, Wilson, R., & Björk, L.G. (1994). Minorities in higher education. Phoenix: American Council on Education & Oryx Press. Katsinas, S.G. (1996). Preparing leaders for diverse institutional settings. In Palmer, J.C., & Katsinas, S.G. (Eds.), Graduate and continuing education. New Ddrections for community colleges, 95 (pp. 15–25). San Francisco: JosseyBass Publishers. Kee, A.M. (1997, April 4). The anatomy of commitment. Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, 7 (16), 5–7. Klor de Alva, J. (1996, April). Our next race question. Harper’s Magazine, p. 55. Laden, B.V. (1994). The educational pipeline: Organizational and protective factors influencing the academic progress of Hispanic community college students with potential at risk characteristics. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Stanford University. ———. (1998). An organizational response to welcoming students of color. In Levin, J.S. (Ed.), Organizational change in the community college: A ripple or a sea of change? New Directions in Community Colleges. San Francisco: JosseyBass Publishers. López-Isa, J. (1997, April 18). HQ salutes the best of the best colleges for Hispanics.” Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, 7 (17), 5–21. Manzo, K.K. (1998, January 26). Articulation’s swinging pendulum: Agreements increase as students set their sights on four-year degrees. Community College Week, 10 (13), 6. McGrath, P., & Galaviz, F. (1997, April 4). The power of puente: Building bridges for all to cross. Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, 7 (16), pp. 5–7. Mealer, B. (1998, January 16). Hispanic-serving institutions seek more federal funds, angering black colleges. The Chronicle of Higher Education: Academe Today. Web site: http://chronicle.com. National Center for Education Statistics. (1996). Digest of educational statistics, 1996. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. National Science Board. (1993). Science and engineering indicators. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, cited in Justiz, M.J, Wilson, R., & Björk,


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L.G. (1994), Minorities in higher education. Phoenix: American Council on Education & Oryx Press. Office of Civil Rights. (1998). 1997 United States Department of Education: U.S. Accredited postsecondary minority institutions. Web site: http://web.fie.com/ web/mol/text/minlist.htm. Olivas, M.A. (1982, January-April). Indian, Chicano, and Puerto Rican colleges: Status and issues. Bilingual Review/Revista Bilingue, 9, 36–58. Padrón, E.J. (1992). The challenge of first-generation college students: A MiamiDade perspective. In Zwerling, S.L., & London, H.B. (Eds.), First-generation students: Confronting the cultural issues. New Directions for Community Colleges, 80 (pp. 71–80). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. ———. (1994). Hispanics and community colleges.” In Baker, G.A. III (Ed.), A andbook on the community college in America (pp. 82–93). Westport: Greenwood Press. Peterson’s. (1997). Peterson’s guide to two-year colleges 1998. Princeton: Author. President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans (1996). Our nation on the fault line: Hispanic American education. President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Washington, DC: Department of Education. Rendón, L.I. (1982). Chicanos in south Texas community colleges: A study of student and institutional-related determinants of educational outcomes. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Michigan. Rendón, L.I., & Garza, H. (1996). Closing the gap between two- and four-year institutions. In Rendón, L.I., Hope, R.O., & Associates, Educating a new majority: Transforming America’s educational system for diversity (pp. 289– 308). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Rendón, L.I., & Nora, A. (1992). A synthesis and application of research on Hispanic students in community colleges. Community College Review, 17 (1), 17–24. Stephens, A. (1998, January 26). California: A case study in transfer but still room for improvement. Community College Week, 10 (13), 7. Turner, C.S.V. (1988). Organizational determinants of the transfer of Hispanic students from two- to four-year colleges. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stanford University. U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1997). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. ———. (1994). Current population survey: March 1994. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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———. (1993a). Hispanic Americans today. Current population reports, pp. 23–183. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. ———. (1993b). The Hispanic population in the United States: March 1992. Current population reports, 290–465RV. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. ———. (1991). Statistical abstract of the United States: 1991. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

CHAPTER 6

The Two-Year Church-Affiliated College and Issues of Access Philo A.Hutcheson and Ray Christie

The story of the church-affiliated junior college is intertwined with the stories of private junior colleges and higher education in general. This chapter examines two-year church-affiliated colleges, with a particular focus on those institutions that serve women or people of color. Although there are only a few of such institutions still in existence, their rich history, as well as their place in the shifts of access into higher education, provides substantial insight into the nature of colleges and universities in this country. While access is often seen as the entry of students into higher education, the story of church-affiliated two-year colleges suggests that an expanded definition is more appropriate. Institutions themselves represent access, and church-affiliated colleges for women and people of color suggest that this form of institutionalized access is a process as much as it is a structural form. By the end of the 1940s the 323 private junior colleges in this country constituted 50 percent of all two-year colleges and 18 percent of all institutions of higher education. (Throughout this chapter, the terms junior college and two-year college are used interchangeably. Although current usage suggests community college for all two-year institutions, the separate and distinct missions of church-affiliated institutions implies the importance of a different nomenclature.) Sixty-six percent of those private junior colleges were church-affiliated (Fields, 1962, pp. 42– 44). The immediate post-World War II period represents, however, the beginning of a persistent erosion of the role of the church-affiliated 195

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junior college. Throughout the next 50 years, public community colleges attracted increasing numbers and proportions of students, and many private junior colleges (nondenominational as well as church-affiliated) became four-year colleges or closed their doors (Cohen & Brawer, 1996). By the middle of the 1990s, the proportion of private junior colleges had declined to 12 percent of all two-year colleges (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1995). The number of church-affiliated colleges has also declined (Cohen & Brawer, 1996), although denominations continue to use the junior college as a means to providing their members with an accessible and appropriate higher education. The denominations have also played a different role in the foundations of two-year colleges in comparison to the public sector. In general, published histories of public two-year colleges suggest that their development proceeded from the universities, especially the research universities in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Leaders at the research universities wanted to create an institution which would be able to handle the press of students starting to graduate from the rapidly developing secondary schools. While some authors disagree sharply on the consequences of that impetus, they acknowledge its beginning (Brint & Karabel, 1989; Cohen & Brawer, 1996). In contrast, the church-affiliated junior college often began from the roots of either a denominationally sponsored secondary school or as a somewhat indistinct postsecondary institution. For example, Northwestern College (Iowa) began as an academy for the Reformed Churches, and it became a four-year institution in 1961 after years of offering a twoyear program emphasizing teacher education (DeBoer, 1996, p. 140). In the same denomination, Calvin College began as six-year ministerial education school in 1876, and by 1906 it was known as John Calvin Junior College. In 1910, the institution added a third year of instruction and no longer used “junior,” although it was not until 1920 that Calvin College added the fourth year (DeBoer, 1996, pp.138–139). Thus while the public two-year college has a long history as an institution with considerable influences from the top down, the church-affiliated college represents a bottom-up development, and there is no history of that development. Furthermore, denominations rather than postsecondary institutions are responsible for these junior colleges. These countervailing characteristics of organizational foundation and development have an interesting impact on the nature of church-affiliated junior colleges and their approach to issues of access. On the one hand, the constraints of another educational institution, particularly the research

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university, on the public two-year college resulted in many obstacles for community college students. Four-year colleges and universities evidenced little interest in attending to the intricacies of assessing transfer work or accommodating students with backgrounds different from their own populations (see Brint & Karabel, 1989 for a critical perspective on these problems). Furthermore, universities, especially public ones, have established the criteria for transfer of credit, thereby creating a constraint on the transfer process (Cohen & Drawer, 1996). This constraint has even occurred within institutions with four-year and twoyear programs (Prager, 1993), whereas denominations, in the foundations of their own institutions, have been freer to determine who transfers, at least within denominationally affiliated institutions. On the other hand, many of the founding denominations have traditions of conservative interpretation of the Bible, including the role of women and in some instances, the role of people of color, in society. This conservatism evidences itself in the basic question of admission to denominationally sponsored institutions. For example, in 1920, the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church, which had been using the German gymnasium pattern, gave way to the United States’ pattern of four years of high school and two years of junior college, but it was not until the 1930s, in the face of financial pressures, that the Missouri Synod opened its college doors to women (Solberg, 1996, p. 107). Coeducation was already firmly in place by the 1930s in higher education in general, with women representing 43.7 percent of all college students in 1930 (Solomon, 1985). In view of the obvious importance of denominations’ influence and control of their junior colleges and the decided absence of any history of these denominational institutions, this chapter focuses first on denominations and their colleges, especially the junior colleges, before proceeding to a discussion of church-affiliated junior colleges and issues of access. THE DENOMINATIONS AND THEIR COLLEGES The early history of higher education in the colonies is one of denominational influence. There were nine colonial colleges, all of which began under the auspices of at least one denomination. In one case, however, the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), there was a decided effort to establish a governing board and charter that represented broad ecumenical and governmental interests rather than specific denominational ones (Hofstadter & Metzger, 1955).

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There are substantial differences in the relationship between the church and the polity and society at large now as compared to the colonial era, when some of the colonies were theocracies, intertwining ecclesiastical and civil concerns in ways foreign to conceptions of the late twentieth century. Regardless of these organizational variations and historical differences, denominations continue to exercise substantial influence in the foundation and development of colleges and universities in the United States today. The issue of how we understand the history of the colonial colleges and the many denominational colleges and universities that followed them is critical to developing insight into church-affiliated junior colleges today. The common understanding of denominations and higher education derives from historical works of the 1950s and 1960s, such as Hofstadter and Metzger’s The Development of Academic Freedom in the United States (1955), Rudolph’s The American College and University (1962), and Veysey’s The Emergence of the American University (1965). Each of these works, which continue to be standard historical references in the late 1990s, argues that denominational colleges and universities were waystations in the development of a fully American institution of higher education. Hofstadter referred to the era of denominational colleges in the early 1800s as the Great Retrogression and Veysey very nearly dismisses the denominational influence, relegating it to the briefest of chapters and evidencing little interest in its possible influence in the large university. While Rudolph admits of the possibility of exciting teaching among small denominational colleges of the 1800s, he has very little else positive to say about them. These historical conceptions of denominational colleges have greatly influenced discussions of religion and higher education in the United States; most brief treatments of the history of higher education cite one or two or all three works, without regard to important revisionist works of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. In several instances during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, historians of higher education contested the portrayal of the small denominational college as undersupported, narrow in its curriculum, and dulling in its pedagogy. W.Bruce Leslie (1992) examined four northeastern colleges with denominational roots, and while concluding that the institutions became increasingly secular, he also noted how they maintained their denominational traditions of graduating well-educated leaders. David Potts’ (1992) extensive history of Wesleyan University (Connecticut) documented that institution’s movements in and out of several missions


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in the 1800s and early 1900s while maintaining close and important ties with the United Methodist Church until 1910. More recently, George Marsden (1993) and Julie Reuben (1996) established that even the major research universities simultaneously ignore and represent some aspects of their denominational roots. In contrast to Hofstadter and Metzger, Rudolph, and Veysey, Marsden concluded that the consequences of secularization, leaving the denominational influences behind, did not simply propel several institutions, especially the major universities, into international prominence; it also created institutions without souls. Perhaps most important, denominational colleges of the 1800s were instrumental in providing access into higher education. While the access was most often for white males, Oberlin College began as a strongly religious institution that admitted women and, shortly after its establishment in 1833, African Americans (Rudolph, 1962). Denominational colleges of the 1800s also included women’s colleges and historically black colleges, although the standard histories of higher education offer little discussion of those points of access. Thus, important works addressing these points have either recently arisen or remained hidden for decades (see, for example, Holmes, 1934/ 1970; Solomon, 1985). Although Hofstadter and Metzger, as well as Veysey, preferred the highly selective and typically highly secular research university that they knew so well, they offered little discussion of its exclusionary characteristics and devices. Both Wechsler (1977) and Synnott (1979) documented the skillful ways in which administrators at major colleges and universities excluded different religious groups, especially the Jews, and people of color. Small denominational colleges, in contrast, have often offered higher education to a wide range of students, although they are seldom recognized for that mission (Astin & Lee, 1972). Nevertheless, the access that denominational colleges and universities provide today has its own exclusionary characteristics. For example, some denominational institutions require entering students to sign declarations of belief and behavior, committing themselves to the institution’s denominational understanding of the Bible and to prescribed and proscribed activities (see, for example, Covenant College Catalog, 1996–1997). Concomitant with these fundamental interpretations of belief and behavior, these institutions sometimes assign gendered roles, at least in the social setting. Finally, as commentators on the American scene have remarked, Sunday is the

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most segregated day of the week. Most congregations cut first along lines of race and ethnicity. These divisions of color and ethnicity evidence themselves in denominational institutions’ students, staff, and faculties, which tend to be essentially white or composed of African Americans, American Indians, or Latinos and Latinas. Many essentially white institutions (EWI’s)1 suggest that they recruit students of color, but their enrollments do not reflect such attempts (Fifteenth Annual Status Report on Minorities in Higher Education, 1996). Nevertheless, some denominations established two-year colleges for women or people of color, offering institutional access to those groups. Hence the relationship between denominations and issues of access in higher education is intricate, sometimes offering opportunity and other times creating exclusion. Thus the understanding of denominational colleges and universities should recognize the depth of their support (although they may suffer from insufficient breadth of support), their commitment to teaching infused with spirit and enthusiasm, and their ability to provide students with the education to succeed in the society and the polity. While the majority of colleges and universities founded under denominational auspices have become secular, many actually severing their ties with the founding denominations, denominational colleges in the past and the present offer an important example of how people of this country have treated higher education. Education needs to be accessible-hence what Hofstadter viewed as an inappropriate spread of institutions in the 1800s is more likely evidence of important local pride, impelled by usually one denomination into the creation of a college (Church & Sedlak, 1976; Burke, 1982). It also needs to offer students an education beyond the directly utilitarian and secular, and thus the denomination’s interpretation of the life beyond the workplace, as it reflects belief and faith, is often paramount. Its definition of access, however, tends to be grounded in denominational terms and not in national political or social terms. DENOMINATIONS AND DELIBERATE ACCESS Some denominations were deliberate in their attempts to use junior colleges as points of access for women and people of color. For example, the Disciples of Christ founded three institutions, one that began as a junior college, the other two of which developed into junior colleges, with emphases on educating women or African Americans. The


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denomination established a female orphan school in Midway, Kentucky, in the late 1840s; a century later the school started to offer junior college courses, and in 1989 began to offer four-year college programs. By the late 1800s, the Southern Christian Institute (Mississippi) had become a junior college for the education of black people, eventually merging with Tougaloo College in 1954. Finally, the Disciples of Christ founded Jarvis Christian College (Texas) in 1912 in order to offer educational opportunities for blacks. The women of the denomination as well as black churches in Texas supported the school, which became a fouryear institution in 1937 (Imbler, 1996, p. 229). The Episcopal Church was also very active in establishing these institutions, and as evidenced by St. Augustine College (Chicago, Illinois) just recently, maintains some interest in using the two-year college to provide access. St. Augustine operates as an independent college, although it has held membership in the Association of Episcopal Colleges (Armentrout, 1996, p. 262; Atwell and Pierce, 1995). In addition, black denominations have a strong history of establishing two-year colleges, although most of that activity subsided in the early 1900s. As James Anderson (1988) argues, by the end of the 1800s African Americans had moved from concern about establishing literacy and basic schooling in the South toward the establishment of colleges and universities, and black denominations established junior and four-year colleges. Three denominations, the African Methodist Episcopal, the Methodist Episcopal, and the Negro Baptist, were active in these foundations. Other Christian groups, such as the American Missionary Association, were active in college foundations too, but since they represent ecumenical rather than denominational activities, they are not part of this examination (Holmes, 1934/1970). DENOMINATIONS AND WOMEN’S COLLEGES Women’s colleges began in the antebellum era, although there was very little growth in the number of institutions until after the Civil War. While there are some histories of those colleges, there is little mention of the junior colleges (Antler, 1982; Farnham, 1994; Solomon, 1985). Although there is the suggestion in one book that as the twoyear colleges for women emerged in the early 1900s, they represented “another set of institutions important in the history of women’s education,” nevertheless there is only occasional mention of their status

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in the remainder of the chapter (see Palmieri, 1988; p. 109, on the importance of the institutions, and pp. 116–117, and 120–121 for further brief mention). Thus the literature on denominational junior colleges for women is thin in regard both to the literature on denominational institutions and on junior colleges for women. In many cases Protestant denominations established junior colleges but did not found junior colleges for women, and in fact, many excluded women from higher education well into the 1900s (Hunt & Carper, 1996). Hence the story of church-affiliated junior colleges for women focuses on only a few denominations. The most notable is the Roman Catholic, founding as many as 68 junior colleges for women (Greeley, 1969). Several scholars (Antler, 1982; Farnham, 1994; Solomon, 1985) argue that the early curricular emphasis for women tended to be liberal education, contrasted with the professional or preprofessional education for men. Eventually women’s higher education included more vocational fields, especially in feminized occupations such as teaching. This portrayal holds for junior colleges as well as four-year colleges, as the following discussion of the Roman Catholic junior colleges illustrates. Catholics in the early 1900s faced an intriguing problem in consideration of the higher education of their youth (Gleason, 1995). Many Catholics had begun to enter the middle class, and while their immigrant backgrounds remained important to them, as well as their deeply rooted Catholic beliefs, they also recognized the importance of providing a higher education for their children. Increasing numbers were attending colleges and universities, which were for the most part either Protestant or public. The Catholic solution was two-fold. On the one hand, Catholics responded to secular pressures by altering the curricula and changing the faculty at many existing Catholic institutions, most of which were universities in the Catholic tradition. Faculty members were often members of religious orders, and the curriculum followed Catholic standards. These institutions offered graduate and professional education as well as the bachelor’s degree, and they faced competition from the premier research universities (Protestant as well as public). In order to maintain a position within the university ranks, the Catholic universities saw it necessary to shift toward secular characteristics (Goodchild, 1986). During approximately the same period, the Church recognized the need to provide higher education for its younger members whose parents were typically first-generation citizens, and throughout the late 1800s and


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early 1900s it began to establish four-year colleges, a process which in fact continued well into the post-World War II era. Many of these institutions were single-sex, and although the majority of the women’s colleges were four-year institutions, the Church also founded junior colleges for women. There was a considerable emphasis on Catholic education for these women. The vocational nature of the Catholic women’s colleges was also apparent, although often temporary, as “elementary school teaching, nursing, and social service was appropriate for students whose brief ‘careers’ would end at marriage” (Oates, 1987). Many of these institutions were founded by orders, as sisters sought ways to provide a higher education for their members, in part in response to state requirements for college-level education in teacher training, as well as for women of the Catholic Church. Often these institutions began in order “to serve women from immigrant families, or women who were first in their families to seek a college education” (Recruitment and Retention of Minorities, 1991). While some of the women’s colleges began as institutions of higher education, most of them evolved from academies, a development similar to some women’s colleges with Protestant foundations (Gleason, 1995; Oates, 1987; Solomon, 1985). The call to Church and vocation was often strong, as in a late-nineteenth-century statement: There is no female Michelango, Beethoven, Shakespeare, but there is a Teresa, a Catharine, and a Mary the Mother of Christ, who knew secrets more valuable and more beautiful than all the visions yet seen by artistic genius. Give the girl the chance in life her brother receives. Every maiden is not destined for matrimony in these days, and why should the spinster be condemned to idleness or to slavery in the shop or the grammar-school? (O’Malley, 1898/1987, p. 3)

This Catholic author also urged four years of college for women preparing for religious orders, but expressed concern about English literature texts required by the College Board, suggesting that some of those books needed “expurgation” (O’Malley, 1898/1987, p. 4). The Catholic nature of these institutions was very important to the early founders. Occasionally Catholic educators even had harsh words for the ways that men had treated women. In a speech to the auxiliary board at Trinity College (a Catholic women’s college), J.L. Spaulding (1899/ 1987) said,

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In considering this question, another superiority of our century-its chief glory perhaps-a splendor which fall on our own country more than any other, is revealed-the position and the opportunities it has given to woman. The inedible stain on the page of history is the world’s treatment of woman. Through the ages man had been unjust to man, cruel even, but woman seemed to be almost beyond the pale of humanity. She was his drudge, his slave, his chattel. She was a thing to be bought and sold, to be played with in idle hours, and for the rest to be immured in the twofold darkness of ignorance and confining walls, (p. 29)

Despite such strong words, the Church often committed greater resources to the higher education of men than of women. The dominant sentiment among Church leaders was a “happy saying paraphrased in our tongue by ‘Husband, home, Christ, kitchen’” (Sherman, 1906/ 1987, p. 105). Still, the women’s colleges exhibited strengths beyond the hearth. For example, the College of St. Catherine (Minnesota) was the only Catholic institution other than The Catholic University to have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter well into the 1960s (Fogarty, Grant, & Donnelly, 1996, p. 319). Whatever the relative strengths of women’s and men’s colleges, Catholic leaders recognized that junior colleges allowed modest beginnings in terms of financial resources and staff, with the possibility for growth into four-year status. Catholic women’s colleges often took this route, although by the 1930s the difficulties of shifting to four-year status because of accrediting standards and resource demands often meant that Catholic junior colleges decided to stay as they were (Power, 1972, pp. 267–268, 316–317). By the end of the 1940s the Church had 25 junior colleges, 18 of which were for women (Tremonti, 1951). By the late 1960s there were 68 Roman Catholic junior colleges for women; forty-four of those were for the education of women in religious orders (Greeley, 1969, pp. 30–31). Many of the colleges for religious orders, however, did not have state accreditation (Oates, 1987). By 1993, there were only two Catholic junior colleges for women (Harwarth et al, 1997) and two Catholic junior colleges to prepare women for religious orders (Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998, 1997). The decline in the number of Catholic junior colleges for women has a number of causes. First, state governments pressured colleges to diminish church affiliation in order to secure government support such as scholarships for students. For example, “in New York, Catholic institutions had to drop specific reference to Catholicism or face the danger of losing


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state funding” (Fogarty, Grant, & Donelly, 1996, p. 327). In addition, the 1963 Vatican Council caused many Catholic colleges and universities in the United States to reconsider their expression of their faith as Catholic colleges (Salvaterra, 1990). Second, the Church itself was not so opposed to coeducational education as it had once been. Third, the 1960s marked a period when the Church began to experience substantial declines in the number of women (and men) entering religious orders (Gleason, 1995; Oates, 1987), and thus those twoyear colleges for the education of sisters faced compelling reasons for closure. Yet there were overarching social reasons for the shift away from these types of institutions, regardless of denominational sponsorship. Many junior colleges were heavily focused on the preparation of teachers, and in some listings, normal schools were included as junior colleges. Whether the institution was a junior college or a normal school, it obviously attracted women on the basis of its preparation for the feminized career of teaching (Fields, 1962, p. 21). In the case of junior colleges for women, the field of teaching was an important one, providing them with the opportunity for employment after college. For the denominations, the emphasis on teaching allowed them to at once provide prepared teachers for their own denominations as well as further higher education for their members (Hunt & Carper, 1996; Power, 1972, p. 303). While this emphasis on teaching provided early opportunities for women at junior colleges, it also marked a later challenge, as many states increased their minimum requirements for teacher certification during the 1950s and 1960s. No longer was a teaching certificate, earned at a normal school or a junior college or a state teachers college, sufficient. Both institutions and students responded, the institutions closing and the students shifting to fouryear colleges with state accredited teacher training programs. Although it is not possible to document that the women who would have attended church-affiliated two-year colleges tended to choose public four-year colleges for teacher education, or public two-year colleges for access, in the 1970s, the shifts of women’s enrollment toward those two types of institutions are clear (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1995). Furthermore, during the 1960s and 1970s women increasingly came to realize occupational opportunities beyond the feminized occupations. Not only was teaching (and nursing, which also moved toward baccalaureate preparation) a possibility, so too were a variety

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of fields. Yet the requirements of the labor market meant that baccalaureate education, either as preprofessional or immediate vocational credentialing, was a more important degree than an associate degree. Women’s colleges in general and women’s two-year colleges specifically, were typically small institutions (Palmieri, 1988, p. 118) and thus likely to be vulnerable in the grand scale of higher education of the 1970s and beyond. Although four-year women’s colleges were likely to respond to enrollment shifts in the 1970s and later by enrolling men, two-year women’s colleges were more likely to close (Palmieri, 1988, p. 121). The number of church-affiliated junior colleges for women had dwindled by the mid-1970s, remaining relatively constant from then to the mid-1990s. Identifying these institutions is difficult, as various private and federal sources offer different information in different years. For example, according to a June 1997 report from the federal government, in 1976 there were four such institutions: Aquinas Junior College at Newton (Catholic, Massachusetts), Aquinas Junior College Main Campus (Catholic, Massachusetts), Midway College (Disciples of Christ, Kentucky), St. Mary’s College (Episcopal, North Carolina). By 1993 only the two Aquinas Colleges and St. Mary’s College still maintained their church affiliation; Midway began to offer baccalaureate instruction in 1989. Not surprisingly, enrollments had declined as well, from 1,304 students in 1976 to 940 in 1993. Yet that difference represents almost exactly Midway College’s 1976 enrollment, suggesting that the other three institutions were still relatively strong institutions in the early 1990s (Harwarth, Maline, & DeBra, 1997). As of 1998, however, St. Mary’s College had announced its intention to focus on secondary education, dropping the two-year college programs. A search of the sources noted in the introductory chapter yielded a few more institutions: Assumption College for Sisters (Catholic, New Jersey) and Peace College (Presbyterian, North Carolina), as well as three institutions with primarily female enrollments, Lutheran College of Health (Massachusetts), Marian Court College (Catholic, Massachusetts), and Queen of the Holy Rosary College (Catholic, California). Both Assumption College and Queen of the Holy Rosary College are for the education of women intending to enter religious orders; Queen of the Holy Rosary College also enrolls a few men intending to enter religious orders. Although Assumption College has a high percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders


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enrolled, most of that enrollment is composed of international students (Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998, 1997). Of the other three colleges, two had listings in two-year college guides, Peace College and Marian Court College. Peace College (founded in 1857) had 437 students in 1993–1994, and indicated that it provided “a Christian setting” (Atwell & Pierce 1995, pp. 481–482). Marian Court College began offering an associate degree in applied science in 1981 and reported enrolling 250 students in 1993–1994. (Atwell & Pierce, 1995, p. 313). Despite the small number of institutions and their small enrollments, the church-affiliated two-year college for women represents, even today, an important component of the broad meaning of access. As the following sections on historically black two-year colleges, twoyear colleges for Native Americans, and two-year colleges for Hispanics, and especially the case study of Midway College, indicate, a spirited and specific identity remains the goal of these institutions. The influence of the denominations’ interpretation of life, for the education of sisters, and to provide a Christian setting, remains strong. It is not, however, as strong a force as it once was, and it developed in the 1960s and 1970s in some ambiguous ways. DENOMINATIONS AND HISTORICALLY BLACK JUNIOR COLLEGES Just as it is difficult to construct the history of private junior colleges, so too it is a challenge to establish the past for historically black junior colleges. There is no continuous information available in regard to standard characteristics such as size and curriculum, and developing a history of these institutions requires the use of diverse and not necessarily comparable information. One characteristic of historically black junior-college education that differentiates that level of higher education from other colleges and universities is that the historically black four-year colleges and universities have a specific history of incorporating two-year college education within their four-year curricula. This pattern occurs among nondenominational as well as churchaffiliated historically black junior colleges, and it is part of the institutions’ complete educational offerings. Often in their early years historically black colleges and universities offered secondary as well as higher education, and it appears that the junior college represents

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that mixture of educational levels. For example, Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), one of the oldest historically black colleges, originally offered secondary education, and in 1920 established a curriculum that added two years of college preparation in teaching as well as a four-year program in agriculture (Holmes, 1934/1970, pp. 86–87). Holmes argues that most historically black land-grant colleges followed a similar pattern (p. 88), and according to a 1928 report from the federal government, virtually all four-year historically black colleges offered two-year degrees, most often in either teacher education or agriculture (Survey of Negro Colleges and Universities, 1969/1929). Among church-affiliated historically black junior colleges there is a similar pattern, as those institutions often began as academies offering secondary education. For example, Barber-Scotia Junior College (now Barber-Scotia College) developed as a result of the foundation of two Presbyterian schools for AfricanAmerican women, Scotia Seminary founded in 1870 and Barber Memorial College founded in 1896. The two institutions merged in 1930 to become a junior college. Another Presbyterian institution, Mary Allen Seminary, also began as a secondary school, becoming a junior college in 1933, although it closed in 1943 when the Presbyterian National Board of Missions decided it could not afford to develop the college into a four-year institution (Parker 1977, pp. 278–279). Two schools founded by the Disciples of Christ, the Southern Christian Institute (Mississippi) and the Jarvis Christian Institute (Texas), had achieved junior college status by 1932 (Holmes, 1934/1970, p. 136). In the spring of 1932, there were a total of 109 historically black colleges and universities. Forty of those institutions were junior colleges, of which 20 were church affiliated (Holmes, 1934/1970, pp. 187–189). Table 6.1 presents information regarding the location, sponsorship, age, and enrollment of these institutions. In comparison to other historically black institutions at the time, church-affiliated junior colleges had much smaller enrollments. Their average enrollment was 54 students, compared with 99 students at other junior colleges and 295 students at four-year institutions. Although all three groups of institutions included colleges with very small enrollments (the smallest being 10, 8, and 21 respectively), many independent and public junior colleges, as well as four-year institutions, tended to have much larger enrollments. The largest church-affiliated junior college had 125 students, compared with 322 at other junior colleges

Source: Holmes (1934/1970)

Table 6.1. Historically Black Church-Affiliated Junior Colleges, 1932

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and 1,573 at four-year institutions (all data calculated from Holmes, 1934/1970, pp. 187–189). As with two-year women’s colleges, the number of two-year, church-affiliated, historically black colleges fell dramatically from the 1930s to the 1990s. By the mid-1990s, only two historically black, church-affiliated two-year colleges remained: Mary Holmes College (Presbyterian, Mississippi) and Shorter College (African Methodist Episcopal, Arkansas). In addition, there were two institutions with substantial African-American populations (i.e., black-serving institutions), Andrew College (United Methodist, Georgia) and Donnelly College (Catholic, Kansas). Reports in Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997) suggest that only Mary Holmes and Shorter Colleges have African-American identities, in each case the institution calling attention to its historically black heritage (pp. 181, 400). The two colleges’ enrollments are very different in size; Mary Holmes College reported enrolling 790 students in 1993–1994, Shorter College 175 students (Atwell & Pierce, 1995, pp. 46–47, 551). As in the case of the two-year, church-affiliated colleges for women, twoyear, church-affiliated, historically black colleges are few in number and have small enrollments. Nevertheless, the African-American identity remains clear. Inez Moore Parker (1977) offers a detailed set of histories of educational institutions that the Presbyterian Church founded for African Americans. On the one hand, she notes the loss of the black school in the 1960s and the 1970s, a problem given both the essentially white nature of public schooling and the loss of the church, a critical part of the African-American community. On the other hand, she lauds the church for its role in making “a zealous and rewarding effort to deal with this national problem” of racism (Parker, 1977, pp. 57, 306). Thus the church’s spirit and identity has diminished somewhat in educational settings, at a cost to the black community. CHURCH-AFFILIATED TWO-YEAR COLLEGES FOR NATIVE AMERICANS Higher education’s relationship with Native Americans has a troubled history. As Bobby Wright showed, although presidents at some colonial colleges recruited Native American students, the presidents were primarily interested in attracting money from donors, especially in England, because of admitting these students. The presidents also


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wanted to impose western Christian values on the students (Wright, 1991). The two church-affiliated Native American two-year colleges, Bacone College (American Baptist, Oklahoma) and Central Indian Bible College (Assemblies of God, South Dakota) represent both Native American and Christian identities. In the case of Bacone College, the institution offers a Native American studies major, Native American Club, and a Christian Nurses Fellowship. It was founded in 1880, and in 1993–1994 it enrolled 681 students (Atwell & Pierce, 1995, pp. 526–527; Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998, 1997, p. 526). Central Indian Bible College, founded in 1970, enrolled 25 students in 1995–1996, and offered only a major in biblical studies (Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998, 1997, pp. 573–574). CHURCH-AFFILIATED TWO-YEAR COLLEGES FOR HISPANICS Only two Hispanic junior colleges with church ties appear to be in existence today. In the case of one, St. Augustine’s College (Illinois), although a report in a volume on religion and higher education indicates that the founder and president was an Episcopal priest and the institution is a member of the Association of Episcopal Colleges (Armentrout, 1996, p. 262), the college listing in both the American Council on Education directories and Peterson’s Guide editions from 1983–1984 to the present indicate only that it is an independent college. No church affiliation is given. Don Bosco Technical Institute (Catholic, California) has a predominantly Hispanic enrollment, although there is no specific mention of a commitment to educating Hispanics in Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997). CURRICULUM AND TRANSFER ISSUES To a considerable degree, scholarly examinations of public two-year colleges have focused on their role in economic and social opportunity. The examinations address both the curricular components of community colleges (the liberal arts and vocational offerings) as well as the transfer rates to four-year institutions. One set of scholars, exemplified by Stephen Brint and Jerome Karabel (1985), argues that public two-year colleges reproduce economic and social class. Another set, in particular Arthur Cohen and Florence Brawer (1996), contends that those institutions offer opportunity to all. The church-affiliated

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junior colleges do not seem to reflect this dichotomy, based on selfreported data. Of the institutions listed in Table 1.9 of Chapter 1, excluding the two Catholic schools for the preparation of sisters, all but two offer both liberal arts and vocational majors. One, Central Indian Bible College, offers only a biblical studies major, while the other, Don Bosco Technical Institute, offers only applied fields of study (Atwell & Pierce, 1995, p. 89; Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998, 1997, pp. 573–574). Thus in general these church-affiliated two-year colleges represent the same sort of curricular range as the public community colleges. Their transfer rates are, however, substantially different from the low transfer rates typically reported in the scholarly literature. For example, Cohen and Brawer (1996), advocates of the opportunities afforded by community colleges, nevertheless acknowledge that the transfer rate to four-year colleges for students intending to transfer is about 20 percent. In contrast, the self-reported transfer rate for 10 of the schools (the only self-reported data available) indicates a range from 12 to 96 percent, and an average transfer rate of 60 percent.2 Although self-reported data often have obvious and considerable flaws, the consistently high transfer rates of the church-affiliated two-year colleges (only three were lower than 50 percent) suggest that these institutions move their students into further education. CASE STUDY: MIDWAY COLLEGE, KENTUCKY What, then, appears to be the lesson of denominations and their twoyear colleges? While on the surface, the story seems to be one of transformation into other institutions or outright death or existence as a very small institution, the following case study illuminates the complex nature of the church-affiliated junior college. Midway College in Midway, Kentucky, began instruction in 1849 as the Kentucky Female Orphan School. A member of the Disciples of Christ established the institution for female orphans. By 1943 the institution had begun to offer junior college instruction, although initially the number of students in the two-year programs was small. For example, in 1945–1946 there were only three graduates (Bogue, 1948). Its mission in the early 1960s remained to offer instruction to young women who “lost one or both parents through illness, disability, death, or separation” and the enrollment in the junior college was


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only 105 (Gleazer, 1963, p. 214). Enrollment grew to 225 students in 1968; by the mid-1980s Midway was enrolling 400 students each year; it remained a small, two-year, church-affiliated women’s college (Education Directory, 1969–1970, Higher Education, 1970; The hep 1986 Higher Education Directory, 1986). In July 1985, Midway inaugurated a new president, Robert Botkin. In the mid-1980s the college was surviving, but neither its enrollment nor its endowment seemed sufficient to assure long-term institutional development. In 1986 President Botkin appointed a task force on curriculum development to address the possibility of implementing a four-year program. Following application to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, in 1989 the College began offering the bachelor’s degree (Imbler, 1997, p. 229). This case study highlights the nature of church-affiliated junior colleges (as illustrated in another manner by Table 6.2) as they transform themselves into baccalaureate institutions. All of the information for this study comes from the A Report on the Substantive Change from an Associate Degree Granting Institution to a Baccalaureate Degree Granting Institution, Submitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1991). Institutions seeking to offer degrees at levels beyond their current offerings go through a detailed and extended process with the regional accrediting association. The 1991 report on Midway’s progress toward implementing baccalaureate education is several hundred pages long, incorporating statements from all segments of the administration and several faculty groups. These statements included standard reports such as the president’s annual report for 1989–1990, but for the most part the statements were developed expressly for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), such as assessments of the impact of the new baccalaureate majors in business and nursing, faculty development issues, proposed new baccalaureate programs for fall 1991, and the admission office experience. In addition, the College responded to the recommendations and suggestions of the SACS Substantive Change Committee. As noted earlier, many twoyear colleges chose not to move toward four-year status because of the burden of the accrediting process; the overwhelming documentation provided by Midway College affirms that caution. The College responded to all of the SACS committee recommendations and suggestions. It included a revision of the mission statement as the College had begun to admit men to its evening program. Faculty appointments in business and nursing had to provide

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enough doctorally prepared professors to teach at least 25 percent of the courses above the associate level in those programs. In addition, faculty salaries in those areas had to be increased in order to attract qualified professors. The library needed to address “collection security and preservation.” There had to be a plan for the development of “laboratory, audio-visual, duplicating and educational equipment.” Financial aid practices had to be revised to provide adequate support for baccalaureate students. The president’s annual report made it clear that financially the change was successful. According to the former dean of students (Buchanan, personal correspondence, January 1998), much of the initial drive to consider four-year status resulted from concerns about enrollment and fundraising problems. In both areas, the situation in 1989–1990, immediately after the transition, was encouraging. Enrollment was up by 23 percent from the previous year and 62 percent from two years before. In fundraising, the College received $1.8 million, a 65 percent increase from the previous year. While acknowledging that the consequences of the shift to baccalaureate programs would not be clear until those classes began to graduate, the president nevertheless concluded that 1989–1990 had been “an outstanding success.” Yet the new baccalaureate programs were already implementing changes. The business program has several changes in graduation requirements in both general education and the major. The nursing program was establishing new courses and accommodating student shifts to part-time status. Yet the most intriguing component of the Midway College development of baccalaureate programs is not the changes in faculty, support services, facilities, or programs, or the encouraging reports about enrollment and fundraising. As part of the degree-program changes, Midway College implemented in the fall of 1989 “an explicit and formal recognition of the centrality of women’s studies.” Despite the institution’s 140-year tradition of educating women, the role of women and the study of that role was not a part of that tradition. The faculty proposal, adopted in 1990, made clear the importance and depth of the new commitment: If the mission of women’s studies at Midway College were to be accomplished, there would be no women’s studies program. Knowledge about and for women, i.e., feminism, would pervade every course in


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the curriculum, not as a supplement to or as a rival conceptual base to traditional bodies of knowledge, but as a critique, development, and strengthening of our present curriculum. Feminist pedagogy, whatever we discover that may be, would be standard as well. Like the word “black” currently undergoing metamorphosis into “African-American,” the word “feminist,” names both theoretical and physical differences from society’s traditional assumption that a “normal” person is a male person. When feminist practice and thinking are taken for granted, a new word will be used or coined that will refer to the institutionalization of feminist knowledge. The goal of the General Education Program Committee is to bring about the institutionalization of women’s studies at Midway College. (A Report on the Substantive Change, 1991)

In order to achieve this institutionalization, the College had already begun several programs by 1991. These ranged from exploring women in the horse industry (Midway offers equestrian studies) to a paper, distributed to the faculty and written by a member of the library staff, addressing the impact of women’s studies on the publishing industry. The report also acknowledged the difficulties of implementing curricular change: Integration of women’s studies across the curriculum is not easy to measure. Several faculty members make a regular practice of including a special unit about women in particular courses. Integration will take longer to achieve and largely is dependent upon faculty continuing education and hiring new faculty with special interests and experience in teaching and research in women’s studies. (A Report on the Substantive Change, 1991)

Despite that caution, the report concluded, “In the last few years Midway has become intentional about being a college for women. We are in the process of transforming our culture.” Thus, despite the hidden nature of so many church-affiliated twoyear colleges in both historical and contemporary terms, these institutions have represented and continue to represent how institutional mission, developed within the context of a denomination, offers identity to selected groups. In contrast to essentially white institutions, these two-year colleges have typically maintained their own essential identities. Although the identity may not be fully articulated, perhaps even awaiting transformation through institutional transformation, it is indeed in place. While that identity may not have

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the social and economic characteristics of four-year institutions, particularly, for example, as regards the former Seven Sisters or the Black Ivy League, it is an identity that offers access and has the selfconfidence to attempt institutional change. CONCLUSION: TWO-YEAR CHURCH-AFFILIATED COLLEGES, MISSIONS AND CHALLENGES Church-affiliated junior colleges faced many pressures during the 1970s and 1980s. Private colleges for men and women chose to become coeducational, and community colleges with low if any tuition, open access, and geographical proximity, expanded at a phenomenal rate (Harwarth, Maline & DeBra, 1997). Even by the 1970s, several twoyear church-affiliated colleges had closed, merged with a four-year college, or begun to offer bachelor’s degrees, as indicated by Table 6.2. Nor have scholars offered much attention to two-year churchaffiliated colleges. For example, although the number of Catholic junior colleges for women was far greater than any other denomination, in a 1958 examination of Catholic women’s colleges Edward Power relegated the two-year institutions to a footnote (Power, 1958, p. 183, note 21) As institutions caught in a snapshot taken in the 1990s, churchaffiliated junior colleges offer a limited form of access into higher education for women and people of color. There are only a few of such institutions, far fewer than the many coeducational and diverse community colleges. The institutions reveal a different form, however, when considered for their pasts and presents. Reconsidering these institutions not as victims of the 1970s and 1980s but rather as instruments of their denominations and student populations is instructive. Many junior colleges for women and African Americans in the early 1900s became four-year institutions continuing to serve their traditional populations. As much as the institution itself, located on a hill or in the town center, there is the idea of higher education, and the junior college is an accessible institutionalization of that idea. That is, both the denomination and its members can create and benefit from an institution of higher education, the two-year college, which often begins as an unaccredited institution (Hunt & Carper, 1997). If the denomination and its members so choose, they can eventually use it for the development of a four-year college. It is the bachelor’s degree


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which defines economic success, if nothing else, in the United States today, and denominations and their members can make a definite statement that they have arrived by waving their bachelor’s degrees above their heads. Thus, rather than viewing the church-affiliated junior college as an anachronism, it is better to view it as one vehicle for creating access into higher education. While the creation of institutions intentionally focusing on women and people of color has slowed considerably since the early 1900s, the continuing existence of churchaffiliated junior colleges and the rising concern about full-fledged opportunities for women and people of color suggest that these institutions may still have a future. This is not to argue that these institutions will solve the problems of discrimination and exclusion. They themselves have problems of exclusion, with traditions of focusing on careers and roles that do not allow for full participation in the economy, society, or polity. Also, as Lois Weis (1985) has shown, the students themselves create an agency that helps to sustain the processes of exclusion. Nevertheless, the willingness of these institutions to admit and educate women and people of color, in fact to focus on women and people of color, clearly differentiates them from essentially white institutions. To an important degree they reflect their primary cultures, as essentially feminist or African-American or Native American or Hispanic institutions. That identity is not necessarily fully expressed, but given its essential nature, the institution has the power to expand upon it. NOTES 1.

A note on essentially white institutions, as a phrase used in this chapter, is important. Rather than referring to these colleges and universities as predominantly white institutions (PWIs), the authors of this chapter prefer the variety of connotations evident in essentially white. The term predominantly white institution captures only the numerical nature of the organization, and as such offers an insufficient comparison and contrast with such terms as historically black college or university (HBCU). Not only is the majority of the institution’s population white, but also the practices and policies of the institution reflect essentially white conceptions, in such matters as the importance of bureaucratic forms, the nature of time, and characteristics of relationships (Weis, 1985). The phrase essentially white institution (EWI) identifies the substantive

Table 6.2. Former Church-Affiliated Two-Year Colleges For Women and People of Color


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2.

Philo A.Hutcheson and Ray Christie as well as numerical nature of most colleges and universities in this country. Transfer rates for the following institutions were found in Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997); Andrew College (96 percent), Bacone (80 percent), Don Bosco (85 percent), Donnelly (66 percent), Mary Holmes (80 percent), Peace (96 percent). Shorter (50 percent), Marian (20 percent), Aquinas-Milton (18 percent), and Aquinas-Newton (18 percent).

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J.C. (Eds.), Religious higher education in the United States: A source book (pp. 135–154). New York: Garland. Education directory 1969–1970, higher education (1970). Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. Farnham, C.A. (1994). The education of the southern belle: Higher education and student socialization in the antebellum South. New York: New York University Press. Fields, R.R. (1962). The community college movement. New York: McGraw-Hill. Fifteenth annual status report on minorities in higher education. (1996). Washington, DC: American Council on Education. Fogarty, G.P, Grant, M.A., & Donnelly, A.M. (1996). Catholic higher education in the United States: An historical perspective. In Hunt, T.C., & Carper, J.C. (Eds.), Religious higher education in the United States: A source book, pp. 305–352. New York: Garland. Gleason, P. (1995). Contending with modernity: Catholic higher education in the twentieth century . New York: Oxford University Press. Gleazer, Jr., E.J. (Ed.). (1963). American junior colleges. Washington, DC: American Council on Education. Greeley, A.M. (1969). From backwater to mainstream: A profile of Catholic higher education. New York, McGraw-Hill. Goodchild, L.F. (1986). The turning point in American Jesuit education: The standardization controversy between the Jesuits and the North Central Association, 1915–1940. History of Higher Education Annual. 6, 81–116. Harwarth, I., Maline, M., & DeBra, E. (1997, June). Women’s colleges in the United States: History, issues, and challenges. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. The hep 1986 higher education directory (1986). Washington, DC: Higher Education Publications. Hofstadter, R., & Metzger, W.P. (1955). The development of academic freedom in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press. Holmes, D.O.W. (1934/1970). The evolution of the Negro college. New York: AMS Press. Hunt, T.C., & Carper, J.C. (Eds.). (1996). Religious higher education in the United States: A source book. New York: Garland. Imbler, J.M. (1996). Disciples of Christ colleges, universities, and seminaries. In Hunt, T.C., & Carper, J.C. (Eds.), Religious higher education in the United States: A source book (pp. 223–242). New York: Garland. Leahy, W.P. (1991). Adapting to America: Catholics, Jesuits, and higher education in the twentieth century. Washington, D.C. Georgetown University Press. Leslie, W.B. (1992). Gentleman and scholars: College and community in the “age

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CHAPTER 7

Beyond a Distinctive Student Body: Possibilities for Practice Barbara K.Townsend, Janet A.Guyden, Philo A. Hutcheson, Berta Vigil Laden, D.Michael Pavel, and Lisa Wolf-Wendel

The previous chapters have described the two-year special-focus colleges that enroll women students only or primarily enroll students of one non-white racial or ethnic group. Some of these schools, such as women’s colleges and historically black colleges, have a long history of providing access and facilitating academic success for their particular student body. Other schools, such as tribal colleges and predominantly Hispanic institutions, are newer entrants to higher education, but many have already demonstrated success in serving non white students. These special-focus two-year colleges are distinctive because of their student bodies. Two-year, coeducational predominantly white institutions are also distinctive because of their student bodies. The majority are white. Thirty years ago the majority might also have been male, although nowadays women students are in the majority on most campuses. What two-year predominantly white institutions have in common with the colleges examined in this book are the many students they enroll from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. They also have in common many students with weak academic aptitude, as measured by high school grades and standardized test scores. Almost all twoyear colleges, regardless of the racial or ethnic composition of their student body, are open-access institutions. They exist to provide access to students not wanted by many four-year schools for academic reasons. 225

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Given this commonality of shared mission, serving underprepared students who frequently come from an economically disadvantaged background, why are some two-year special-focus colleges more successful than many two-year, public coeducational predominantly white colleges in retaining minority students? Are there characteristics these special-focus schools have in common that affect their ability to encourage and facilitate students’ academic success, including baccalaureate attainment? This chapter will address these questions, drawing upon the case studies presented previously as well as upon relevant literature for fostering the academic success of minority and women students. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING INSTITUTIONAL SUCCESS A college’s curricular focus helps determine the most appropriate single criterion for evaluating its success in serving students academically. A few of the special-focus colleges, such as the singlesex Cottey College, are liberal arts institutions attended by students who plan to transfer upon graduation to a four-year school. Most of the colleges are comprehensive community colleges, providing both transfer and career education. They offer the Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree, the traditional transfer degree, as well as the Associate of Science (A.S.) and the Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree. Some two-year special-focus schools are technical institutions, permitted to offer only certificate programs and the A.A.S. degree, considered to be a terminal career degree. The standard criterion for evaluating the success of a two-year liberal arts college or two-year college offering transfer-oriented degrees is the college’s transfer rate: the percentage of students who transfer to a four-year school. However, there are some problems with this criterion. First of all, there are two major definitions for transfer rate: (1) the percentage of students who transfer after completing a two-year degree, and (2) the percentage of first-time college students who begin at a two-year school and transfer at least 12 credits to a public, four-year school within the state within a four-year time period. The latter definition was developed at the Center for the Study of Community Colleges, under the direction of Art Cohen at the University of California at Los Angeles. With this latter definition, the national transfer rate is 22 percent, although there is great variation from state to state and institution to institution (Cohen & Sanchez, 1996).

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This definition also points to a major difficulty in determining the success of any two-year school in helping its students: Many twoyear students transfer to a four-year school without first completing their associate’s degree. Palmer, Ludwig, and Stapleton (1994) conducted a 13-state study and found that only 37 percent of community college students who transferred to universities had completed their two-year degree before transferring. Those who transfer without completing the two-year degree are considered dropouts from the two-year school, yet they have achieved sufficient academic success at the two-year college to be accepted at a fouryear institution. The evaluation criterion for career-oriented two-year schools, often called technical institutes or colleges, is the percentage of students who have job offers after degree completion. However, a phenomenon in two-year college transfer patterns is that many students receiving the A.A. S., the technical or nontransfer degree, transfer to a fouryear school upon receipt of the degree. This phenomenon is illustrated in the transfer rates of some of the two-year special-focus colleges examined in this book, as later parts of this chapter will illustrate. In discussing a special-focus college’s transfer rate, we use the transfer rates listed in Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges 1998 (1997) or rates provided by institutional administrators to the chapter authors. These rates reflect what percentage of students attain a twoyear degree before transferring to a four-year school. Unfortunately, there are no studies indicating the national transfer rate for people completing their two-year degree, so there is no comparative base. To provide a sense of perspective about individual institutions’ transfer rates, we suggest considering any rate higher than 37 percent, the percentage of two-year students transferring with a degree to a fouryear school as cited by Palmer, Ludwig, & Stapleton (1994), to be a high transfer rate. However, we are fully aware that this percentage is not the same as the national average transfer rate (based upon prior completion of two-year degrees). As indicated earlier, that average is not known. INSTITUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND STUDENT SUCCESS Whether the criterion is transfer or job offer rates, certain two-year special-focus colleges do a superb job in facilitating their students’

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academic success and they do it with limited resources. Few private special-focus colleges have substantial financial resources, whereas the state-supported institutions at least have the security of state funding. However, whether public, private, or tribally controlled, these special-focus institutions in general have fewer resources (whether that be state support, student tuition, or endowments) than do most four-year schools. It is important to note that the connection between service to women and people of color and institutional behavior is not necessarily grounded in money. In determining what institutional characteristics seem to be related to students’ success, we turned first to the research literature to see what the characteristics might be. Research indicates that the institutional characteristics of size, type of control, and capability to house students make a difference in student persistence. Whether twoyear or four-year schools, colleges that are small, private, and residential are likely to have higher retention rates than large, public, commuter schools. Additionally, on residential campuses students who live on campus are more apt to remain in college than are commuter students (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). Finally, student enrollment status is particularly important for two-year colleges as two-year students who attend college full time are more apt to transfer to a four-year school than are part-time students (NCES, June 1997). Thus it is no surprise to find that two-year special-focus colleges with high transfer rates are usually small (fewer than 1,000 students) and private (if public stands for state-controlled). They may also have a high percentage of full-time students and provide residential facilities, although not all their students live on campus. For example, among the colleges providing information of transfer and job offer rates, we see that the private HBCs (all of which enroll fewer than 500 students apiece and three of which provide residential facilities) also have a high transfer rate. The private Mary Holmes College is a small (under 400 students in 1996–1997), residential HBC, where over half the students live on campus and 94 percent are full time. It has a 75 percent retention rate, with 80 percent of its graduates transferring to fouryear schools. The private Shorter College has 65 percent of its students enrolled full-time, 12 percent living on campus, and a 50 percent transfer rate. Since Concordia College, another private HBC, now offers four-year degree programs, its transfer rates have been influenced. Some students who would have transferred to four-year schools now stay at Concordia to complete their degrees there. Also,


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since Concordia now lists itself in Peterson’s Guide to Four-Year Colleges rather than in its two-year guide, its transfer rates were not available from this source. Transfer rates were available for only three single-campus, public HBCs. Also, transfer rates for public, multicampus schools with an HBC campus were for the entire college and thus could not be used. Among the public HBCs, only 2 percent of Lawson State Community College’s 1995 graduates transferred. Illustrating a phenomenon referenced earlier, some public HBCs offering only the terminal career degree had a higher transfer rate in 1996–9797 than did the comprehensive Lawson State. Ten percent of Denmark Technical College’s 1995 graduates transferred, as did 19 percent of Trenholm State Technical College’s students (Peterson’s Guide, 1997). Among the institutions providing data, both the private PBIs and the private PHIs had a higher transfer and job offer rate than did their public counterparts. Transfer and job offer rates were available for two of the four private PB colleges and two of the four private PHIs. The PB Berean Institute, a commuter school authorized to grant the terminal associate degree only, had 80 percent of its students attending full time in 1997–1997. Among its 1995 graduates, 10 percent transferred and 76 percent had job offers within six months of graduation. The PB Peirce College, with very limited housing and a full-time student enrollment of 68 percent in 1996–97, had a 25 percent transfer rate for the class of 1995. The PH comprehensive Don Bosco Technical Institute, an all-male college whose students enroll full time and must be graduates of Don Bosco Technical High School, had a transfer rate of 85 percent. The PH Heald College, School of Business, authorized to grant the terminal associate degree only, had a 95 percent job offer rate among its 1995 graduates. Among the 22 public PBIs, the average transfer rate for 1995 graduates was over 46 percent (based on three institutions) and the average job offer rate was almost 82 percent (based on four institutions). For the 17 public PHIs, the average transfer rate was 28 percent (based on four institutions) and the average job offer rate was 61 percent (based on two institutions). All of the eight two-year women’s colleges listed in Chapter 1 are small, private institutions and, except for Aquinas College and Queen of the Holy Rosary (for Catholic sisters), provide residential facilities. However, Cottey College is the only one that is almost completely residential: 98 percent of its students lived on campus in 1996–1997.

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1996–1997 full-time enrollment for these colleges averaged almost 87 percent. If the Assumption College for Sisters is eliminated because it is an institution that is almost exclusively for Roman Catholic sisters, the full-time enrollment averaged 95 percent at the remaining seven colleges, five of which provide housing. For all eight institutions, the transfer rate averaged almost 65 percent. Among the women’s colleges examined in detail in Chapter 2, Cottey reported the highest transfer rate. On the average, 95 percent of its graduates transfer to a fouryear college. In comparison, the other women’s colleges have lower transfer rates for a variety of reasons, including students’ housing patterns and enrollment status and the institution’s primary curricular focus. Fisher College, Harcum College, and Lexington College have housing available, but many of their students commute. Approximately half of Fisher’s students attending its main campus commute, as do approximately 80 percent of Harcum’s, and almost all of Lexington’s. Fisher, with around 400 students on its main campus, has a 50 percent rate for those in transfer programs. Harcum, with around 700, mostly full-time students, has a transfer rate of about 40 percent for its traditional-age students and a much lower rate for older students, who are usually in career programs and not planning to transfer. Lexington College, because of its highly specialized career focus, has almost no students who transfer immediately after graduation, but does have a 95 percent placement rate. The two Aquinas commuter campuses enrolled approximately 400 students, of whom over 80 percent were full-time. Aquinas’s transfer rate is around 20 percent. Tribal colleges are also small institutions. Of the 18 that included their 1996–98 student enrollment in Peterson’s Guide (1997), 16 enrolled under 800 students, with enrollments ranging from 123 at Cankdeska Cikana Community College to 765 at Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College. Navajo Community College (now Diné College) was the largest, enrolling 1,718 students, and Northwest Indian College was the next largest, enrolling 1,500 students. A few have limited residential facilities, but most of the students live elsewhere on the reservation. The average percent of full-time students in 1996–1997 for the 18 schools providing this information was almost 59 percent. Tribal colleges could also be considered as privately controlled in that they are controlled by various tribes rather than by the states in which they are located. Tribal control gives these institutions more freedom for curricular innovation than they might have under state control.


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As a group tribal colleges have a high transfer rate: 42 percent of tribal college graduates go on to other collegiate institutions and of these, 90 percent graduate from a four-year school, (Marklein, 1998, p. A4). Also, “American Indian students who transfer from tribal colleges are four times more likely to complete four-year degree programs than those who enter mainstream institutions as freshmen” (OIEP Home Page, 1995). Some individual tribal colleges have also documented their success in helping students attain the baccalaureate. For example, according to Wright and Head (1990), Sisston-Wahpeton Community College in South Dakota conducted a study in 1988 that found that 91 percent of its [then] 113 associate of arts graduates went on to a four-year school (p. 31). The high transfer rate of tribal colleges and many other two-year special-focus colleges is particularly remarkable, given that many, if not most of their students are first-generation college-goers from a low socioeconomic background. Students who are the first in their family to attend college “are breaking, not continuing, family tradition” (Terenzini et al., 1994, p. 63) and consequently face more adjustments to college life than do children of college graduates. Additionally, students from a low socioeconomic background are less likely to transfer to a four-year school than students from a high socioeconomic background. According to The Condition of Education, 1996 (NCES, 1997), of those students who started their higher education in a twoyear school in 1989–1990, 35 percent of high SES students transferred, as compared to 21 percent of middle SES and 7 percent of low SES students.1 In short, a review of institutional characteristics suggests that being small and private (or at least not state-controlled) and having residential facilities are characteristics associated with retention of all students, independent of race/ethnicity and gender. Similarly, having a high percentage of full-time students, and having a transfer-oriented curriculum seem to facilitate a high transfer rate. Women’s colleges, all of which are private and most of which offer housing, have the highest percentage of full-time students and the highest transfer rates of all the colleges studied. Among the colleges dominated numerically by a nonwhite student body, the tribal colleges had the highest percentage of full-time students (almost 59 percent) in 1996–1997 as compared to the public predominantly Hispanic institutions (44 percent) and the public predominantly black colleges (almost 38 percent). Because of missing data for so many institutions,

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comparisons of transfer rates of different types of nonwhite institutions cannot be made with any certainty, except to say that the private historically black colleges and the private predominantly Hispanic institutions seem to have higher transfer rates than their comparable public institutions. Colleges typically cannot change some of these institutional characteristics. They cannot change whether or not they are public or private and whether or not they are primarily a commuter or a residential institution. Technical institutions can rarely change their curricular focus by adding a transfer degree. Also, most colleges strive to increase their enrollments rather than downsize to be a small institution. However, colleges can work to change their students’ enrollment status from part-time to full-time. On the average, the percent of full-time students in each of the institutional types studied here seems to make a difference in the transfer rates: the higher the percentage of full-time students, the greater the transfer rate upon degree completion. Thus colleges should make every effort to increase the percentage of full-time students. Facilitating financial aid applications, raising scholarship monies in the business community, and offering classes at convenient times and sites are three obvious ways to eliminate barriers to full-time enrollment. Colleges can also change their institutional climate so that students of all races and both genders are treated well and taught well. The next section will indicate what majority-culture colleges, two- or fouryear, can do to facilitate the academic achievement of minority students and women. LESSONS FOR MAJORITY-CULTURE COLLEGES In their “conceptualization of a campus climate for diversity” (p. 282), Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, and Allen (1998) discuss the importance of institutional context. They believe that an institution’s climate consists of four dimensions as follows: an institution’s historical legacy of inclusion or exclusion of various racial/ethnic groups, its structural diversity in terms of numerical representation of various racial/ethnic groups, the psychological climate of perceptions and attitudes between and among groups, and the behavioral climate dimension, characterized by intergroup relations on campus, (p. 282)


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These dimensions provide a useful framework for (1) summarizing why so many two-year special-focus institutions have been successful in facilitating their students’ academic achievement, and (2) indicating what leaders of predominantly white institutions can do to achieve greater academic success with their students of color and women students. Historical legacy regarding minorities and women. Many specialfocus colleges have an historical legacy of inclusion because they were created to serve minorities or women. In the nineteenth century women’s colleges and historically black colleges were formed to admit two groups not wanted by mainstream colleges and universities. In the second half of the twentieth century, tribal colleges were created so that Native Americans living on reservations would have a realistic opportunity to receive a college education. Hispanic-serving institutions also developed during this time, more by demographic default than by conscious design, but through the efforts of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, they are uniting to focus consciously upon the academic success of Hispanic students. In institutions where the mission of serving women and minorities was consciously chosen, campus members “know the mission, believe in the mission, and live the mission” (Wolf-Wendel, 1998).2 In contrast, many coeducational predominantly white institutions have an overt legacy of exclusion because they at one time openly excluded women and/or people of color. In particular, Southern colleges were required by law at one time to be segregated. Some faculty and staff at schools that excluded certain groups still remember and tell stories of how young women were treated if they dared step on campus or how black applicants were dealt with if they tried to attend. These stories are a part of the campus lore and are passed down from one generation of faculty and students to the next generation (Horowitz, 1987; Hunter-Gault, 1992). Leaders of institutions with this kind of legacy need to be aware of it and take it into account when setting policies and determining practices affecting student recruitment and retention. Not all predominantly white institutions have a history of overt exclusion. Some were coeducational from inception and were open to all races, at least in theory. However, in practice, there may have been little or no conscious efforts to attract and retain women students and/or minority students. Again, institutional leaders need to be aware of this legacy of exclusion by default, for it is certain that some

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members of the college community and surrounding community have not forgotten it. These same members will also be aware on some level if the college is still excluding people of color by virtue of being, at its core, an essentially white institution. As Philo Hutcheson and Ray Christie indicated in Chapter 6, many predominantly white institutions are also essentially white institutions. Their values, as played out in policies and practices, reflect those of white, middle- to upper-middle-class, European-American culture, with an implicit, if unintentional, disparagement of the values and norms of other cultures. Similarly, many colleges are also essentially male institutions, where both stated and unstated patriarchal values may dominate to the detriment of women students’ academic success.3 We urge institutional sensitivity to the likelihood that unspoken values, norms and practices are sending a tacit message denigrating nonwhite and female students. Structural diversity in terms of numerical representation of racial/ ethnic groups. Two-year special-focus colleges are more likely than predominantly white institutions to have a high percentage of nonwhite students, faculty, and staff. Regardless of residential capability, control, or size, all two-year historically black colleges, two-year Hispanicserving institutions, and tribal colleges have one characteristic in common that facilitates their students’ retention and degree attainment. These particular colleges enroll so many students of one particular racial or ethnic group that these students do not feel isolated and “different” from most of the college’s students, in the way they can at predominantly white schools. Having a critical mass of students from their own racial or ethnic background helps students feel comfortable on campus and contributes to their success academically (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, p. 638; see also Turner, 1988). Similarly in the case of women’s colleges, women students do not feel marginalized because of their gender; thus, they can concentrate better on academics (Solomon, 1985). Special-focus colleges also have a high percentage of administrators and faculty from the group that the institution predominantly serves. Chapter 2’s statistics about the percent of women faculty at two-year women’s colleges illustrate this point well for women’s colleges. At tribal colleges, the majority of administrators are Native Americans, although only about one-third of the faculty are (Boyer, 1997, p. 32). There are little data available to indicate how many Hispanic faculty and administrators there are in higher education, but it is likely that


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“as many as from 65 to 70 percent [of all Hispanic faculty, regardless of institutional type]…are concentrated in a few institutions with 25 percent or more Hispanic students” (Padrón, 1994, p. 91). As we have seen, these institutions are apt to be two-year schools. Also, in 1992 there were 36 Hispanic two-year college presidents for a total of 3 percent of all two-year college presidents (Padrón, 1994, pp. 91–92). The presence of so many female and minority administrators and faculty signals to women and students of color that their demographic group is valued on campus. Female and minority administrators and faculty also serve as role models to students, providing everyday examples of successful women and people of color. The presence of role models conveys to students the idea that they, too, can be successful professionals and that women and people of color can be important members of a college community. The lesson for leaders of predominantly white institutions is obvious and hardly a novel one: admit more women students and students of color, and hire more women faculty and more faculty and staff of color. Two-year colleges in states with a diverse racial/ethnic population should not have difficulty in admitting students of color and women. As open-access institutions, they do not generally require minimum scores on the standardized tests that can serve as entrance hurdles for minorities and women because of these tests’ white-male bias. Retaining the students is more difficult and is affected by the next two dimensions of institutional climate for diversity. These two dimensions shall be discussed jointly. Psychological and behavioral dimensions. According to Hurtado et al. (1998), the psychological dimension includes “individuals’ views of group relations, institutional responses to diversity, perceptions of discrimination or racial conflict, and attitudes toward those from other racial/ethnic backgrounds than one’s own” (p. 289). How people actually behave toward one another on campus—how women and men treat one another, how students from different racial and ethnic groups interact—constitutes the behavioral dimension of institutional climate. As we have seen throughout this book, colleges that have chosen to focus on students of a particular racial or ethnic group or on women embody an attitude of valuing the particular group. This valuing is played out in numerous ways, including offering of curriculum that focuses on the group’s heritage and developmental needs and using pedagogical processes known to be effective for the group. Thus

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women students flourish in women’s colleges, partly because they do not have to compete with men in the classroom or for leadership positions, but also because they are valued as women and treated with respect (Philip, 1993; Whitt, 1994). We see this in the comments by Lexington College personnel. The college acknowledges and incorporates into its curriculum the reality that most women seek a balance between their work and home life. Also, the church-affiliated Midway College, in its reassessment of its mission, has committed itself to the centrality of women’s studies and strives to be “intentional about being a college for women” (Report, 1991). Similarly, minority students thrive in an environment that respects and validates their cultural heritage. Unlike white students, who, upon entering college, simply find themselves “moving deeper into the milieu of their own culture” (Huffman, Sill, & Brokenleg, 1986, pp. 32–32), many black, Hispanic, and Native American students entering a predominantly white institution face sufficient cultural conflict to render them unable to succeed academically. These students may feel alienated “on predominantly white college campuses where the curricula and social order reflect the culture, aspirations, expectations, values, beliefs, and language usage of the white, Anglo-Saxon, middleincome group-a far cry form the profile of the minorities who seek upward mobility via the educational medium” (McLean, 1979, p. 30; see also Kraemer, 1997, and Tierney, 1992). The importance of supporting minority students’ culture is illustrated in the findings of a 1986 study comparing the academic achievement of 38 Sioux students and 48 white students at two South Dakota (nontribal and non-Native American) colleges. The Sioux students who were most successful were those who had retained “their traditional cultural identity and heritage” (Huffman, Sill, & Brokenleg, 1986, p. 37). Faculty and administrators at many two-year special-focus colleges seem to be more sensitive to possible differences between the culture of their students and white, male, middle-class culture and do not validate the latter as the only one of value. For example, tribal schools “provide Indian students with educators who are familiar with the[ir] culture” (Davis, 1992, p. 29) and are supportive of this culture. This valuing of other cultures is often seen in the curriculum, which may include both content and processes validating their students’ nonwhite culture or, in the case of women’s colleges, nonmale culture. As Chapter 4 illustrates, tribal colleges, in particular, offer a curriculum that validates the culture of the particular tribe sponsoring the college.


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The mission statement of each of the tribal colleges profiled in Chapter 4 resonates with a commitment to preserving the tribe’s culture and educating students in it. The colleges exist to serve the tribal interests and maintain their cultural integrity. Not only are students from the school’s dominant racial or ethnic group valued at these special-focus colleges. So also are students from other cultures. For example, over 23 percent of the 1995–1996 enrollment at 21 tribal colleges was non Native Americans. Tribal colleges also value and provide access to women students. In the same 21 tribal colleges in 1995–1996, the percentage of female students ranged from a low of 55 percent at Salish Kootenai to a high of 84 percent at Bay Mills, for an average of 67 percent (Pavel, 1998). On the average 30 to 40 percent of the female students are single heads of households and working part-time. Many of these women may take four to five years to finish their two-year degree. That many of these women do graduate is a true story of persistence and a lesson for all higher education institutions to maintain contact with these students and continually offer encouragement to them. Two-year historically black colleges also enroll white students, and what limited evidence there is indicates these students are pleased with their treatment on campus. Hazzard (1988) conducted a survey of white students at Bishop State Junior College in Alabama and Florida A&M University to ascertain, among other things, their academic experiences at the black institutions. Unfortunately, her report of the findings did not break out the data by institutions. For the two schools, almost 70 percent of the respondents “indicated that administration provided leadership in breaking down racial barriers” (p. 41), almost 95 percent of the respondents “indicated that black students were friendly” (p. 42), and 97 percent responded they would not “feel more at ease expressing their opinions [in class] if they were black” (p. 41). These findings speak well for the institutional climate for diversity at these schools. Another aspect of climate is the expectations held of students (Kuh, Schuh, & Whitt, 1991). Faculty and staff at most two-year specialfocus colleges have high expectations for their students. They are expected to succeed because faculty and staff believe they can. Institutional members understand that many of the students will need a lot of support and encouragement, far more so than the typical university student, but providing this support and encouragement is not considered a burden. Rather, doing so is part of the institutional ethos and expectation for faculty and staff.

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Special-focus colleges may also utilize and even emphasize teaching-learning processes such as collaborative learning that have been shown to be especially effective with minority students and women (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991; Sharan & Sharan, 1992). Again, tribal colleges provide an excellent example. They use “culture conscious teaching” (Robinson, 1989, p. 18) by using methods of instruction that reflect an awareness of Native American values and culture. Thus ways of majority-culture institutions, such as emphasizing individual competition by grading on the curve or insisting on individual, rather than collective, work on assignments are not used. Another part of process for Hispanic students may be using bilingual education (Padrón, 1994, p. 90), which occurs in St. Augustine College and Miami-Dade Community College, both predominantly Hispanic schools. In short, leaders of predominantly white (and essentially white) institutions need to be aware of how the psychological and behavioral dimensions of institutional climate are intertwined and are also manifestations of the college’s historical legacy and structural diversity. From a psychological perspective, leaders need to be cognizant of their own attitudes toward members of the other gender and racial/ ethnic backgrounds dissimilar to theirs. Efforts to change campus attitudes will likely be ineffective if institutional leaders are not genuine in their own valuing of student diversity. Assuming a genuine commitment, leaders can and must be proactive in seeing that academic and extracurricular programs are developed in which people can meet and work with people of a different racial or ethnic group or gender, where conversations about discrimination can occur with an eye to understanding rather than defending reasons for the discrimination. More specifically, leaders can support efforts at feminist pedagogy and development of gender studies and ethnic studies. Faculty need to be encouraged and supported in curricular efforts to include previously unrepresented voices. And leaders must be patient with these efforts and yet prodding. Some faculty will be taking giant steps personally just by finally including mention of people of color and women. Leaders must acknowledge the worth of these efforts, for in some instances they represent tremendous psychological growth for these faculty members. Leaders must also continue to prod these same faculty to do more, to think in terms of curricular transformation, not just integration (Minnich, 1990). When pressed to transform the curriculum, some faculty will counter with a curriculum that at least


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integrates different racial and ethnic perspectives and “adds women” or gender as a variable. This curriculum integration can be the foundation for an eventual transformation. If institutional leaders, faculty, and staff are genuinely committed to educating all students, not just ones whose cultural background they share, the institution can be successful in educating all students: black, Hispanic, Native American, white, female, and male. However, if the school is not just predominantly white by virtue of enrollment but is also essentially white male in practices and policies, women and minority-culture students will feel unwelcome and will leave, perhaps to go to another institution, perhaps to drop out of higher education permanently. With population shifts in their service area, predominantly white institutions may become predominantly black or predominantly Hispanic colleges in time. However, at their core, these institutions may still be essentially white male institutions. Leadership will make the difference. There must be administrative and faculty leaders who are sincerely committed to educating all students to the fullest extent of their abilities and are willing to allocate the resources and hire the people to do this. It is our hope that the colleges spotlighted in this book will serve as shining examples of how a genuine commitment to access and achievement for all cultures can make a difference. NOTES 1.

Another institutional trait affecting transfer rates may be how much the colleges focus on providing degrees and certificates” as opposed to “providing a broad range of courses” (National Center for Postsecondary Improvement, 1998, p. 57). Using the variables of full- versus part-time enrollment and number of degrees and certificates granted yearly, the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement has developed a market taxonomy for two-year schools. The colleges may be degree focus, mixed focus, or course focus colleges. A higher percentage of students attending degree focus schools earns the associate of arts degree and the BA/BS degree than do students at mixed focus or course focus colleges (p. 58). In this taxonomy schools where full-time students constitute 50 percent or more of the enrollment and where degrees and certificates are awarded yearly to over 15 percent of their students are classified as degree focus two-year schools. The all-female Cottey College and the historically black Mary Holmes College are presumably degree focus colleges. Both schools

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2.

3.

Townsend, Guyden, Hutcheson, Laden, Pavel, and Wolf-Wendel have a very high transfer rate: 95 percent and 80 percent respectively. Institutions where full-time students comprise at least 25 percent of the student body and where at least 10 percent of the students receive a degree or certificate each year are labeled “mixed focus” schools. All other two-year schools are course focus colleges. The two-year special-focus colleges need to be classified by this taxonomy to determine if there is a correlation between the percent of full-time enrollment and degrees and certificates awarded and institutional transfer rates and degree completion. Besides two-year women’s colleges, historically black colleges, and tribal colleges, there are over 200 two-year schools with a student body that is at least 25 percent students of a particular nonwhite racial or ethnic group. This latter group of schools includes predominantly black and blackserving institutions and predominantly Native American and Native American institutions as well as predominantly Hispanic and Hispanicserving schools. These schools’ focus on nonwhite students was not always a consciously chosen mission. For some schools this mission developed as the racial and ethnic makeup of their service communities changed. Over time their student body became more diverse, to the point where currently a nonwhite group comprises at least 25 percent of the student enrollment and may be 50 percent or more. Also, newer predominantly black and predominantly Hispanic schools may have had their focus upon a nonwhite student body thrust upon them because of where the school was built. Chapter 5 shares the success of many Hispanic-serving institutions and in particular spotlights that of East Los Angeles College. However, not all schools which did not choose to focus upon a nonwhite student body are as successful in recruiting and retaining their students. When the lens of essentially white institutions is applied to the two-year special-focus colleges, it seems likely that most of the two-year women’s colleges are essentially white as well as predominantly white institutions. With the exception of Lexington College, whose 1996–1997 student body was 35 percent Hispanic, and Assumption College for Students, where 60 percent of the students were Asian/Pacific Islanders, these colleges primarily enroll white women. Some Hispanic-serving institutions and predominantly black institutions may also be essentially white institutions in orientation, if their demographically derived mission of primarily serving people of color is only that, demographically derived rather than internalized. Leaders of these colleges may need to be especially sensitive to their institution’s cultural values and practices to


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ensure that the nonwhite culture of the dominant enrollment group is validated, both officially and in practice. With the exception of the women’s colleges, it is also possible that many special-focus colleges are essentially male in perspective.

REFERENCES Boyer, P. (1997). Native American colleges: Progress and prospects. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Cohen, A., & Sanchez, J.R. (1996). The transfer rate: A model of consistency. Los Angeles, CA; University of California. ERIC document. Davis, J. (1992). Factors contributing to post-secondary achievement of American Indians. Tribal College Journal, 4 (2), 24–30. Hazzard, T. (1988). Attitudes and perceptions of white students attending historically black colleges and universities. Tallahasee, FL: Florida State University. (ED 298 806) Horowitz, H.L. (1987). Campus life: Undergraduate culture from the end of the eighteenth century to the present. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Huffman, T.E., Sill, M.L., & Brokenleg, M. (1986). Journal of American Indian Education, 25 (2), 32–38. Hunter-Gault, C. (1992). In my place. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Hurtado, S., Milem, J., Clayton-Pederson, A.R., & Allen, W.R. (1998). Enhancing campus climates for racial/ethnic diversity: Educational policy and practice. Review of Higher Education, 21 (3), 279–302. Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., & Smith, K.A. (1991). Cooperative learning: Increasing college faculty instructional productivity. Washington, DC: George Washington University. Kraemer, B. (1997). The academic and social integration of Hispanic students into college. Review of Higher Education, 20 (2), 163–179. Kuh, G.D., Schuh, J.H., & Whitt, E.J. (1991). Involving colleges: Successful approaches to fostering student learning and development outside the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Marklein, M.B. (1998, April 13). Tribal colleges bridge culture gap to future. USA Today, p. 4D. McLean, H.V. (1979). Meeting the needs of Minority students. In Gilbert, F. (Ed.), Minorities and community colleges: Data and discourse, pp. 28–30. Washington, DC: American Association of Community and Junior Colleges. Minnich, E. (1990). Transforming knowledge. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. National Center for Education Statistics. (1997, June). Transfer behavior among

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beginning postsecondary students: 1989–94. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement. National Center for Postsecondary Improvement. (1998, January/ February). The user-friendly terrain: Defining the market taxonomy for two-year colleges. Change (pp. 57–60). OIEP Home Page. (1995). American Indian higher education consortium: Tribal colleges. http://shaman.unm.eduoiep/martin2.htm [Accessed December 20, 1997]. Padrón, E.J. (1994). Hispanics and community colleges. In Baker, G. (Ed.), A handbook on the community college in America (pp. 82–93). Westport, CN: Greenwood Press. Palmer, J.C., Ludwig, M., & Stapleton, L. (1994). At what point do community college transfer students transfer to baccalaureate-granting institutions? Evidence from a 13-state study. Washington, DC: American Council on Education. (ED 373 844). Pascarella, E, & Terenzini, P. (1991). How college affects students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pavel, M. 1998. [Enrollment at 21 tribal colleges, 1996–1997]. Unpublished raw data. Peterson’s Guide to Two-year Colleges 1998. (1997). Princeton, NJ: Author. Philip, M. (1993, October 21). For women only. Black Issues in Higher Education (pp. 26–31). Report on the substantive change from an associate degree granting institution to a baccalaureate degree granting institution, submitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1991, April). Midway, Kentucky: Midway College. Robinson, A.E.G. (1989). Culture conscious teaching: Case study spproach. Community, Technical, and Junior College Journal, 60 (1), 17–21. Sharan, Y., & Sharan, S. (1992). Expanding cooperative learning through group investigation. New York: Teachers College Press. Solomon, B.M. (1985). In the company of educated women: A history of women and higher education in America. New Haven: Yale University Press. Terenzini, P.T., Rendón, L.I., Upcraft, M.L., Millar, S.B., Allison, K.W., Gregg, P.L., & Jalomo, R. (1994). The transition to college: Diverse students, diverse stories. Research in Higher Education, 35, 57–73. Tierney, W. (1992). An anthropological analysis of student participation in college. Journal of Higher Education, 63, 604–618. Turner, C. (1988). A California case study: Organizational determinants of the transfer of Hispanic students from two- to four-year colleges in the bay area.


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Summary of a Ph.D. dissertation completed at Stanford University. (ED298 970). Whitt, E.J. (1994). “I can be anything!” Student leadership in three women’s colleges. Journal of College Student Development, 35, 198–207. Wolf-Wendel, L. (1988). Women’s colleges and their place in the university. Paper commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Presented at research meeting of AAUW and OERI held in Washington, DC. Wright, B., & Head, P.W. (1990). Tribally controlled community colleges: A student outcomes assessment of associate degree recipients. Community College Review, 18 (3), 28–33.

Contributors

Ray Christie is a graduate student pursuing the Ph.D. in Higher Education at Georgia State University and is also Coordinator of Institutional Research and Planning at the State University of West Georgia. He has coauthored “Perceptions of Institutional Effectiveness as Held by College and University Presidents” (ED 397 742), “An Examination of Institutional Research Functions and Structures in Georgia Higher Education” (ED 372 722), and “The Assessment of Institutional Image” presented at the 35th Annual AIR Forum. Janet A.Guyden is an Associate Professor at Florida A & M University. Her general research interest is organizational behavior with a specific interest in the impact of the organization on individual behavior. She has examined these issues in the context of historically black colleges and universities. Her professional career includes experiences as a faculty member, a higher education administrator, and a practicing counselor in both clinical and educational settings. This wide range of experiences in the educational arena informs her understanding. She received her B.A. in English from Howard University in Washington, DC; her Ed.D. in counselor education from Worchester State College in Worchester, Massachusetts; and her Ph.D. in educational administration form Georgia State University. Philo A.Hutcheson is Assistant Professor of Educational Policy Studies at Georgia State University, where he also serves as faculty coordinator 245

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of the higher education doctoral program. His recent publications include a forthcoming chapter coauthored with Linda Buchanan, “ReConsidering the Washington-Dubois Debate: Two Black Colleges in 1910–1911,” in Southern Education in the 20th Century: Exceptionalism and Its Limits; “McCarthyism and the Professoriate: A Historiographic Nightmare?” in Higher Education: The Handbook of Theory and Research, Volume 12 (1997); “Faculty Tenure: Myth and Reality 1974 to 1992,” in Thought and Action (Spring 1996); and “Structures and Practices,” in Handbook of the College Curriculum (1996). Ella Inglebret is a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology at Washington State University. For seven years she has coordinated a U.S. Department of Education funded program for Native American students training to become speech-language pathologists and audiologists in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Washington State University. She has presented nationally on issues involved in Native American student recruitment and retention in higher education. Her M.A. in communication sciences and disorders is from the University of Montana. Berta Vigil Laden is Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. She holds a B.A. degree from the University of New Mexico in history and Spanish; an M.A. degree from California State University, Northridge, in educational psychology; and an M.A. degree in higher education and a Ph.D. in administration and policy analysis from Stanford University. As an educator for over 20 years, she has taught in high school, adult school, community college, and university settings. She also has held various administrative positions, including department and division chair. Her research focuses on higher education and policy issues of culture, ethnic identity, access and equity, persistence, retention, transfer, and completion for ethnically diverse students in two- and four-year colleges. D.Michael Pavel, whose traditional name is ChiXapkaid, is a member of the Skokomish Indian Nation. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Puget Sound and his master’s and doctorate from Arizona State University. He is currently a faculty member in the College of Education at Washington State University. His teaching and research interests include tribal colleges, postsecondary teaching

Contributors

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and learning, Indian education, American Indian entrepreneurship, and higher education access and achievement. He has published over 40 articles, chapters, and national reports on Indian education and Native American people in higher education while consulting with major foundations and tribal communities across the country. More importantly, he is a traditional bearer, a position which carries with it the responsibility of learning and teaching future generations of tribal members all aspects of the sacred and traditional way of life among the Skokomish. Sheila Pedigo is the Dean of Students at Saint Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas. She is also a doctoral student in the higher education program at the University of Kansas. Barbara K.Townsend is Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Leadership at The University of Memphis. She has also served as chair of the Department of Leadership and as associate dean of the School of Education at Loyola University Chicago. She is a former community college faculty member, having taught developmental English and study skills and served as acting chair of the Division of Developmental Studies at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Virginia. Her research interests include the concept of institutional distinctiveness, community college transfer students, higher education as a field of study, and gender issues. Publications include the edited volumes A Search for Institutional Distinctiveness (1989) and Gender and Power in the Community College (1995), the coedited Women in Higher Education (1993), and the coauthored Creating Distinctiveness: Lessons from Uncommon Colleges and Universities (1992). Mark VanDenHende is a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology at Washington State University. He also teaches courses within the department and is a research assistant. His research interests center on Native American education, educational history, and community college administration. He has a B.A. in U.S. history and an M.Ed, in student personnel administration in higher education from Western Washington University. He has also taught at Western Washington University and worked in student affairs there. Lisa Wolf-Wendel is Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Kansas. She received her doctoral and master’s degrees

248

Contributors

in higher education from the Claremont Graduate School. Her undergraduate degree in psychology and communications is from Stanford College. She has published several articles on women’s colleges and has engaged in extensive research on the topic of environments conducive to the success of women students. Her dissertation, chaired by Daryl Smith, explores the baccalaureate origins of African American, Latina, and European American women who earned doctorates. The study also examines the institutional characteristics associated with successful institutions. Recent research endeavors include an analysis of the relationship between the availability of financial resources and baccalaureate origins.

Index

African Methodist Episcopal Church, 90, 97, 201, 209, 210 Aid to Families with Dependent Children, 182 Alabama Lutheran Academy, 96 Alfred Lawson State Junior College, 96 American Association of Community Colleges, 37, 182 American Council on Education, 151, 156 American Missionary Association, 90, 109, 201 Amherst College, 28 Anderson, J.D., 25, 90, 111 Andrew College, 25, 210 Anishinaabe, 128 Aquinas College at Milton, 5, 53, 206, 220, 229, 230 Aquinas College at Newton, 5, 53, 206, 220, 229, 230 Aquinas Junior College, 51, 53–56, 67, 68, 69, 206 Arciniega, T., 179 Asian/Pacific Islander-serving institutions, 38

Assistance, Counseling, and Training (ACT) Project, 129 Assumption College for Sisters, 4, 5, 25, 72, 206, 230, 240 Astin, A., 49, 77 Avery College, 28 Bacone College, 24, 211, 220 Badwound, E., 146 Basinger, J., 60 Bay Mills College, 237 Bay Path College, 33, 73, 74, 75 Berean Institute, 10 Bethel University. See Shorter College Bingaman, Senator J., 184 Bishop State Community College, 87, 95, 105, 237 Bishop State Junior College. See Bishop State Community college Blackfeet Community College, 122 Blackfeet Tribe, 122 black-serving institutions, 10, 16, 22, 86 Blai, B., 51

249

250 Bogart, Q.J., 69, 70 Bogue, J.P., 44, 45, 212 Boricua College, 32, 154 Borough of Manhattan Community College, 10, 22 Bowdoin College, 28 Boyer, P., 113, 145, 234 Breen, T.H., 116 Bressler, M., 49 Brint, S., 45, 196, 197, 211 Bronx Community College, 10, 22 Brown v. Board of Education, 34, 93 Brubacher, J.S., 27, 28, 31, 44, 47 Bryn Mawr, 27, 62 Bureau of Indian Affairs, 31, 119 Butterfield, N., 145 C.A. Fredd Campus, Shelton State Community College, 87, 95, 105 California State University, 156, 177, 179, 182 Cankdeska Cikana Community College, 22, 123, 230 Carnegie Classification System, 153 Carnegie Foundation, 33, 37 Carver State Techical College, 95 Central Indian Bible College, 25, 211 Cerritos College, 16 Chambers, M., 114 Chan, C., 180 Chicano colleges, 32 child care, 181, 182 Christian indoctrination of Native Americans, 30–31, 117 church-affiliated or denominational two-year colleges Catholic, 25, 53–56, 65, 67, 202–207, 210 Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints, 75 Disciples of Christ, 200–201, 208, 209, 212

Index in general, 25, 35, 195–197, 200–201, 216–217 historically black, 93, 207–210 Hispanic, 211 Native American, 210–211 Protestant, 202, 206–207, 210, 211 women’s, 53–56, 65, 67, 201–207 Church, R.L., 200 Civil Rights Act of 1964, 28, 34, 46, 47 Civil War, 46, 89, 90, 101, 109, 201 Clinton administration, 185 Coahoma Community College, 87, 98, 105 Coahoma County Agricultural High School, 98, 100 Cohen, A., 44, 45, 68, 71, 196, 197, 211, 212, 226 Colby, A., 121 Colegio César Chávez College, 32 College of William and Mary, 30, 115 Collier, J., 118 Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, 90 Commission on Higher Education Opportunity, 29, 34 Commonwealth Institute of Federal Service, 10 Community College of Philadelphia, 10 Comprehensive Community College Act of 1969, 121 Compton Community College, 10, 22 Conaty, J.C., 49 Concorida College, 87, 96, 100, 101, 105, 228 Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, 134 Congregation of Sisters of Saint Joseph, 53 Conlin, J.R., 117 Cooperation for Social and Education Development, 65

Index Cooperative Agencies Resource for Education Program, 181, 182 Cordero, C., 146 Cottey College, 51, 56–59, 67, 68, 69, 70, 229, 230, 239 Cottey, Virginia Alice, 57 Crosby, F., 49 Culbertson, T. Dana, R.H., 145 Dartmouth College, 30 Davis, J., 236 Dawes Severally Act, 117 Deep Springs College, 5 de-Indianizing the Indian, 119 Delmar College, 16 Deloria, V., 145 Denmark Technical College, 87, 99, 105, 229 Dennis-Olsen, L., 146 D-Q University, 32, 154 Diné College, 22, 31, 121, 127, 230 Disciples of Christ, 200–201, 206, 208, 209, 212, 218 Divine, R.J., 116 Don Bosco Technical High School, 6, 211, 220, 229 Don Bosco Technical Institute, 6, 160, 161, 229 Dubois, W.E.B., 90, 102 East Los Angeles College, 173–183, 240 educational pipeline, 156, 186, 189 Eells, W.C., 44, 45, 76 Ellis, M., 118 Elmira Female College, 27 Endicott College, 73, 74, 75 English as a Second Language, 176, 187 essentially white institutions, 200, 215, 217, 238, 240 Estrada, E., 178, 179, 180 Evergreen College, 170 Ewing, J.M., 94, 111

251 Extended Opportunity Program and Services, 181 Farello, E.W., 46 Farnham, C.A., 46, 201, 202 federally controlled Native American colleges, 24 Felician College. See Montay College Fiore, M., 33, 45 Fisher College, 5, 51, 59–62, 68, 69, 70, 79, 230 Flores, A., 156 Florida Community College Council, 93 Florida A & M University, 237 Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, 127, 230 Fort Belknap College, 137 Fort Berthold Community College, 128 Ford Foundation’s Rural Community College Initiative, 137 Fort Peck Assinibione and Sioux tribes, 129 Fort Peck Community College, 129, 137 Franklin, B., 115 Franklin Institute, 16 Fredrickson, G.M., 116 Fuller, C.H., 49 Gabbard, D., 145 Gadsen State Community College, Valley Street Campus, 7, 38 Gagnon, G., 145 Garland Junior College, 50 Garza, H., 151, 156 Gleazer, E.J., 44, 45, 56, 121, 213 G.I.Bill, 31 Grand Island College, 72 Greater Avenues for Independence Program, 182 Guzman, A.M., 185

252 Harcum College, 5, 51, 62–65, 68, 69, 70 Harcum, E.H., 62 Harper, W.R., 48 Harvard College, 30, 33 Harwarth, I., 45, 46, 67, 69, 71, 74, 204, 206, 216 Haskell Indian Nations University, 24 Hasse, E., 145 Haymond, J.H., 116, 117, 119 Hazzard, T., 237 Heald College, 161, 163 Heald College, School of Business, 229 Heald College, School of Technology, 22 Helene Fuld College of Nursing of North General Hospital, 72 Herhlihy, D., 114 Higher Education Act: reauthorization of, 153, 184, 186 Hill, B., 145 Hill, M.J., 31 Hinojosa, Representative R.E., 184 Hinds Community College, Utica Campus, 6, 87, 98, 100, 105 Hinds Junior College, 98 Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, 151, 153, 155, 156, 157, 162, 169, 172, 184, 186, 233 Hispanic colleges and universities, 151–190 Hispanic: administrators, 183 educational attainment, 152, 154, 157, 159, 163, 164, 168, 171, 186, 187, 189 faculty, 183 students, 151–190 Hispanic-serving institutions, 10, 16, 17, 22, 31–32, 35, 36, 38, 151–157, 160–164, 168–170, 172, 174, 184–188, 190, 211, 233, 234, 240

Index historically black colleges, 6–7, 22, 29–30, 33–34, 35, 36, 85– 112, 153, 154, 155, 184, 185, 201, 207–210, 228–229, 232, 233, 234, 237 Ho-Chunk, 132 Hoffman, N.M., Jr., 35 Hofstadter, R., 197, 198, 199 Holmes, D.O.W. 29, 89, 201, 208, 209 Horn, F.H., 76 Hornby, R., 145 Horowitz, H., 233 Hostos Community College, 16, 32, 154 Hotlzclaw, W.H., 98 Huffman, T.E., 2, 36 Hunt, T., 202, 205, 216 Hunter-Gault, C., 233 Hurtado, A., 116 Hurtardo, S., 4, 232, 235 Indian Bill of Rights, 119 Indian Removal Act, 116 Indian Reorganization Act, 31 industrial education model, 90, 91 Ingham Collegiate Institute. See Ingham University Ingham University, 28 Institute of American Indian Arts, 24 institutional climate, 232 Instructional Television Program, 181 Iroquois Confederacy, 114, 116 Iverson, P., 116 Jackson, A., 116 Jacobs, W.R., 114 Jaimie Escalante Math and Science Program, 182 Jaski, E., 50 J.F. Drake State Technical College, 87, 96, 101, 105 Johnson, R.T., 2, 37 Jordon, D.S., 48 Judson College, 27

Index Justiz, M.J., 35 Kanter, R.M., 4 Kelley, W., 28 Kelsey Junior College, 10, 16, 161 Kemper Military School and College, 10, 16 Koos, L., 25, 35, 45 Kraemer, B., 236 Kuh, G.D., 70, 237 Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, 130 Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, 130 LaFramboise, C., 146 land-grant institutions, 127 Lane, D.A., Jr., 29, 91, 111 Lasell Female Academy, 44, 73, 74, 76 Lasser, C., 45 Lawson State Community College, 6, 7, 87, 96, 105, 229 Ledman, R.E., 49 Lee, H., 145 Leech Lake Band of Chippewa, 131 Leech Lake Tribal College, 131 Lem, C., 179 Leslie, W.B., 198 Lexington College, 4, 16, 51, 65–67, 68, 69, 230, 236, 240 Lexington Institute of Hospitality Careers, 160 Lewis College of Business, 6, 87, 98, 100, 105 liberal education, 88, 91, 202, 211 Lincoln University, 28 Little Hoop Community College. See Cankdeska Cikana Community College Little Priest Tribal College, 132 Lofland, J., 53 Long Island College of Nursing, 10 Lopez, B., 114 Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, 10 Lucas, C., 29

253 Lutheran College of Health Professions , 72 Maddox, R.J., 114 Manley, A.E., 88, 111 Marian Court College, 73, 74, 206, 220 Marklein, M.B., 2, 31, 113 Marsden, G., 199 Martin Community College, 16 Mary Holmes College, 210, 220, 227, 239 Mary Sharpe College, 27 McDonald, A., 145 McDonald, J.J., 145 McGrath, E., 236 McLean, H.V., 236 Meriam report, 118 Methodist Episcopal, 201, 209 Metropolitan Community College, 10 Mexico, 114 Miami-Dade Community College, 156, 157, 161, 164, 169, 170, 172, 238 Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, 6 Middle Georgia College, 16 Mid-South Community College, 16 Midway College, 51, 73, 74, 75, 200–201, 206, 212–216 Miller, C.L., 29 Miller, F.C., 118 Minnick, E., 238 Montay College, 34, 50 Moreno, E.H., 175, 176, 177 Morphew, C., 76 Mountain View College, 10 Mt. San Antonio College, 16 Myer, D.S., 119 National Community College Hispanic Council, 157 National Hispanic University, The, 155 Native American-serving colleges, 24, 211

254 Navajo Community College. See Diné College Negro Baptist, 201, 209 Nettles, M.T., 16 Nevarez, M.A., 156 Newcomer, M.F., 46, 47 Nicholson, A., 117 Northland Pioneer College, 24 Northwest Indian College, 230 Oates, M.J., 49 Oberlin College, 28, 199 Oglala Lakota College, 31, 133 Oglala Lakota Tribe, 133 Olivas, M.A., 32, 151, 154, 155 Omaha and Santee Sioux tribes, 132 O’Malley, A., 28 Oppelt, N.T., 30, 120 Padrón, E., 35, 38, 151, 156, 157, 170, 235, 237 Palmer, J.C. 227 Palmieri, P.A., 27, 201, 206 Palo Alto College, 16 Pasadena City College, 16 Pascarella, E., 49, 77, 227, 234 paternalism, 117 Pavel, D.M., 121, 137, 144, 145, 237 Peace College, 4, 5, 35, 73, 74, 76, 78, 206 Peck, R.E., 156 P.E.O. Sisterhood, 57 Philip, M., 236 Philippe, K., 37 Pierce College, 10, 229 Pima Community College, 22 Potts, David, 198 Power, E.J., 27, 216 predominantly black institutions, 10, 86, 229, 240 predominantly female institutions, 62–63 predominantly Hispanic institutions, 16, 32, 35, 36, 151, 162, 229, 232, 238, 240 predominantly Native American institutions, 240

Index predominantly white institutions, 4, 217, 225, 233, 235, 236, 238, 240 Prince George’s Community College, 10 Proclamation Line of 1763, 116 Project for Adult College Education, 181 Puente Project, 171, 179, 180 Puerto Rican colleges, 32 Queen of the Holy Rosary College, 72, 206, 229 Rabb, T.K., 114 Ratcliff, J.L., 45, 48, 121 Raymond, C., 114 Redskin removal, 116 Reuben, J., 199 Reyner, H., 145 Rice, J.K., 25 Richard J. Daley College, 10 Riordan, C., 49 Robinson, A.E.G., 237 Roebuck, J.B., 29, 34, 89, 111 Rosado, J., 145 Roxbury Community College, 10, 22 Ryan, W.C., 119 St. Augustine College, IL, 16, 32, 201, 211, 238 St. Mary’s College, NC, 4, 73, 206 St. Philips College, 6, 22, 87, 100, 105, 209 Salish Kootenai College, 31, 134, 137, 237 San Jose City College, 170 Santa Barbara City College, 22, 177 Santa Monica College, 177 Schlossberg, N.K., 70 Schultz, R.E., 77 Semken, S., 146 separation policy, 115 Sharon, Y., 237 Shelton State Community College, 87, 95

Index Shorter College, 7, 87, 97, 100, 101, 105, 210, 220, 238 Sisston-Wahpeton Community College, 231 Sitting Bull College, 134–135 Slate, C., 146 Smith College, 170 Smith, D., 49 Smith, W.L., 29, 93, 94 Solnick, S.J., 49 Solomon, B.M., 44, 47, 48, 197, 199, 201, 202 Solorzano, D., 175 South Carolina Trade School System, 99 Southern University System, 97 Southern University, ShreveportBossier City Campus, 87, 97,105 Southern Virginia College for Women, 73, 74, 75 Southwest Indian Polytechic Institute, 24 Spirit Lake Sioux tribe, 123 Spivey, D., 91, 111 Standing Rock College, 31 Standing Rock Sioux tribe, 134 Stanford University, 48 State Community College. See Metropolitan Community College Stein, W.J., 121 Stoecker, J.L., 49 Studer-Ellis, E., 45 Swisher, K., 121 Synnott, M., 199 Syzmanksi, S., 146 Szasz, M.C., 118, 120 teacher preparation, 202, 203, 205–206 technical institutes, 226, 227 Terenzini, P., 236 Teuber, H., 145 Texas State Technical College, 16, 172 Thomkins, D., 145 Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, 128

255 The Freedmen’s Bureau, 90, 109 Tidball, M.E., 49, 71 Tierney, W., 236 Title III, 153, 184, 185 Title 20, Section 1061 of the United State Code, 86 Townsend, B.K., 52 transfer center, 168, 170, 171, 179 transfer rate(s), 55, 58, 60, 63, 66, 68, 171, 178, 181, 211–212, 220, 226–231, 239–240 Tremonti, Rev. J.B., 25, 204 Trenholm State Technical College, 86, 97, 101, 105, 229 tribal colleges, 22, 31, 35, 36, 113–150, 154, 184, 185, 230–231, 234, 236, 237, 238 movement, 120 politics, 113 schools, 120 Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978, 31 Turner, C.S.V., 234 two-year men’s colleges, 5–6 Tyler, S.L., 118 Utica Junior College. See Hinds Community College, Utica Campus University of California, 48 University of Chicago, 48 University of Incarnate Word, 169 University of New Mexico, 156 University of New MexicoValencia, 22 University of Texas-Pan American, 156 Utica Normal and Industrial School, 98 Vassar College, 27 Veres, H.C., 51 Veysey, L., 198, 199 vocationalism, 89, 202–203, 205–206

256 Walden College, 29 Walker, G.H., 29 Ward, M., 121 Washington, B.T., 90, 102 Weatherford, J.M., 115 Wellesley College, 27 Wenonah State Technical Institute Wechsler, H., 199 Wesleyan Female College, 27 Wheeler, B., 48 Whirlwind Soldier, L., 145 Whiting, A.N., 88, 112 Whitt, E.J., 49, 70, 236 Wilberforce University, 28 Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, 5, 6 Williamson, S., 116

Index Wing, R., 28 Winter Hill Business College, 59 Wolf-Wendel, L., 49, 70, 72, 80, 233 Woodruff, R.H., 35, 44, 45, 47, 70 women’s colleges administrators, 71 faculty, 71 history of, 27–28, 33, 34, 44–48, 201–207 impact of, 48–51, 67–68 in general, 4–6, 35, 36, 229–230, 233, 234, 240–241 Wright, B., 30, 231 Yale University, 33 Young, J.B., 94, 111

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