Page 332 - Crisis in Higher Education

302 • Crisis in Higher Education

fact that there are courses at community and technical colleges and uni-
versities such as economics, statistics, and sociology that have the same
titles but different content, so they are not equivalent. The second hurdle
is shown in Figure 14.1. Different content and performance standards may
preclude universities from counting these courses toward graduation for
a specific program. This may happen because courses at community and
technical colleges have less content and/or lower performance standards
than comparable university courses. To eliminate this risk, students and
their parents must take actions to ensure that their community and tech-
nical college coursework counts toward their four-year degree.
Resolving these problems means unifying content and performance
standards for courses taught by both types of institutions, which saves
time and money. This begins by standardizing college preparatory classes
offered in high school, so high schools, community and technical col-
leges, and universities could offer the same courses with the same content
and performance expectations. Wrestling with this is a task for the HEC.
There would be agreement on content, maybe even common learning
materials, as well as uniform performance expectations. The coordination
of curriculum and rigor would make the transfer between community
and technical colleges and university easier, less risky, and less costly.
Once these things are done—so transfer is assured and content and rigor
are equivalent—some courses still may not accelerate graduation because a
specific major may consider it a prerequisite or may not require the course
for graduation. This is the third hurdle in Figure 14.1. For example, com-
pleting algebra and trigonometry in high school or at a community and
technical college does not count toward an engineering degree because
these courses are prerequisites to calculus, which is the entry-level math
course for engineers. German courses taken in high school may not count
toward a business degree because foreign language may not be a require-
ment or an elective.

14.3 HIGHER EDUCATION: DROPOUTS
AND UNPREPARED STUDENTS

Many students drop out of primary and secondary school and never
have the opportunity to pursue degrees in higher education unless they
10
complete their General Educational Development (GED) certification.