I think the WCC Board of Trustees needs to create a clear, measurable definition of WCC’s purpose. The lowest median income in the County belongs to Ypsilanti, and that figure is higher than the average income of a WCC student – ten years after first enrollment. It’s a legitimate question: What are we doing here?
Why operate a community college at a direct cost to the local taxpayers that exceeds $75M this year if the community college can’t create opportunities for its graduates to earn even the lowest median income in the county? That’s a pretty low bar, and WCC isn’t meeting it, despite the absurdly generous funding that the community provides each year.
Is it enough to say that someone who went to WCC is employed? (Aren’t people supposed to be employed? Isn’t that why most people go to college?) And despite the school’s persistently crappy marketing here, a few asterisks should probably apply to that tagline.
First, nearly three-fourths of students who enroll at WCC already have a job when they enroll. WCC surveys students following graduation and according to WCC’s published data, nearly three-quarters of graduates work, either full-time or part-time 6-9 months after graduation. That’s not much of an improvement over the number of students who had a job when they first enrolled at WCC, is it? In fact, it’s not really any change at all.
Second, 48% of those who graduate are employed in a position that relates to their field of study. On the surface, that sounds – well – 48% is less than half, isn’t it? So, that doesn’t even sound good. What’s worse is that WCC’s current graduation rate is 28%.
The WCC Board of Trustees isn’t even asking questions
For every 100 students who enroll for the first time, 28% will graduate, and of those who graduate 48% will work in their field of study within 9 months of graduation. 48% of 28% is 13.5. So, for every 100 students who enroll at WCC for the first time, fewer than 14 can even make use of their degree.
That also doesn’t sound good. So again, what are we doing here? Where is the oversight from the WCC Board of Trustees? And why is a 28% graduation rate and a field employment rate of 13.5% an acceptable return on a community investment of $75M?
Washtenaw County has a population of 365,500 people. $75M is an average annual investment of more than $200 from every single individual who lives here. And the very best that WCC can do is graduate slightly more than one-fourth of the students who enroll there, equip fewer than 14% to successfully work in their field of study, and enable them to generate earnings below the lowest median income in the County?
What are we doing here?
There isn’t person on the WCC Board of Trustees who can answer that question. Worse, there’s no one on the Board who is asking that question. THAT is WCC’s biggest problem.
Photo Credit: Jun, via Flickr
