Breaking the Stigma of Community College

By Tiffany Joa / Fall 2019

Growing up, I was blinded by the every-day routine of life in my sheltered Asian American community that I was never exposed to the great extent of the diversity cultivated in modern-day society. I was raised with the mantra that higher education was expected and that I would do my best to attend a “dream school.” I still remember when I was a freshman in high school when I grew to learn that some schools stood above others based upon prestige, admission rates, and annual rankings. Admittedly, I played along with the constant push to achieve more and rank up, whether it be in terms of grades, high school club positions, or test scores.

The end of my senior year proved to be a pivotal role in my decision making, as I had to decide whether to continue to uphold the “model minority” facade with my (admittedly) high AP scores and SAT scores, along with the scholarships awarded to me or to take the less encouraged route of community college. Despite my accomplishments, I only had two college acceptance letters out of the eleven schools I applied to to prove that I was a successful human being. My self worth hit an all-time low, as I felt that all of the work, time, and energy I had invested in my education went to waste. In the midst of my misery, I made the choice to attend community college, despite everything I was raised to believe.

I still remember when I would run into old classmates who were genuinely surprised to see me at my community college. One of them even remarked to me that she thought I was attending UC Berkeley and asked if I was visiting home for the weekend. These remarks used to sting as I was constantly reminded of my failure, but I came to be proud of being a community college student. During that time in between, I spent a lot of time thinking about the stigma against community colleges that I had once played into without ever being truly informed of how the opportunity to transition from a two-year university near home to a four-year university should be celebrated rather than looked down upon as a last-resort choice.

At community college, I became friends with many working class students of color who chose the transfer path. One such friend, Dylan, became the first in his family and extended family from Mexico to pursue a higher education. When he was accepted, he invited me to a huge party that his family threw to celebrate his success. A large majority of his family immigrated to California from Mexico, but they had done so later in their life so it was too late for them to pursue college, as they have children and family business to take care of. I attended the party and was shocked by how over a hundred people were in attendance. The entire experience was overwhelming, as I realized that attending college, something that was expected of everyone in my high school class, was something highly celebrated and not necessarily a given in the Mexican American community. Even though Dylan has yet to graduate, it was then when I realized that something as simple (and yet still unattainable for some) as a college acceptance letter stood as a shining symbol for the opportunity to move up the ranks of society and no longer be restricted to the working class.

Although Dylan’s success story stands as solid proof that social mobility is possible, it doesn’t call into question whether that possibility still holds for all students. It also, ironically, contributes to the idea that an education that comes at a higher price tag is of greater worth. This celebration of achievement was repeated amongst my friends who came from immigrant families and communities of color, all of which who were previously not granted the same opportunity to attain a college education due to extenuating circumstances such as being in debt, having a family to care for, and having to multiple jobs. One of my best friends, Louise, is an undocumented full-time student who has to delay transferring to a four-year institution because she is forced to work overtime as often as she can to support her sisters. And yet her parents continued to heavily pressure her to finish her education, as both of them had only finished their high school degree and see her as the only person in the family with the ability to make it further in life. It was these stories of students of color that I was completely unaware of as I fed into the stigma against community college, which angers me as I come to realize that the beliefs that communities uphold such as how things that come with a higher price tag hold greater worth, in particular in education, are unfounded, biased, and uninformed. To address this issue, it would help to refer to the history of class elitism and racial exclusion, both of which play into present day society’s tiered education system.

Education was once only granted to the few, privileged individuals who had the time, money, resources, and ability to pursue such an activity. It was restricted to upper class white members of society, and this in it itself contributed to the racial divides and economic disparities that has plagued the United States since immigrants stepped on the shores of America. Soon, it was official legislation that prevented people of color and white communities from attending the same schools. As African Americans returned to their crowded slums that epitomized the clash of foreign cultures and American ideals, those who were fortunate enough to have parents who “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps” were able to accelerate themselves in society, as far saddening to see that these glass ceilings within the educational system exist to this day, as ever-increasing college tuition, inequitable resources, and the lack of respect given to community colleges make a system that declares itself as “public” steer towards the “private” direction. In addition, the ideals that young individuals were raised with, cultural values, and the remnants of the inequities from long ago all play into the barriers standing between the lower-performing individuals that society has dubbed as “failures” and successful few who embody the “model minority.”

Asian Americans greatly value education, which has been apparent since the gold rush days, as immigrants especially during that period viewed education as a way to move up the ranks of society. Even within this one community alone, there are nuances that are often forgotten, such as students who are in the United States on a green card with an impending expiration date, undocumented, low-income students, and bearers of student visas who are threatened with mandatory military service if they were unsuccessful in transferring to a four-year university. Considering these lesser known groups, it becomes easier to understand why some individuals may choose to take different routes to their own definition of success and why these paths may or may not involve higher education. However, even with this in mind, it is puzzling why Asian Americans, particularly those in the upper/middle class, look down on those who attend community college. I would argue that it is because they don’t recognize their own privilege,and so they look down on those who have not made it as far in society, based upon the idea that an individual's worth is derived from their market value: their skills, ability to make money, and whether they can contribute to society; those who didn’t make it as far just didn’t try hard enough. The facade that everyone in society can be successful by putting in an equitable amount of effort plays into the stigma against community college; individuals who worked hard made it to Harvard and those who didn’t attended schools that are truly “public,” community colleges.

All of these factors are accentuated by our neoliberal capitalist society in which a large focus is placed on the accumulation of wealth and the ownership of capital. We as a society have lost the sense of an “us” and instead only focus on the “individual,” as educational institutions, urge students to step on each other to rise to the top. A student who was rejected starts to resent the student who was accepted, and it creates a hierarchy of success, as community college degrees seem to not hold as much value or significance as a degree from a four-year university.

It is even more difficult when the institutions themselves don’t stand for students. In Turk’s article, “Erasing the Community College Stigma,” Turk notes that “if we want students and their families to have confidence in the quality of a community college education, then higher education leaders across all sectors need to promote transfer pathways that accept the credits earned at community colleges.” (Turk 3). He then further notes that “a recent study from the Government Accountability Office found that students lost 43 percent of their credits when transferring from one higher education institution to another. That works out to an average of about 13 credits lost per student” (Turk 4). This is ridiculous, especially considering how “in 2016, community colleges served nearly half (46 percent) of all undergraduates enrolled in higher education. That’s over 8.5 million students” (Turk 1). That is millions of students trying their best despite their circumstances to acquire a degree, only to be forced to face roadblocks such as lack of knowledgeable school counselors and credits that don’t transfer.

Even with the push for having greater support for community colleges, we still have well-known name brand schools not follow suite, one case in particular: “Princeton University reinstated transfer admissions in 2017, after having placed a moratorium on the transfer process in 1990” (Sanchez 4). To address concerns that an education received at a community college is “lesser” and not as rigorous, Barrington notes in her article that “though requirements vary from one school to another, most community colleges require their professors to have at least a Master’s Degree” (Barrington 1). Considering that a multitude of students pursuing a higher education started or are still in community college, it goes to show how dire of a need there is to address the stigma against community colleges. It all boils down to how Dr. Steve Robinson, president of Owens Community College in Ohio puts it: “We're affordable, far more affordable. But that comes with the stigma that if it's not expensive, it can't be good" (Jaschik 2). The idea that anyone can attend should be something celebrated rather than looked down upon. A quality, affordable education near home that allows for greater interaction with students of all backgrounds? This is something that present-day society should definitely stand behind rather than step on.

The issue with tackling the stigma against community college also comes from how the strong focus on moving up in society is passed down from generation to generation and further cemented by discussions with peers who also grew up with similar mindsets. In tightly-knit social enclaves that exist to this day such as Little Saigon and Chinatown, cultures are preserved, but this is only a good thing to a certain extent, as it prevents cultures from interacting with each other, especially considering redlining in New York and even to where great institutions are founded such as UC San Diego. Going against the ideology that ranking is important would in a sense make people feel as if they are betraying the wishes of their parents and their personal identity that they have formed within their culture. It is difficult to speak out about how wonderful community college is when a great portion of those in attendance view it as a last resort. Even as an active proponent of community college, I am still guilty. In the back of my closet sits two shirts: one from UC Berkeley and one from Stanford, both of which I had bought in hopes of attending either school. Celebrating community college would also mean bringing esteemed private universities and UCs who sit at the top in terms of rankings would mean bringing the entire ranking system down. Doing so goes against what every school aims to brag about, whether it be a far-reaching alumni community, millions in funding for research, and expansive study abroad programs. Schools themselves step on each other to attract more students, meaning to attract more money-paying individuals. Considering that our society is founded upon neoliberal capitalism, we would have to uproot the inner workings of society to make such a change.

Due to how such a task is so great and intimidating, it would be better to consider the principles that individuals stand by and see how changing the way people see things would push society in the right direction in being more accepting of the community college path. It should be agreed upon that humans need to at the very least be able to convey ideas in a coherent way through verbal and written communication. Because of this, education should be regarded as a component of life that should be pursued if the individual so desires and has the resources to do so. In addition, the path that individuals choose to take to attain such knowledge should be regarded with respect and neither more nor less than the paths others choose to take. It is also important to remember that not everybody is granted the same privileges at birth or given the same fortunate circumstances growing up that make a better future closer within reach. By exercising introspection and reconsidering personal beliefs through a cross-sectional lens, it will be easier for individuals biased against community college and schools that don’t necessarily that as high as a ranking or prestige to understand that not everybody is fortunate to grow up with the best resources or be in a well-enough financial situation to afford attending institutions with a large price tag. Another principle to stand by would be that price doesn’t necessarily dictate the worth of an item. Considering that we live in a neoliberal capitalist society, we naturally have the impression that things that cost more are better; luxury cars don’t come at a price of just a couple thousand dollars. Reversing that mentality and really considering the value of the education you are getting, in addition to the second chance (or first opportunity) of attending a four-year university you yourself desire, would allow people to view community college as a stepping stone to achieving hopes and dreams, no matter where the starting point may lie.

Adopting such principles would mean that rankings and prestige would have to lose meaning, as things that are ranked higher are usually desired to a greater extent. It is first important to point out that reversing the belief that community college is “lesser” would mean that Asian Americans of all ages, not just the older generation, would have to be targeted. Because parents are so involved with the beliefs of their children and are very good at passing down their values, both sides would have to be convinced to maintain such beliefs, and such a feat even theoretically is extremely difficult. Even then it is understandable how the importance of ranking has pervaded society; humans require validation from others to derive a form of self-worth. Psychologically speaking, I’m not sure how to counter such a phenomena, but it could perhaps start with remembering that education as a whole is only a stepping stone towards career/life goals rather than a final destination. There is a lot of pride involved in such matters, as acceptance to a top-ranking, elite university implies that the individual is intelligent and has accomplished enough in life to be qualified as a worthy attendee of such a school. It would be nonsensical to invalidate such an accomplishment, but the same goes for those who choose to go to community college. Sure, there were not as many hoops that had to be jumped through to attend such a school, but that does not mean that the pursuit of higher education to better oneself should not be celebrated as much as the other student who chooses to attend a four-year college.

A truly democratic education would allow for students to be seen as individuals who can equally contribute in their own ways to society. Rather than allowing the emphasis on market value to pervade, it would be better to instead reconsider our own and our family’s priorities and truly consider what makes an individual feel “whole.” This definition of “wholeness” is unique and does not necessarily mean that a college degree, wherever it may be acquired, is involved. Making institutions student-driven rather than profit-driven would mean that students who need more resources, whether it means that they need to stay home to save money and attend a community college, or that they have to work a few years before even considering higher education be treated with the same regard and respect as a “traditional” four-year student. Once the label on a “traditional” education is removed, it becomes easier to view all paths as valid rather than continuously having a single standard to compare to. With this in mind, we as a society can then place becoming the best version of one person can be as the ultimate goal.

Individuals who are passionate about the future of the country and Earth should be concerned about this effort to normalize community colleges as another path in life because this issue pertains to undoing the neoliberal capitalist mentality that pits individuals against one another as they climb up the rungs of the social hierarchy. A collective effort to celebrate community college would stand as a symbol to humanity that it is possible to unite in solidarity to combat issues pertaining to the mental health of individuals and social stigmas against those who are in less fortunate circumstances. Doing so means that greater issues that involve all humans, regardless of race and socioeconomic status, such as global warming can be tackled next. In addition, it would give hope to the younger generation as they see that older individuals are not always looking out for themselves or their own. When it comes to matters affecting our country and our planet, it is crucial to remember that such issues must be dealt with as a whole, together, and that only then, can these issues be eliminated.

Works Cited

Barrington, Kate. “Overcoming the Stigma of Community College.” Community College Review, 8 June 2017.

Jaschik, Scott. “A Community College President's Campaign against Stigma about Two-Year Institutions.” Inside Higher Ed. 18 Feb. 2019.

McKenna, Holly. “Erasing the Community College Stigma.” Higher Education Today, 9 Oct. 2019.

Sánchez, Nancy Lee. “Erasing The Community College Stigma.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 Aug. 2019.

Shelly, Barbara. “End the Stigma.” Community College Daily, 29 Aug. 2019.