A comparative view of Colleges of Further Education (UK) and Community Colleges (US): maintaining access in an era of financial constraint

Abstract

In an era of financial constraint, this article gives attention to the role of ‘community college global counterparts’ by comparing colleges of further education in the UK with community colleges in the US. It points to similarities between the two and the ways in which budgetary constraints impact on them – and, in particular, on access opportunities for different groups of students, such as those from non-traditional backgrounds. It is suggested that admission is not so much an issue of selection, but one of social, cultural and economic capital, and how this plays out in terms of getting into college, staying in college and differential progression into higher education or higher-level occupations is considered.

Keywords:

• Colleges of Further Education
• Community College
• educational access
• massification
• marketisation

Notes

1. Other institutional names include: folkhighschool, junior college, open university, polytechnic, regional college, technical and further education (TAFE), technical institute, tecknicum, two-year colleges, village polytechnic and vishe skhole.

2. ISCED 1997 placed these institutions as straddling Level 4 (Post-Secondary Non-Tertiary Education) and Level 5 (First State of Tertiary Education). The 2011 ISCED Draft designates Level 5 (short-cycle tertiary) for these institutions, but many characteristics as noted by this article can also easily fit into Level 3 (upper secondary) and Level 4 (Post-Secondary non-tertiary).