Those notorious freeway billboards sponsored recently by the Texas Association of Business, bashing local community colleges for low graduation rates, have generated plenty of heat. For background, see previous posts, here and here.
Richard Rhodes, president of Austin Community College, discussed the issue recently in an interview with the Texas Tribune. As the product of a community college himself, he points out that, since he transferred to a university before graduating, he would not be counted as a "success" using the statistical metric cited by TAB in the billboards.
Here's the interview. Please read the entire article, as it frames the discussion nicely.
So far, such billboards have been put up by TAB in Austin and Dallas, but reportedly have already been taken down. Bill Hammond, the group's director, said their intent was to draw public attention to the need for performance funding.
Dr. Rhodes suggests alternative means of measuring the efficiency of two-year schools, reflecting the various circumstances of students who enter the open door. He also flatly rejects the idea that community colleges should become more selective in admissions.
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