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Editorial
Community college study appears flawed
The Advocate
A survey done by Norton/Norris (a company specializing in public relations, media production & placement, variable data printing and mystery shopping) on Oct. 4 claims community colleges are not being honest with recruits.
The main areas of concern include community college graduation rates, employment rates of graduates, and pass rates on certification exams.
The Advocate is concerned about the information given in the report and at the same time relay some information uncovered since the report was released.
MHCC President John Sygielski said in an email Tuesday he was "struck by how the underlying research for this report is incomplete, at best."
Apparently, the report was paid for by the Coalition for Education which is a for-profit group. That means they are in the business of college in order to make money, whereas, community colleges are in the business of providing education. An example of a for-profit college would be Apollo College.Why would a survey commissioned by a for-profit organization on community colleges (non-profit organizations) be credible? The Advocate would have to say it's because the students who provided their input are or were community college students, according to Norton/Norris's website.
However, Sygielski said those who were surveyed were selected by a group consisting of many of the nation's leading for-profit colleges and the response rate was 10 percent, which is "a value far below any suitable standard." Ten percent? The Advocate would have to agree and ask 10 percent of what?
By coincidence the report was released on the eve of the first ever national community college summit in Washington, D.C. The summit was held Tuesday, and our president was an attendee. In an email sent Tuesday after the summit, he said most community college professionals, including some members of the Obama Administration, "dismissed the study as incomplete and unscientific." The Advocate just hopes the U.S. Secretary of Education wasn't too hard on those community college professionals.
The Advocate reserves the right to not publish comments based on their appropriateness.