Transcript Postsecondary Education System Design Simon Fraser

The Community College Baccalaureate:
Implications for the Organization of
Postsecondary Education and the Meaning of
the Baccalaureate
Presentation to CMU Class at
Humber College
Prepared by:
Michael L. Skolnik
University of Toronto
Agenda
1) The binary system in postsecondary
education
2) Pressures for change: increased demand for
the baccalaureate
3) Emergence of the CCB in Canada and the
U.S.
4) Implications for the organization of PSE
5) What is a baccalaureate degree?
The Binary System
1. Two distinct sectors – issue of names
2. Sectors differentiated mainly by authority
to award the baccalaureate (other things
associated with that difference – research,
governance, autonomy)
3. College programs either subordinate to
(junior college) or independent of (technical
institute) the university
Pressures for Change: Increased Demand
for the Baccalaureate
• Increased demand for the baccalaureate in general
• Increased demand for applied baccalaureates
• Increased educational requirements for many jobs
that colleges have prepared people for
• Governments concerned about baccalaureate
attainment
• Concern about barriers to degree completion for
college graduates – especially in particular
locations and programs
Extent of the CCB in North America
Provinces/States
Canada 4
2010
U.S. 2004 11
U.S. 2010 18
Inst’s
Programs
32
135
21
54
129
465
Source: U.S, Russell (2010); Canada: PEQAB, BC
Education Planner, and college web sites.
Let’s go on a tour
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Alberta
British Columbia
Florida
Ontario
Washington
Arizona
Michigan
Alberta: Responding to Industry
• First community college; open university;
transfer agency; accreditation board
• Applied degrees 1995, “3 + 1”, Petroleum
Technology one of the first
• Expansion of applied stopped after creation of
the CAQC
• Institutions with the most applied degrees
became universities in 2010
British Columbia: Access!
• Concern: degree completion for place-bound
graduates of two year programs
• Solution: university-colleges in Kamloops,
Okanagan, Abbotsford, Nanaimo, – and later,
and originally restricted to applied degrees,
Surrey
• Later, colleges allowed applied degrees
• Nursing programs in some colleges
• University-colleges (+1) become universities
• 2010 Moratorium on new programs
Florida: uses colleges to “catch up”
• 49th in baccalaureate attainment in 1990s
• Mismatch of population and public
universities – Miami, St. Petersburg, and rural
areas
• Has become largest provider of CCB in U.S. –
18 institutions, 113 programs, 21 in Teacher
Education and Nursing
• New “state college” sector of 9 former
community colleges
• An example of collaboration: FGCU/Edison
Ontario
• Concerns about access, choice, & lack of
progress on transfer led to PSECE Act, 2000
• Trend toward concentration: a few colleges
offer several, others offer a few niche
programs
• Probably the biggest question: will Ontario
give some colleges a different designation, like
BC, Alberta, and Florida?
Washington: trying the inverted
bachelor’s degree
• The problems of transfer from applied
associate degree programs
- course transfer
- curriculum sequence
• The inverted (aka “upside-down”) degree:
Bachelor of Professional Studies or Bachelor of
Applied Studies
• The state still went ahead with a pilot project
in which colleges award the baccalaureate
Arizona: the struggle continues
• Huge projected growth in demand relative to
capacity of state universities, poor record of
serving other areas of the state
• Colleges seeking CCB since 1997, universities
strongly opposed
• Universities’ offer to address the problem of
transfer from applied associate degree
programs in colleges has not worked out –
anyone remember the Port Hope Accord?
Michigan
• Stagnant economy, the Cherry Commission,
the applied baccalaureate, and under-served
areas
• Colleges seeking programs in such areas as
concrete technology, maritime technology,
and nursing
• Bill passed one house in September, 2010
• Universities say there is no need – but
remember Battle Creek!
Academic drift, mission creep?
• Yes, if mission defined solely in terms of
highest academic credential awarded;
• No, if mission defined more broadly
• Instead of having two sectors differentiated by
the authority to award bachelor’s degrees,
focus on two sectors differentiated by the
characteristics in the next slide
Re-conceptualizing the binary system
with colleges that . . . .
• Are more applied and work-force oriented
- in programs
- in pedagogy
• Provide more open, economical access
- serve students of more varied academic background,
income, and location
• Are more teaching-focused
- provide a more supportive environment for at-risk
students
• Are more responsive to societal needs – have less
autonomy from government
What is a baccalaureate?
• Our system of degrees dates back to 12th
century in Europe
• Bachelor’s degree was a step on the way to
Magister or Doctor which were necessary for
admission to the guild of teachers
• Since then, the baccalaureate has become a
more significant indicator of readiness in a
wide range of fields of work
What is a baccalaureate?, 2
• The content, conditions and requirements for
a baccalaureate have always been determined
by consensus of those with the relevant
expertise and authority – normally it has been
what those who have the authority to award it
say it is!
• Colleges in Canada have shown that they can
satisfy the Canadian Degree Qualifications
Framework (Council of Ministers of Education,
Canada)
What is a baccalaureate?, 3
The important issue is not whether colleges
can adapt their baccalaureate programs to the
consensual view of what constitutes a
baccalaureate that presently exists within the
university community, but whether
membership in the group that determines
that consensus can be broadened sufficiently,
resulting a more flexible conception of what a
baccalaureate is that is consistent with college
values and strengths.