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Building a Workforce for the Information Economy
were attending degree-granting 2-year colleges. Because students attend community colleges for a variety of reasons, the majority of 2-year students (about 75 percent) never complete an associate's degree. 49 About 30 percent transfer to 4-year institutions, some fail and/or drop out, and still others take only a few job-related classes.
Community colleges play a large role in educating adults, as well as full-time younger students. For example, during the 1995-1996 school year, 71 percent of 4-year students were under 25, only 17 percent were 25 to 34, and just 12 percent were over 35 years old. In contrast, slightly less than half of students enrolled in 2-year (and less than 2-year) colleges were under 25, 27 percent were 25 to 34, and about one-quarter were over 35.50 Reflecting the need of older students to work, the majority of community college students (63 percent in the fall of 1997) enroll part-time.
Community colleges play a large and growing role in preparing their students for Category 2 IT work, and for some types of Category 1 work as well.51 In addition to enrolling growing numbers of younger, full-time students in computer science and related fields, community colleges are training working adults for IT careers. For example, in a recent survey, more than 100,000 2-year college students enrolled in both credit and noncredit classes were asked about their background and their goals. 52 About 18 percent of all respondents enrolled in for-credit courses (leading to an associate's degree) said that gaining computer or technological skills was a major reason for enrolling. Compared to the average age of all 2-year students, the survey respondents who were seeking IT skills were quite a bit older: 24 percent were 26 to 39 years old, 32 percent were 40 to 59, and 35 percent of students were 60 or older. The survey results also suggest that community colleges are playing a growing role in retooling college graduates for IT careers: Twenty-eight percent of students in noncredit courses had already earned bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees. (Many IT certification programs are offered on a noncredit basis, as discussed further below.)
49
Halperin, Sam, ed. 1998. The Forgotten Half Revisited: American Youth and Young Families,1988-2008. Washington, D.C.: American Youth Policy Forum.
50
Halperin, 1998, The Forgotten Half Revisited.
51
For example, CPS data indicate that, in 1996, 10 percent of computer programmers had a 2-year degree. United Engineering Foundation, “IT Workforce Data Project,” available online at <http://www.uefoundation.org/itworkfp.html>.
52
Lords, Erik. 2000. “Many Students Are Returning to 2-Year Colleges for Technical Training, a Survey Finds,” Chronicle of Higher Education, April 5.
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