After Destroying Community College Education for Generations, What Will Bring the Students Back?
Men, Adult Learners, Trades, Football, and a Changing Definition of “College” …
Part 2 of – What Will Bring Them Back?
Following the decision to end State funding of the Maricopa and Pima County Community College Districts, along with the (a) later fallout from the Pandemic lockdowns and closing of schools, (b) the unprecedented change in the youth/young adult job market from both illegal and legal immigration programs, and (c) the unknown impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on education as well as future job market opportunities, Community Colleges have been searching for their educational identity.
At the end of Part I in this series, I was left with a question I could not quite shake: What kind of education are today’s students actually asking us for? Maybe we have been asking the wrong question.
For years, when community-college enrollment declined, we asked why students were no longer going to college. But what if some of them never stopped wanting an education? What if they stopped wanting education delivered the way we had always delivered it? That distinction matters.
That question took me back to my three-hour lunch with John Crow, Ryan Caracciolo and Susan Winder. Football was certainly part of our conversation. But the longer we talked, the less this sounded like a story about football. It sounded like a story about students — and whether the education we are offering still fits the lives they are actually living. And something else changed that I had not fully appreciated when I began researching this series. Even the meaning of “community college” has changed.
For generations, most of us thought we knew what a community college was: a two-year school. You could earn an associate degree, learn a trade, or complete your first two years before transferring to a university. That is still part of its mission. But it is no longer the whole mission.
Maricopa Community Colleges now offer bachelor’s degrees. The system has surpassed 10,000 students enrolled in those programs and is expanding toward 26 bachelor’s programs by 2032 with the expansion of four-year, workforce-related degrees.
Think about what that means.
- A student may now walk through the doors of a Maricopa Community College looking for a short-term workforce credential.
- Another may want welding, electrical, healthcare or advanced technical training.
- Another may begin an associate degree and transfer.
- And another may now walk into that same community-college system and remain there long enough to earn a four-year bachelor’s degree.
Suddenly, “community college” can mean six weeks, two years, four years — or something in between. That was one of the questions I had put directly to John Crow before our lunch: How far should community colleges go into four-year degrees?
Crow told me he supports carefully targeted bachelor’s programs when they meet a documented Arizona workforce need, can be delivered affordably, and provide students with a local pathway that might not otherwise be available. But he also said the traditional community-college mission — open access, associate degrees, certificates, skilled trades, workforce training and transfer opportunities — should remain at its core.
His answer raised an even larger question for me. Maybe the choice is not between shorter education and longer education. Maybe it is finding the right amount of education for the person sitting in the chair.
And the definition of education is changing in another way…Artificial Intelligence is no longer simply something students may encounter after graduation. It is already changing what colleges teach — and how students learn while they are there.
Maricopa Community Colleges now offers AI certificates, associate-degree pathways, and even a bachelor’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. At the same time, students are being told to check individual professors’ rules about when and how generative AI may be used in their coursework. So, the question facing a community college is not simply how long a student should stay in school. It is whether the education being offered can keep pace with the world that student will enter when he leaves.
And suddenly the question was no longer simply: How do we bring students back? It became:
WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION WILL BRING THEM BACK — AND KEEP THEM THERE?
MAYBE THEY DIDN’T QUIT LEARNING — MAYBE COLLEGE QUIT TEACHING THEM
That distinction matters.
A student who needs to support a family may not have four years to find out whether a degree will eventually lead to a job. A 35-year-old trying to change careers may not be looking for the same educational experience as an 18-year-old leaving high school. A young man interested in welding, electrical work, advanced manufacturing or another skilled trade may measure the value of college very differently from someone preparing to transfer to a university.
In Part I, we also uncovered another important clue: women dominate traditional credit enrollment, while men become a majority in noncredit workforce programs. That reversal raised another question: Are men really walking away from education — or are they choosing a different kind of education? Maybe the missing men were telling us something. Maybe some of them did not reject education. Maybe they rejected the pathway we expected them to take. And perhaps they need help discovering which educational pathway best fits where they want to go.
Researchers examining workforce programs point to two possible advantages: they are often shorter, and shorter-term credentials are more widely accepted in several traditionally male-dominated occupations. This Does Not Explain Every Missing Student. But It Changes the Conversation on the Role of Community Colleges.
WHAT IF “COLLEGE” DOESN’T HAVE TO MEAN FOUR — OR EVEN TWO — YEARS?
Other states are already experimenting with that question.
Virginia’s FastForward program offers workforce credentials that commonly take only six to twelve weeks. The programs are designed so adults can continue working while training, and they lead into fields tied to employment demand. Virginia reports that more than 95 percent of enrollees in the program complete their training, although that is the program’s own reported completion measure and should not be confused with a traditional college graduation rate.
Texas has gone considerably further. Beginning with legislation enacted in 2023 and subsequently updated, Texas redesigned much of its community-college funding so that state dollars follow measurable student outcomes rather than primarily time spent sitting in a classroom. Its formula rewards colleges for credentials – including those connected with high-demand occupations – successful transfer to four-year institutions and dual-credit achievement. Texas also gives additional funding weight when those outcomes are achieved by economically disadvantaged students, academically underprepared students and adult learners age 25 and older.
Think about what that means. Texas is essentially asking its community colleges: Did the student merely enroll – or did something useful happen because that student enrolled?
- Did he earn a credential?
- Did she transfer successfully?
- Did the credential lead toward an occupation Texas actually needs?
- Did an adult learner who came back to school make measurable progress?
That is a very different way of defining success.
And suddenly, parts of my three-hour lunch came rushing back. John Crow kept returning to the connection between education and Arizona’s workforce needs. Ryan Caracciolo kept returning to the business-growth side — not simply marketing, but the larger process of attracting people, converting interest into action and building sustainable growth. Susan Winder kept returning to what happens educationally after the student gets there.
They were approaching the same student from three different directions. Get the student through the door. Give the student an education worth staying for. Make sure there is opportunity waiting on the other side. Maybe that is where the three “lanes” they described begin to intersect.
SO, WHO ARE WE TRYING TO BRING BACK?
That question cannot be answered simply by saying “more students.” Black men deserve particular attention because the decline has been unusually severe. Nationally, Black community-college enrollment fell 18 percent between fall 2019 and fall 2021. Among Black men, the decline was approximately 24 percent, compared with 15 percent among Black women. Researchers identified concerns about college cost, food and housing insecurity and employment pressures among the possible barriers facing these students.
That gives us important context for the figure John raised during our interview – the campaign’s analysis claiming an average decline greater than 31 percent in Black male enrollment across Arizona community colleges. We still need to independently reconstruct that Arizona calculation before drawing conclusions from it. But now we know something important:
Whatever happened in Arizona was occurring against the backdrop of a serious national decline in Black male community-college enrollment.
The next question is where Arizona differed.
- Was it affordability?
- Was it the pandemic?
- Was it the need to work while in school, but having limited work opportunities?
- Were students wanting shorter, skilled workforce programs that traditional enrollment statistics do not capture well?
- Did eliminating JUCO football remove one avenue that had previously attracted some young men to college?
- Or was it some combination of all of them, or something else?
So, our next question is: Can Community Colleges Deliver the Education Today’s Students Actually Need and Are Asking Us For? That Is the Investigation Now.
Coming Next…
PART 3 —– THE PRICE OF COMING BACK
PART 4 —IT WAS NEVER JUST ABOUT FOOTBALL
By Linda Brickman
©2026 Linda Brickman. All Rights Reserved.
After meeting many Associate Degree graduates of Community College over the years, I can say one thing. They were focused and prepared for the workplace. One who received his Associates in HVAC technology spent years as a technician and then went into sales. He pulls down about $400K a year now.
Sure, Yeah right. My neighbor was a long time commercial HVAC repair man who got replaced by illegals working for cash under the table. The company he worked for went out of business and he never was able to find a job in his field again.
Everyone and their brother is trying to sell HVAC units
I don't know where he lived, but trust is a huge issue in residential and light commercial. I was blessed to have the ability to do residential, light commercial and commercial refrigeration service for the last 38 years, last 18 years being self employed. Just me and a helper. Quit advertising after the 3rd year of being self employed, too much work…tried to handle as much as I could, but I've been sluffing off work from restaurants and places who want to negotiate every job even after they were given a price. 64 and just had a heart attack this past Friday….Somebody Upstairs is trying to tell me something….Most people can't afford the 8-12k to replace their systems. Last Tuesday I went to a lady's house(referral from her dad), Company said 2 months ago her system was shot and she needed a new one. I get there, check out starting components- OK, reconnected contactor low voltage wires that were disconnected(?), and plugged in the disconnect, fired right up. Condenser coil was filthy, this was a Ruud unit, with an HP reset, she said she pressed and it came back on and they said she screwed it up by doing that. I told her, barring anything unforeseen, her condenser coil needs cleaned. They also told her you can't get the refrigerant for her system any more… another lie, I can get it all day long, just expensive as heck, but way cheaper than the 10k they wanted to charge her. Big $ in replacements, but repair gains trust until it really needs replaced. Just my 2 cents.
Sorry to hear about his situation, I worked for 40 + years in the industry and trust me…. I get it. If you are an older guy now, regardless of credentials or experience…….forget it. Also, many of these smaller HVAC companies have been bought-out and consolidated under larger equity ventures. They want young inexperienced people who work cheap. After being forced into retirement in my early 60’s I tried to find a job. My solution was to start a small retirement business and go on SS. Not sure what else to offer.
Place an ad for free nose rings and a sippy cup. The lines will be out the door.
As a Junior Paralegal of SippyCupCorp, I must inform you that continued slandering of suppy cups will be met wtih the unexplainable appearance of grassroot non-soros-paid riots, non-USAID spraypainting of local monmuments, and a full court press of Drag Queen Story Time in your zip code. Direct any concerns or trolling to Adam Schiff's Congressional Office at Congress, 3rd Floor, 5th LBGTQ+ Flag.
IM SURE HE APPRECIATES THE UP VOTE YOU SKIPPED IN YOUR "JOURNEY" HASTE TO COMMENT ABOUT YOURSELF. ANUSMUSCLE.
> LmaO <
Anyone who provides instruction in useful skills and helpful knowledge will find willing takers.
NOT TRUE. SHOULD NOT WILL, PEOPLE ARE TOO LAZY TO LEARN AND IT SICKENS ME.
Generalize much?
I FIND IT EASIER TO MAKE MY POINT WHEN PESKY DETAILS ARE OMITTED. YOU SHOULD THANK . I AM NOT WRONG AND I EDUCATED YOU FOR FREE. WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT?
Good manners, some facts, and restraint. And now you are blocked.
This whole article is too old fashioned and addresses the question backwards. We don't WANT the students yo go back to college even after they are repaired. That is the ancient boomer generation notion of college education will make you a better person and maybe exempt you from military service. When in reality a large portion of the population graduating from college only equates to a lot of people checking the boxes to graduate. Downstream this leads to a glut of people who, on paper, appear qualified for leadership positions or detailed administrative work, but they don't actually have a predilection for that type of work and as a result are terrible. We have already seen that trend destroy companies and with them jobs. MOST people need trade skills. And the education system as a whole needs far less reverence. lets shatter the myth that higher education is the answer to everything.
I am a boomer, veteran and graduate of a community college. Care to try again?
THIS ATTACK ON BOOMERS IS BEYOND TIRING. SOME HOW HOW HARD WORK AND BOOT STRAP SUCCESS IS "OUT DATED" BY PEOPLE THAT HAVE PRODUCED NOTHING AND LIVE OFF THE "BOOMER" GENERATION. I HEARD LAST NIGHT I WAS GEN Z OR X I FORGET.
I GREW UP …NO WORK NO EAT….I AM PROUD OF MY ELDERS.
We don't WANT the students yo go back to
MAYBE YOU NEED AN ENGLISH CLASS.
SKIP COLLEGE AND GET A TRADE SCHOOL EDUCATION.
SE ONE SENTENCE AND NOT THAT KAMALA YOU SPEWED ON US,
Some fundamentals need adjustment and that won’t be easy!
Are CC credits worth less than University credits? Make them equal: hour for hour!
Are high schools still permitted to graduate illiterate students? Fix it with no exceptions!
Many people cannot deal with the distance factor of job/family to school and they need CC! Make the CC “remote” extensions of the University, much like Clinics have adopted to small town locations.
CC aware often related to taxing districts that have become awkward! Fix that so they have flexibility to get bigger or smaller, etc.
EDUCATION IS LIKE CREDIT. IT IS IMPORTANT TI HAVE IT UNTIL YOU DO. ONCE YOU HAVE GREAT CREDIT YOU DONT NEED IT. A DEGREE IS WORTHLESS AFTER YOU START WORKING AND REALIZE YOU HAVE NO REAL LIFE SKILL. CC IS A GREAT PLACE TO LEARN YOU KNOW NOTHING AND A GREAT PLACE TO LEARN HOW TO LEARN. IMHO
doesnt matter. they cant read or write anyway so who cares.
The silent racism that is the public schools system…perpetrated on inner city minorities by the national teacher unions and condoned by a democrat party which claims to champion minority rights, yet willingly sacrificing those rights on the alter of union dollars… is one of this nations biggest scandals and greatest shames.
Democrats have for decades condemned generation after generation of inner city school children to an inferior education and the inferior future that comes with the lack of proper education.
have you taken a look at who the "teachers" are?
in Oakland, the "teachers" take students from the class room and use them for political props at demonstrations targeting their (the teachers) political opponents. maybe THAT is why reading and math skills are (reportedly) so low. Ya think?
My Wife, all 4 of my Daughters and 2 of my Son in Laws all worked in the Education Industry including as Teachers Administrators Special Ed and Counselors ….
My wife had a District Administrator tell her that they had hired her in an attempt to shut her up and were truly surprised when our children’s education was more important to her than keeping her job.
SILENT….NOOP IT IS OVERT NOW.
The typical babied 18 year old being passed out of high school has the maturity level of a 13 year old. They are unable to manage finances, hold a job, or live on there own. How can you expect them to attend college. Back when I went, you had to pass tests, complete projects, attend classes, work, maintain your living space, feed yourself, register for upcoming classes. You were going at 120% at the cost of sleep.
Today's parents think they have to do everything for the kiddo's. The school does the rest by having no expectations (everyone gets an A) and handing out a worthless diploma. The kid learns little if any life skills. Higher education used to be a proving ground to find out what you are made of. Now it is a daycare center.
Go back to the basics. Education is a privilege, not a right. Expect students to learn and prove they have. Teach what is valued by society, parents and students. introduce competition between institutions for best outcomes. And get rid of DEI.
I can see you were Edumicated as well….Try this "Live on THEIR OWN"
You must have a worthless english major. What Starbucks do you work at? I need coffee.
As a boomer we went to college to get white collar jobs. We got degrees in the sciences, engineering, accounting and law. The lesser degrees was in businesses and mass communications.
This is what college was for, training people to work in the above fields.
The majority of college students will end up working in jobs that do not need a college education.
College—not the oil companies—has become a gigantic scam with huge profits, based on their price gouging of the public.
.
My children went to college and all they received is indoctrination (rather than education). I can't tell you the number of hours I spent with them on Zoom calls answering the questions that the instructors were either unable/couldn't teach. Not to mention the hours helping them craft answers to answer the "woke questions" they were given.
One of my personal favorites is when the instructor was covering all the "'isms." They then told the students to choose the most important one. I suggested my child tell them, "How dare you, after teaching this course, even suggest one is more important than the other!" The instructor's subsequent meltdown was epic when he said he would flunk my child and I suggested a conference with the dean.
If you are a young white guy, it won't matter what you study or how high you score. DEI/ESG will very likely recruit a "diverse" person instead of you.
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That was before Congress started the dumbing down of America by offering worthless degrees that were only created so minorities could walk into Government Jobs and kick White people out. We are a Socialist Country since over 60% of the people work in government related jobs.
The community college in portland is nothing but a nest of woke freaks and illegals
THEN MOVE…..WHITE PEOPLE IN BETTE RED STATES ARE NOT PORTLAND.
portland is a crap hole full of sexual deviant’s and is the city with the highest sex offender rate in the country, the target is always the children with the demonRATs
THOSE UNABLE TO REPRODUCE BASED ON BIOLOGICAL FACT ARE LEFT WITH NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO GROOM. SO WHY ARE WE BEING FORCED TO ACCEPT THE REALIT AS OPPOSED TO OUR LYING EYES? PLAY TIME IS OVER IT IS TIME TO BE SERIOUS..IMHO
Have you taken a look at who the (grade school & high school) "teachers" are?
In Oakland, the "teachers" often take students from the class room and use them for political props at demonstrations targeting their (the teachers) political opponents. Maybe THAT is why reading and math skills are (reportedly) so low. Ya think?
teach more classes on trades.
Very pleased to see the renewed interest in Community Colleges with thoughtful, productive curriculum. I believe education happens all throughout our lifetimes.
DEI = participation trophies in sports as well as education and employment.
Many parents seem unable to cope, cannot teach their children to cope with life's ups, downs and sideways. Have seen many parents seemingly unable (or unwilling) to say no to their children.
Perhaps the Community Colleges will provide help for children, grown to adulthood see a path toward success.
ANYONE WITH AN EDUCATION HAS LEARNED THE SIMPLE FACTS……THAT LIL BOX IN FRONT OF US IS THE LARGEST LEARNING TOOL EVER INVENTED. I SEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AS LOWER LEVEL TEACHERS THAT WANT TO TEACH. I RELEARNED TO STUDY AND GRASP KNOWLEDGE IN A CLASS ROOM FROM THESE LOWER LEVEL TEACHERS.
THESE PROFESSORS IN HIGHER RATED SCHOOLS ARE NOT TEACHING THEY ARE PREACHING.
I WILL TAKE THE ONE WHAT WANTS TO BE THERE ALL DAY LONG.
Today's college degrees are just accreditation. Are they useless? Some are. The rest just show that you sat in classes for long enough to get a piece of paper. Some learned something. Lots didn't.
Community Colleges are the true schools of choice for millions of young students especially in outlying areas of the USA.
Community colleges / Trade schools offering an AAS provide skills needed by the Local community and the base courses for any college anywhere.
Face it, 2+2=4 and a period goes at the end of a sentence in a community college AND at Harvard.
The first two years of college are basic subjects.
A person can afford to go to school at a community college and will usually be in little to no debt after those two years.
Only allow grants and scholarships to be used at the state level.
In other words if a student gets scholarship money or a grant from anyone, including the Feds, it must be used in the state the perspective student lives in.
I did both got more work from my AS than I did from my BS. Got the AS years after my four year degree.
Perhaps the reason people are giving up on chasing the American dream with getting a education is million dollar homes they never will afford on top of the thousands of dollars in student debt….
And why?…..
Because of the ambulance chaser politicians who have spent the country into bankruptcy, and continue to do so…..
MAYBE THEY (the students) DIDN’T QUIT LEARNING — MAYBE COLLEGE QUIT TEACHING THEM
Bingo…
Ever look at a course catalog for a community college? 75% of the classes should have been covered in high school. Focus on a degree with some training and skills that can get someone a job. Forget all the remedial math and english lit classes.
the Powers that be want the students on the Perpetual Pay Back Plan. Stupidity at its worst. Only the banks profit.
Do 2 years at junior college then go on to 4 year degree possibly with a scholarship.
Don't do the 4 tear deal with huge tuitions for 4 years. The pay back is a killer.
Be Smart.
Start real trade schools model after Int. national brohood of electrical ,colleges will have their favorite dems dumbing em down like pubic ed
There are a lot of options: trade schools, or, if your parents did their job in the first place, guess what? You don't need a college degree if you're already a functioning adult. The reason behind the college debt crisis was because an entire generation of Americans was told that if you do not go to college, you cannot get a job. It was a lie from the beginning, and now millions of Americans went to college and still can't get a job, because we have a higher standard of living than the millions of imported illegal immigrants from God knows where.
Students need to SUE their University for violating their contract FOR an Education when all they are getting is a massive Indoctrination to Marxism!
Trade schools. You take classes for what you need for your subject matter. No fluff, no indoctrination. Less time, less school cost, more money on the job and usually hired before graduation. But you do have to actually work when you get out so there is that.
how about a skills-based curriculum