Rethinking Reform: Equity, Neoliberalism, and the Future of Community Colleges

Host Ryan Tripp speaks with Milton Clarke, author of The Community College Reform Movement: Contentions and Ideological Origins, about how today's reform agenda, rooted in acceleration, completion, and performance metrics, often overlooks the lived realities of students and faculty. Clarke reflects on the limits of market-driven policy and the need for structural investment in public education: “You're still throwing students into a credit bearing class when they're not ready to do it, or they don't have the support, and that would be one of my biggest complaints.” ____ The Community College Reform Movement Contentions and Ideological Origins By Milton E. Clarke "This book critically examines the rise of the higher education reform movement, often referred to as the “completion agenda,” which, since the early 2000s, has sought to restructure core aspects of the community college experience. Using community colleges from across nine U.S. states as practical examples, it explores the major higher education reforms, including dual enrollment, the demise of developmental education, corequisites, and performance-based funding. Against the popular view that support for such policies is tied to neoliberalism, it argues for a more nuanced understanding of the complicated and often indistinct ideological foundation of the reform movement, demonstrating that supporters and detractors alike draw on similar concepts such as equity, student success, and affordability. This complication is further clarified through an account of the history, processes, functions, and institutions that paved the way for the advent of the higher education reform movement." ---> https://bit.ly/4mPTlXJ *The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges. Any content provided is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as endorsement by the organization.