New Directions for Community Colleges (NDCC); Community College Missions: A Theoretical
and Historical Perspective
link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cc.254
This article examines approaches to conceptualizing the community college mission statement.
First, it provides the reader with background information about the history of the community
college mission by posing two guiding questions: Is the community college's mission to provide
transfer education so that students can eventually attain a baccalaureate degree? Is it to offer
workforce development to meet the needs of business and industry? The article continues to
discuss the desire of high school students to pursue a college education; however, there is no
need for such efforts, given the significant government cuts to higher education. Furthermore,
this article considers the ideas of restricting community college access and mission drift. It also
highlights the need for more community colleges to document their claims of success with
students in all age groups. External stakeholder involvement is mentioned as one of the
deficiencies of decision-making. Suppose more government officials are given significantly
more opportunities to be heard than faculty and staff. In that case, the community college will
not thrive in the future and will succumb to mission drift.
In my opinion, there is too much access and power given to the government and local churches.
It is quite ironic that the two entities that are supposed to be for the people and the
disenfranchised are given so much power to decide where and who funds are supposed to help. I
thought the very mission of the government and the church is supposed to be separate and not
working together.