Attrition at the community college: A symptom of institutional uniqueness

Educational attrition rates are viewed by the Federal government and other external agencies as reliable indicators of institutional performance. The high attrition rates of community colleges may lead to drastic funding cuts. Both the community college and its attrition statistics are misunderstood. The peculiarly American \u27open door\u27 of the community college was designed to bring both education and training to students with a variety of backgrounds and goals. The evolution of the community college mission is described through a historic summary of the social forces involved in its development. A particular community college is used to illustrate this history. Attrition is shown to be a natural consequence of the mission of the institution. Over time, three major types of programs have been developed by community colleges in response to perceived social needs. Success for students in those programs is often independent of graduation. Community colleges thus have multiple missions. In order to make useful judgments of failure and success of the community college and of its major programs, the overall mission and the three separate missions must be understood. Critics of the community college either do not understand or do not approve of its mission. Analysis of significant community college retention projects demonstrates the community college practitioners\u27 grasp of the institution\u27s unique mission and of its particular students. The philosophical gap between the critics and the practitioners, not attrition, is the problem