With concerns growing about the price of higher education, Maryland university leaders find themselves in the unusual position of encouraging students to take their initial classes not in the state system but at community colleges.
Two years of community college followed by two years at a university is simply a cheaper formula — for the student and the state — than four years at a university. "If we're going to find a way to keep higher education affordable, community colleges are going to play a very significant role," says William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the state's university system.
That has been the case for years, many would argue, but what's different is the university system's full embrace of community college transfers. The system is working to create uniform course requirements in as many academic disciplines as possible so transfers can make easier leaps from two-year to four-year schools. Recruiters are making more visits to two-year campuses in search of transfers. The university system is investing grant money to help community colleges keep their students in programs until they complete them.
"There's this transformational thing happening around community colleges," says Nancy Shapiro, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the state university system. "They're probably the most exciting place to be in higher education. All of a sudden, people are realizing that community colleges and four-years have more and more in common and are part of the same, larger mission."
"I think it's a growing trend," says Shirley Pippins, senior vice president at the American Council on Education and a former community college president. "There's a recognition not just on the behalf of four-year institutions but by smart parents and smart kids that two-year colleges are a good place to start. You can cut the cost of a quality education in half."
In 2008-2009, about half of the 18,629 transfers to the state's four-year institutions came from Maryland community colleges, according to a report delivered this month to the Board of Regents. That total is up 18 percent from five years ago and includes a 17 percent increase in African-American transfers and a 27 percent increase in Hispanic transfers.
Transfers who become full-time students at four-year institutions go on to graduate at similar rates to those who started as freshmen. About half of the teachers produced by Maryland universities started at community colleges.
System officials are thrilled with the numbers and hope to find ways to steer even more students down the same path.
"When you look at the graduation rates, it's remarkably similar," says Teri Hollander, the system's vice chancellor for academic affairs. "With that kind of success, why not maximize the state's resources, especially in economic times like these?"
Sandra Kurtinitis, president of the Community College of Baltimore County, isn't sure whether the transfer model will ever become dominant in the state. But she says there's no question that two- and four-year schools have worked together to make it a more attractive option for students.
"They realize it's a really good deal for them," she says of university leaders.
About 50 percent of CCBC students transfer to four-year universities, and Kurtinitis expects that number to rise as the sluggish economy sends more families in search of bargains. Community colleges around the Baltimore area have coped with annual double-digit enrollment increases during the recession. In Baltimore County, enrollment was up 30 percent over the past two years, and the college could see another double-digit increase this fall.
The differences in cost are stark. An in-state student at the University of Maryland, College Park pays about three times as much as an in-county student at the Community College of Baltimore County. And that doesn't factor in the cost of on-campus housing, which is much more common at four-year universities than at two-year colleges.
The per-student costs for the state are harder to pin down but are much higher at four-year universities, which provide large-scale housing, employ hundreds of highly paid professors and are not subsidized by county tax revenues.
The key to attracting more transfers, officials say, is to guarantee seamless transitions to four-year universities for students who take prescribed course loads in community college.
This synching of curricula, known as articulation, is in place for teacher education, nursing and, most recently, engineering. Students who complete programs in those areas at two-year colleges are guaranteed junior status at any state university that admits them. The system is looking for other majors that would be suited for such statewide plans.
"I think people are working very hard to provide a seamless path," says Secretary of Higher Education James E. Lyons. "Every college president you talk to will mention it. Everyone has it on the radar screen."
Lyons says the state has a way to go before "everything is in place." He recalls that as president of four-year California State University, Dominguez Hills, he sent a steady stream of representatives to the local community colleges so students would know exactly what they had to do to transfer without losing credits. He doesn't see that level of engagement at every Maryland university.
Other possible lures for transfers include discount-price credits, more flexible schedules designed to mimic those at community colleges and joint admission programs that would guarantee students the chance to move on to specific four-year universities.
Hollander says the state's four-year universities have intensified outreach to community college students over the past five years, letting them know exactly what courses they need to take to pursue various degrees. The system maintains a website, mdtransfer.usmd.edu, specifically to help transfers set up the smoothest transition possible.
Using a grant from the Lumina Foundation, the university system is also offering advice to two-year colleges on redesigning the courses that most often derail students, such as math and English composition. The more time students spend in remedial courses, the less likely they are to complete a degree. That's as large a problem at community colleges as it as at four-year universities, and addressing the issue is vital to the state's goal of having 55 percent of residents complete some college work, Shapiro says.
The General Assembly has also showed interest in the subject, asking for a report by Oct. 1 on possible incentives to keep students at community colleges until they have completed full programs.
All the focus on starting more students at community colleges could exacerbate the strain that many two-year schools are already feeling because of increased demand. In Baltimore County, popular classes meet at 6 a.m. and on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. Some are gathering in makeshift spaces that hadn't been used for years.
Kurtinitis says the college is happy to take on more students, but she hopes that as the state relies more on community colleges, funding will rise proportionately.
Leaders on all sides of the issue say they still have to do more to convince parents, students and professors that community college is a smart place to start a four-year education.
"We've come a long way, but there's still a long way to go," Pippins says. "There's still an archaic, outdated perception that community colleges offer a second-class experience. We just need to do a better job marketing the idea that you can start there and go on to the most prestigious schools in the country."