The Value of Community College

Do you remember when community colleges used to be called junior colleges? I attended West Valley Junior College in Saratoga, California.  As a student there, I surmised that the "junior" designation meant that indeed I was not attending a real college. Even so,  I chose to attend this junior college because I wasn't ready to leave home and because my parents promised me much-needed braces if I would attend WVJC. Such a deal!

The last time I requested a transcript, it came from West Valley Community College. This "new" moniker is clearly designed to reflect a different status and a different role for two-year colleges. No longer was this to be seen as a college in training, subservient to the four-year college. Community colleges now see themselves not only as serving students, but also serving their communities. This name change broadened the scope and mission beyond transferring students on to universities.

However, from my teaching experience, I feel this moniker shift also reflected a transformation in our approach to education. When I attended junior college, I did not get involved in many campus activities. Most of my classes, though small, were still based upon the lecture delivery. I could easily slip in and out of classes and on and off campus without getting to know any of my classmates. Not once did I go to an instructor's office or visit with an advisor.

Now we actively promote community on campus. We want our students to get to know each other and us and to get involved on campus because we know this contributes to student success. On any given day, we can see students roaming through our office halls, gathering at the coffee kiosk, or forming groups in the quad. In my classes, I seek to create community and encourage collaboration by using lots of small group activities. After three or four weeks, I  catch students conversing as I walk into class. In my online classes, the discussion boards force the students to interact with each other at least twice every week. As students share their thinking, they also begin to share snippets of their life experiences that contribute to their viewpoints. The conversations become rich with encouragement, challenges, and critical thinking as the students spur each other on to go deeper.

As I see it, Yavapai College is a community within a community, and our community should always be a living and thriving environment for our students.  Within the details of a busy week, I can lose sight of that vision, but it doesn't take me long to regain it as I walk from building 3 to building 19, greeting students as I go and listening to the the hum of various conversations along the way.