Washington Watch is produced by the AACC office of government relations and policy analysis.
On Monday, Alissa Young, president of Hopkinsville Community College in Kentucky, remotely testified before a congressional “Blue Dog” Rural Roundtable on education and training. The session was led by Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Oklahoma) and included Monte Randall, dean at College of the Muscogee Nation (Oklahoma).
Horn’s comments noted that “we need to have a robust set of choices for students” entering higher education, applauding the availability of apprenticeships and technical education, and that their choices should not just be “based on a zip code… If we want to make our rural communities strong, we have to invest in education.”
She added that “the answer is not just free colleges… We have to fund pathways and high- quality education.” She noted that she is “especially proud” of the community colleges in her state. (Horn represents Oklahoma City and is the first Democratic representative from that state in eight years.)
Horn asked Young what were the greatest needs facing her college in light of high unemployment rates. She responded that the state of Kentucky had done a study of this, and that one key was the need for enhanced student support services. She added that some of this is best done in a face-to-face setting, even though much advising has been moved online.
Horn also asked about ways that, in the pandemic, how different tiers of education and the workforce can work together most efficiently. Young, who serves on the American Association of Community Colleges board of directors, said that “partnerships are vital,” and that the pipeline with K-12 is critical. In the virtual environment, Young emphasized that students needed both hardware and software, pointing to the positive impact of CARES Act funding, and the need for that funding to be enhanced. Randall emphasized the importance of broadband access, noting that shifting to teaching online has been a challenge for many faculty.
Horn also indicated her support for the TRIO program and was interested in what else could be done to support the program’s goals. She also expressed concern about the potential for federal programs to be exploited by for-profit institutions.
In her introductory comments, Young made the following points:
- There are 270 rural community colleges in the U.S. – more than one out of every four of these institutions. They enroll close to 670,000 students each year, about one-tenth of all community college students.
- Rural community colleges are usually relatively small in size, and often extremely underfunded.
- Rural communities depend on their community colleges to serve as educational, cultural, community and recreational hubs.
- Rural colleges can serve as catalysts for economic vitality and development, providing talent pipelines through business partnerships. They often serve as business incubators, helping new and small businesses succeed.
- Rural colleges focus on students who experience food, transportation, housing, broadband, healthcare and childcare insecurities. They offer career and wellness counseling, financial literacy and personal finances training; they assist with accessing government resources; and they ensure students have internet access.
- In 2015, only 28 percent of those living in a rural area held a bachelor’s or associate degree or higher. In urban areas, 41 percent held such degrees. Of note is that fact that in rural areas, women are far more likely to be college-educated than men. Rural counties with higher levels of educational attainment generally have better economic prospects, including lower poverty and unemployment and underemployment rates.
- Rural community colleges and their students need federal support in a variety of areas, including broadband, economic development, job training, and, as always, student financial assistance. Their lean staffing makes it hard to compete for funds with better-resourced institutions. It is critical for the federal government to explicitly target assistance on these colleges.
