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The community colleges mushroomed during
the 1970s. By 1981-82 there were 19 colleges
in B.C. and 192 in Canada. Full-time enrolment
inB.C. reached 18,160 and in Canada 265,420. _

North Americans pride themselves on having
an ‘‘open’’ society, where the ordinary citizen’
can achieve some measure of success if he
obtains the required education and works hard.
Yet if educational opportunities are restricted
once again, society may very well slip back
to the level of the ‘‘closed’’ (slave, caste
and feudal) systems of yore, where status was
Sere education was only for the
elite.

Today the largest single predictor of occupa-
tional status is education. According to
John Porter, the economic elite in Canada
consists of well educated men (lawyers,
scienists, engineers, chartered accountants...),
and so does the political elite. From
1940-70, 86% of those who held cabinet
positions had university educations. In the
federal civil service, the top positions are
usually occupied by university graduates
(87.5%), and most of those in intermediate
posiions are also lawyers, scientists, engineers,
and social scientists (Marchak, p. 28).

In the business world too, access to manage-
ment jobs tends to be restricted to those
with a high level of education (Osberg, p. 128).
And the study by J. Curtis and C. Cuneo_
in Montreal and Toronto showed that the
respondent’s education had more impact than
any other variable on the status of his
first job (Spencer, p. 423).

At the other end of the scale, we find that

the. persons who fail to get an education. are «

more likely to be poor. In 1977, 44.8%
of low income family heads had an education
of 0-8 years, 39.3% of them had some high
school and no post-secondary education. Only
6.7% had some _ post-secondary education,
5.7% had a_ post-secondary certificate or
diploma, and 3.6% a university degree
(Perspectives Canada III, p. 106).

»

Throughout the 1970s the unemployment rate .

for all university graduates was consistently
lower than for those without university
qualifications. The same applied even to the
youth aged 15-24 (MOSST Report 1980, p. 17).
The Creation of Community Colleges

Though a higher education is correlated to’
social mobility, it is not easy for the average
person to obtain it. Many students with high
intelligeftce are unlikely to aspire to a uni-,
versity education, especially if they come from
families of low socio-economic status, are

females, are members of disadvantaged racial
groups, or live in a rural area.

 

The Other Press

The Democratization of Higher Education
Special to the Other Press by A. Meshake -Azab,

an instructor at Douglas College.
(the first of two parts)

 

ES
eM

  
  

ia

 

 

In the mid-sixties, John Porter (‘The

Vertical Mosaic’’) suggested that university

attendance in Canada was heavily weighted in

favor of the most privileged persons in society.

The expansion of higher education, through the

creation of the community colleges, was design-

ed partly to reduce such socio-economic
inequalities.

According to W.L. Workman (pp. 280-283),
some of the factors of highest importance in the
creation of colleges were:

- Thrift: the cost to students would be less
at a local college than at a university.

- Breadth: the college would increase the
number of opportunities for people to obtain
an education.

- Proximity: a local college would reduce

substantially the distance post-secondary
students would have to travel.
Additional factors were:

- The college’s curriculum would offer flexibility

within and between programs.

The college would provide post-secondary
opportunities for those on an unusual daily or
yearly time schedule.

The college would provide progfams for
Native people and/or other minorities.

- The college would reduce the differences in
status between ‘‘academic’’ and ‘‘vocational’’
students.

- The college would increase the propensity of

individuals to engage in post-secondary
education through an ‘‘open-door’’ policv.

   
  

AON Sh eirg

March 4th to March 18th, 1982

Of these 7,400 were university transfer students
in B.C. and 78,250 in Canada (Advance
Statistics, pp. 13, 15, 19). Between 1971 and
1979, full-time enrolments in post-secondary
programs increased by 64% - 89% in career
programs and 40% in university transfer
(Enrolment in Community Colleges 1979-80).

If we add part-time students as well, we find
that B.C. colleges and institutes enrolled
77,102 students in 1980 (Beardsley).

Studies made so far reveal that the community
colleges have succeeded to a large extent in
their missions of democratizing higher educa- -
tion.

The Dennison-Tunner report gave the following
socio-economic profile of students entering post-
secondary institutions in 1972:

- With respect to the occupation of the.father, .
20.8% of college students indicated that they
had fathers in the ‘‘managerial’’.and 10.6%

in the ‘‘professional’’ category. The
corresponding figures for university students
were 24.5% and 19.5% respectively.

- University students as a group come from
“‘higher socio-economic background’’ than
college students, who come from a much

broader socio-economic background.

- When the education level attained by the
fathers of college students was examined,
a similar picture was evident. Whereas
approximately 25% of university students
had fathers--with a bachelor’s degree or
higher, the corresponding figure for college

students was 13%.

- Colleges attracted students from income
groups lower than those attending universi-

ties. When summarized into the categories

Family incomes ‘‘over $10,000 per year’’ and

‘‘under $10,000 per year’’, it appeared that
the percentages for college students were
35% and 20%, while the corresponding
figures for university students were 44%
and 18%.
- Another important finding relating to socio-
economic status was contained in the
responses to the questions, ‘‘When did you
decide to continue your education beyond
secondary school?’’ Approximately 36%
of university students made their decision
while in elementary school. The correspond-
ing figure for college students was 22%.
The response from college students that
the decision was made ‘‘after leaving school’’
was 27%, and from university students

only 9%.

- More than 25% of college students were
over 5 years out of high school, ghilw

- More than 25% of college students were over
5 years out of high school, while the

comparable university figure was only 6%.

- A study of the ages of students showed a
heterogeneity of college students; and a

homogeneity of university students.

- Colleges provide another opportunity for a
student to pursue further education without
regard for his previsou academic record. For

some students the college represents a
‘‘choice’’, while for others it is ‘‘an only
chance’’. :

- The universities encourage full-time atten-
dance by day. The colleges have offered
students several patterns of attendance, and
have particularly emphasized part-time and

evening options. A high percentage of
students are part-time enrollees. Colleges
make available the most flexible format
in post-secondary education. Se

 

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