CUNY
Community Colleges:
Vital to City Economy
John
Mogulescu,
University Dean for Academic Affairs and Deputy to the Executive
Vice Chancellor, offers an overview of the community colleges'
impact on the metropolitan economy.
The six community colleges of the
City University are vital players in New York City's economy,
generating a pool of skilled workers and an informed citizenry.
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| The University
offers a variety of two-year programs that lead to an
Associate's Degree in nursing. |
They will play a particularly critical role
in the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster, as thousands
of workers laid off in the ensuing
economic dislocation return for retraining, honing of existing
skills, or more advanced course work.
The community colleges serve a broad range of constituents—recent
high school graduates, immigrant workers needing language and
basic skills, and native New Yorkers seeking a second chance
or a new career. In 2000-2001, our community colleges served
63,000 students in degree programs and more than 98,000 students
in non- credit and adult and continuing education programs.
Community college graduates are the backbone of New York City's
workforce, and their alumni are leaders in every field of endeavor
in New York. Here are some specific examples of how the community
colleges energize the city's economy: Academic and Career Preparation
Half of CUNY's community college students are enrolled in programs
preparing them for transfer into senior colleges. Those who
graduate and transfer—many after overcoming substantial academic
deficiencies—succeed at rates roughly equal to those who enter
senior colleges as freshmen. Tens of thousands of these individuals
permeate the local workforce—from stockbrokers to budget analysts,
to journalists, policemen, nurses, business owners, teachers,
computer technicians, civil servants, clothing designers. It
is difficult to find firms and institutions in New York that
do not have one or more CUNY community college graduates on
their payroll.
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| Students
and mentor working in a Hostos Community College computer
lab. |
The other 30,000-plus students in CUNY's
community college degree programs are enrolled in one of 55
career-training programs, all developed in response to the workforce
needs of New York employers and major industry groups. These
career programs, many leading to certification and licensing,
range from Accounting to Computer Programming, Electrical Technology,
Paralegal Studies, Tourism and Hospitality, Business Management,
Marketing, Environmental Technology, Broadcasting Technology,
Advertising Arts, and Commercial Food Service Management. These
programs produce the human capital that helps to drive the New
York economy.
The community colleges are the leading educator for one of New
York City"s largest employers, the health care industry.
In the midst of the city's nursing shortage, these campuses
last year graduated 359 RN's, more than one-fifth of all new
RN graduates in the metropolitan area. Their programs are affiliated
with hospitals, clinics and nursing homes across the city "Hostos
Community College alone is linked to eight institutions"
and their graduates are in demand. Other health care training
programs span a dozen career paths such as paramedic, respiratory
therapy, dental hygiene, nuclear medicine technology, radiologic
technology, and medical office manager.
Graduates of career programs, although motivated to begin higher
education by immediate vocational goals, often don"t stop
at an Associate"s Degree. Having experienced success at
a community college, many of them continue at a senior college
and beyond.
Adult and Continuing Education
The community colleges offer hundreds of non-credit courses
and programs through adult and continuing education that enable
city residents to upgrade their work skills, obtain required
job certification, and retrain themselves for new careers. A
sampling of offerings at Bronx Community College alone suggests
the broad range of workforce training that is under way system-wide:
warehouse operations management, notary public, orthopedic technology
certification, desktop publishing, plumbing, building systems
management and operation, Web page design, hazardous waste management
and transport, and commercial property management. Adult literacy,
GED, and ESL courses are a staple of all continuing education
programs. Contract Courses for
Business/Government
The community colleges have provided specialized training by
contract with hundreds of City firms and agencies over the past
five years. These range from the Cisco training academies operated
by BMCC, Bronx and Kingsborough Community Colleges to Autocad
Release 14 training conducted by Queensborough Community College
for the United Sheetmetal Corp., to management training by LaGuardia
Community College for the Travers Tool Company, and ESL classes
provided by BMCC to McDonald's employees. The colleges also
provide training for a range of city, state and federal agencies,
including the city's Human Resources Administration, Department
of Design and Construction, and the NYPD, as well as the U.S.
Army.
Immigrant Gateway Training
Immigrants have constituted the bulk of new residents in New
York City during the past decade, expanding and enriching the
pool of entry-level and trained workers available to local employers.
Most of these highly motivated workers, however, need English
language instruction. The community colleges deliver the lion's
share of that instruction through adult education, ESL, and
Language Immersion programs.
This English instruction is often taken in tandem with basic
skills or GED classes or vocational training, permitting immigrants
to join the workforce as efficiently as possible. Approximately
25,000 recent immigrants were served through such programs this
last year alone. In addition, many of these students ultimately
enroll at one of the community colleges as matriculated students.
College Now
College Now was created to insure that all students meet or
exceed the performance standards for high school graduation.
Initially developed by Kingsborough Community College, it is
now offered at all CUNY community colleges. This semester they
offered College Now courses in 81 high schools, enabling 13,000
students to enroll in college- credit classes, prepare for the
State's Regents exams and improve basic skills. The colleges
are now working with the Board of Education to develop new career
and technical education programs for the high schools. Welfare
to Work and Job Placement
The community colleges provide job training and education to
public assistance recipients under contracts with the NYC Human
Resources Administration. More than 7,000 adults on public assistance
benefitted from academic or job training, job and parenting
counseling, and job placement services last year through a range
of specially focused and successful programs. For example, the
COPE program offers enhanced academic support and job placement
services to students in career programs. The program at Hostos
Community College last year served hundreds of students. Four
community colleges are conducting educational and vocational
assessments to help hundreds of public assistance recipients
due to reach their five-year lifetime limits soon. They are
also assisting the Human Resources Administration in devising
action plans with them.
Workforce Analysis
BMCC and LaGuardia Community Colleges conduct and publish market
analyses of employer needs and job trends in their boroughs
to inform public and private decision- makers. The Institute
for Business Trends Analysis at BMCC, working closely with the
Downtown Business Alliance, publishes its findings in the Downtown
Business Quarterly and the Downtown Data Report. The Institute
has a $750,000 federal grant to work with unions, industry,
other educational institutions and professional associations
to close the regional skill gap facing the high tech industry.
Minority Entrepreneur Training
Most of the community colleges operate training workshops and
support programs for minority and women entrepreneurs. An example
is the PREP (Preparing Entrepreneurs for Profit) program operated
by LaGuardia Community College, which has helped more than 900
women and minority-owned businesses compete for, and win, government
contracts. The program is run in collaboration with the MTA
and Pricewaterhousecoopers.
Community Cultural Institutions
The six community college campuses serve as the focal point
for social and cultural activities in their neighborhoods, including
theatrical, musical and dance events, cultural festivals, art
shows, international performances, community conferences, small-group
meetings, public lectures and discussions, job fairs, community
fundraisers, and sporting events. As the city's neighborhoods
grow increasingly diverse, these activities help create bonds
that hold multiple-faceted communities together.
These are only some of the diverse ways our community colleges
contribute to the economic health and vitality of New York City,
to say nothing of the intellectual and cultural enrichment they
provide in their communities. As we rebuild the city and look
to the future, CUNY's community colleges will be an increasingly
important component in our educational model, offering students
an empowering education and the professional skills they need
to succeed. Our community colleges will be challenged more than
ever to be flexible and innovative in responding to the needs
of students in an economic landscape of rapidly changing opportunities. |
