Love the idea of public PK-16 for every student! I do hesitate at restricting student pathways through prescribed matricultation. In my 25 years of higher ed experience the majority of students do not engage in a linear education or career pathway. This means that as the world of work evolves around things like AI, students will need to adopt a mindset of lifelong upskilling. This dictates that funding resources should be more flexible and include short-term programs, professional certifications, and other types of postsecondary ed that we classify as "non-credit" or "non-traditional" within current funding and degree granting systems. That doesn't mean we throw away accreditation or other methods that ensure quality of the types of education offered, but it does require a larger culture shift that will consider how we currently use traditional Title IV financial aid which dictates things like merit, maximum timeframes, and limits the types of education you can obtain with this guaranteed benefit. The fact that we are having these conversations and looking at new models is BIG NEWS all around! Thank you for your post!
I teach at George Mason University where I believe half the students come from the local community college, many through a program called Advance, which treats them as matriculated at both institutions. Check it out!
I also teach at a community college and think your plan has merit. A couple notes, though. Not all faculty have PhDs and I'm not just talking about non-doctorate terminal masters degrees. We have adjunct with MAs teaching some intro courses. Regarding remedial courses, there's been a push to remove them so that they are folded into existing classes (e.g., MTH 23 also has MTH 23.5 with a remedial component) rather than on their own, with programs like College Discovery and language immersion programs filling the gaps, as possible, with workshops pre-matriculation. The jury is still out re the efficacy of them. And, at least where I teach, we are expected to do research while also focusing on teaching (and service). Some faculty balance this very well.
Love the idea of public PK-16 for every student! I do hesitate at restricting student pathways through prescribed matricultation. In my 25 years of higher ed experience the majority of students do not engage in a linear education or career pathway. This means that as the world of work evolves around things like AI, students will need to adopt a mindset of lifelong upskilling. This dictates that funding resources should be more flexible and include short-term programs, professional certifications, and other types of postsecondary ed that we classify as "non-credit" or "non-traditional" within current funding and degree granting systems. That doesn't mean we throw away accreditation or other methods that ensure quality of the types of education offered, but it does require a larger culture shift that will consider how we currently use traditional Title IV financial aid which dictates things like merit, maximum timeframes, and limits the types of education you can obtain with this guaranteed benefit. The fact that we are having these conversations and looking at new models is BIG NEWS all around! Thank you for your post!
Thank you so much, Monique.
I teach at George Mason University where I believe half the students come from the local community college, many through a program called Advance, which treats them as matriculated at both institutions. Check it out!
This sounds amazing! I think I'm definitely going to look into this program.
I also teach at a community college and think your plan has merit. A couple notes, though. Not all faculty have PhDs and I'm not just talking about non-doctorate terminal masters degrees. We have adjunct with MAs teaching some intro courses. Regarding remedial courses, there's been a push to remove them so that they are folded into existing classes (e.g., MTH 23 also has MTH 23.5 with a remedial component) rather than on their own, with programs like College Discovery and language immersion programs filling the gaps, as possible, with workshops pre-matriculation. The jury is still out re the efficacy of them. And, at least where I teach, we are expected to do research while also focusing on teaching (and service). Some faculty balance this very well.