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Senior Institution Control Over Educator Training
University resistance to increased expansion of community college teacher education programs often is based upon a perceived threat to the health of their own education programs. Teacher education programs at four-year colleges and universities in many states have been bread-and-butter degree programs that generate significant enrollments and tuition revenue. This is especially true as state higher education appropriations have declined in recent years and as education schools have come under increasing criticism from state and national policymakers and the media in regard to the quality of their graduates.

These combined factors, exacerbated by the adoption of much tougher national accreditation standards for teacher education degree programs, have resulted in institutional pressures to maintain control over the content of education training. Most senior colleges and universities naturally will prioritize their need to ensure the quality of their own teacher graduates before supporting an expansion of the community college role in training teachers.

Quality of Community College Transfer Programs
One concern expressed by many university-based education faculty is that lower-division community college coursework does not match the quality of the coursework at four-year institutions. While many research studies conducted across the nation demonstrate that community college students who transfer do as well, if not better, than students who start at the university, the perception of lower quality continues to dominate state discussions regarding a role for community colleges in teacher preparation.

Standards of Preparation To ensure community college graduates meet the same standards of preparation as university students, many community colleges are guaranteeing their teacher education graduates will have passed the state-required basic skills test prior to transferring to a senior institution.

Other oft-expressed concerns regard the qualifications of faculty at the community colleges and the academic maturity of community college students. Community college advocates dismiss such criticism as unfounded prejudice and are quick to note the significantly older age of the average community college student, and the university’s Achilles heel – the widespread use of lightly trained graduate teaching assistants.

Nationwide, studies suggest that more than 50% of all education majors start their education at a community college. Of particular concern is the likelihood that the only science and math courses many future teachers of these subjects will ever take are those in the general education coursework at the community college. Indeed, a study of the large Miami-Dade County, Florida, school district found 40% of all the math and science courses taken by current teachers were at a community college (Chronicle of Higher Education). Given the growing recognition of the need for all classroom teachers to have a solid grounding in science and math, studies on teacher preparation point out the critical importance of requiring a closer collaboration between the two- and four-year higher education sectors.

Many states now require all teacher education majors to be able to demonstrate college-level basic skills by passing a high-stakes test. To ensure community college graduates meet the same standards of preparation as university students, many community colleges are guaranteeing their teacher education graduates will have passed the state-required basic skills test prior to transferring to a senior institution.

Teacher Education Accreditation Standards

NCATE Charter: The NCATE charter presently applies only to four-year degree programs

An even more challenging issue in many states is that community college education programs have not been evaluated according to the new and more complex accreditation standards for teacher education. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) charter presently applies only to four-year degree programs, making them responsible for the quality of teachers. States that adopt the A.A.T. need community colleges to work closely with their university partners to ensure compliance with the new and tougher accreditation requirements.

Concerns over the quality of community college transfer programs and lack of accreditation standards may not have solid support, however. When community college students transfer to four-year institutions, they graduate at the same rate and succeed in their jobs on a par with students at four-year institutions who did not transfer. The problems that prevent transfer students from completing a bachelor’s degree usually occur before or during the transfer process, according to a 1998 ECS paper.