Community Colleges10-06-2009
Community Colleges
• Two year post-secondary institutions which offer Associate of Arts, Science, Commerce, Applied Arts and Certificate/Diploma Programmes.
• Internationally also known as ‘technical colleges’, ‘junior colleges’, ‘fachhochschulea’ or folk-high schools ‘workers-colleges’ and ‘short-cycle institutions’.
• U.K.: Foundation Degree Programmes since 2001.
Why an alternate system?
• Serve all segments of society through an open-access admissions policy.
• To serve as a community-based institution of higher education.
• Teaching focussed on skill development.
• Provision for vertical mobility.
• Lifelong learning to have an educated workforce.
International Trends
• U.S. : Number of Colleges: 1,195Enrollment: Total: 11.5 million, Enrolled full time: 41% , Enrolled part time: 59%
• Canada: 150 , Enrollment – 900,000 full time; 1.5 million part-time
• Hong Kong: From 2001 all Universities in Hong Kong are offering Associate Degree Programmes
Who attends community colleges?
• Average age around 25.• Women comprise 60 percent of the student body.• 39 percent of the students are first-generation
learners.• Minorities comprise 35 percent of community
college students.• 27 percent of community college students are
employed full time and 50 percent are employed part time.
• 47 percent of community college students receive financial aid.
What is popular?
• Business, Accounting, Registered Nursing, Agriculture, Law, and Computer Technologies.
• Health care: 59 percent of new nurses and the majority of other new health care workers are educated at community colleges.
• Homeland security: Close to 80 percent of fire fighters, law enforcement officers are credentialed at community colleges.
• Workforce training: 95 percent of businesses and organizations that employ community college graduates recommend community college workforce education and training programs.
• Examples: http://www.nvcc.edu/curcatalog/programs
Why Community Colleges in India?
• Reaping demographic dividend - largest youth population.
• Only 5% of Indian labour force in the age group of 20-24 have obtained vocational skills through formal means. (Industrialised countries 60-96%)
• Only 2.5 million vocational training seats are available where as 12.8 million enter the labour market every year.
• Largest share of new jobs likely to come from the un-organized sector which employs upto 93% of the national workforce.
Discussions in India
• National Policy on Education and Program of Action
• In 90’s UGC delegation of VC’s and Principal’s to U.S. to study the CC system
• Seminars organised by USEFI in India with VC’s , CII and other national bodies
• Delegation of 12 U.S. CC heads in India to meet educationists and academics.
• 10th and 11th Plan documents, Planning Commission and National Knowledge Commission
National Knowledge Commission
• “….. the possibility of having affiliated colleges which can be remodeled as community colleges.
• Provide both vocational education through two-year courses and formal education through three-year courses.
• Promote job-oriented, work-related, skill-based and life-coping education.
• A unique opportunity to provide holistic education and eligibility for employment to the disadvantaged”.
(Reference: National Knowledge Commission Note on Higher
Education, 29th November 2006).
State Government Initiatives
• Tamil Nadu Government G.O providing financial assistance for establishment of community colleges – Scholarships– Affiliation to TNOU – Recognition and vertical mobility into all T.N.
universities• Indian Centre for Research and Development of
Community Education and MS University, Tirunelveli
• Haryana Government’s proposal to establish
community colleges
IGNOU’s USP
• Provision to mainstream 10th class drop outs- Bachelor’s Preparatory Program (BPP)
• Strong backbone of interactions with panchayat, district, state, national, governmental and non-governmental institutions.
• Large repository of courses in SLM – programme structures can be easily contextualised by CC’s if required.
• Extensive network of Work Centres to be leveraged for practical/applied component
• Flexibility and diversity – scope for lateral and vertical mobility.
Our Approach
• Invited Expression of Interest – more than 700 responded.
• National Interface Meeting in New Delhi – 400 participants.
• Regional Meetings. • Credible NGO’s, Public and Private Bodies,
Corporate Bodies short-listed.• Regulations – Community College Board,
Academic Committee, Examination Committee already framed.
• Curriculum development and transaction – Community Colleges responsibility - Examination and Certification – IGNOU.
Programme Structure
• Certificate and Diploma, Associate Degree programmes; full-time or part-time,.
• Exclusively face-to-face, on-line, blended.
• Mandatory apprenticeship.
• First year foundation courses 32 credits per semester, second year application oriented courses 32 credits per semester.
• Mobility into 3rd Year as entry into workforce.
Challenges
• Public funding of the Scheme.
• Academic pathways - transfer of students to third year in other universities.
• Quality Assurance – recruitment of faculty, standards in industry-based curriculum development.
• Avenues for technical and vocational teacher and trainer-training.
• Business / industry linkages including training contracts.
• Programmes to be rooted in communities – regional and local needs and then expand to “world communities”.
Opportunities
• Increased enrollment across different age groups.
• Feeder pool to graduation get widened.
• Drop-outs provided a new option.
• Linking vocational and higher education.
Legend
• Below 10
• Between 10 to 50
• Above 50
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Applications Received from Community Colleges
THANK YOU