THREE BASIC PRINCIPLES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNITY JUNIOR COLLEGE--(1) AN EXPANDED FREE EDUCATION FOR AN EXPANDING CITIZENRY, (2) GREATER DIVERSITY AND FLEXIBILITY IN EDUCATION, AND (3) EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION AND SUBSTANTIAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. IN STRIVING TOWARD ITS PRIME OBJECTIVE OF QUALITY PROGRAMS…

The public junior college was conceived with an "open door" to give the disadvantaged high school graduate another chance to break the poverty cycle and the minority student an opportunity to extend his/her skills and career options. Since its inception in the early 1900's, the mission of the junior college has changed. The initial focus on…

Although the community college is a product of the publicly subsidized move to mass higher education during the 25 years following World War II, it now faces a more stringent fiscal environment that severely challenges its comprehensive, multipurpose character. Funding in the current era of consolidation entails an examination and reconciliation…

Despite some initial hesitancy in the first half of the twentieth century to award associate degrees, since the end of World War II, the associate degree has become as widely accepted by two-year colleges as the baccalaureate degree is by four-year colleges. This is evidenced by the steady increase in the number of associate degrees awarded…

Issues facing California's community colleges are reviewed in this response to the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) report, "Missions and Functions of the California Community Colleges." The paper first asserts that the most critical question facing the community colleges in the 1980's is whether they should and can…

Although the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) are rooted in the tradition of providing transfer education to Chicago's working class youth, the current administrative acceptance of a market-oriented, vocational philosophy has resulted in a decline in general education courses and has jeopardized equal access to higher education. This vocational…

In an attempt to stimulate discussion on directions and priorities for the California community colleges (CCC), this monograph examines six issues likely to affect the colleges during the 1980's. The monograph first reviews recent literature pointing to an erosion of the colleges' transfer, vocational, and general education functions and then…