When it comes to helping students attend and succeed in college, four area community colleges and the public school districts they cover know they must work harder. One thing they also know, officials said Monday, is that their problems are shared nationally.
"We all have similar problems and challenges and concerns," Henderson Community College President Dr. Patrick Lake said Monday to a group of educators and concerned community members at a Kentucky School Boards Association regional workshop. "This is not a recent problem (but) it's more exacerbated now," he added at The Hill's Fine Arts Center.
For many, it addressed problems that community college presidents from Henderson, Madisonville, Owensboro and Hopkinsville are well aware of -- 83 percent of entering students in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System are underprepared for college.
In fact, there is such a demand for remedial education that KCTCS estimated roughly 77,500 students will need extra assistance at the college level in math, while roughly 57,300 students will need extra help in reading.
And for students, that translates to more of the one thing that many don't have much of: Money.
That's why several local community colleges are working to encourage their students -- from a young age -- to focus on what they can achieve before they receive their high school diplomas.
In some respects, that push has worked. In the state community college system, the number of high school students taking college courses increased from 701 in the fall of 2000 to 16,341 in the fall of 2007.
And some community colleges, like Madisonville Community College, now offer scholarships for high school graduates in Hopkins County if those students meet certain requirements (starting with the class of 2008.) These scholarships are provided after students' KEES, financial aid and other scholarships are posted to their college billing accounts.
Dr. Judith Rhoads, president of Madisonville Community College, also enumerated various other programs that allow the college to collaborate with local public schools in that area.
These include an Education Talent Search program for middle school students and a Girls in Technology program, among many others.
Meanwhile, Henderson Community College President Lake said some local programs include dual credit and dual enrollment for high school students, as well as summer youth enrichment programs for middle school students.
But one thing that is essential, officials said, is for community colleges to adjust professors' preparation to accommodate the skill sets of the students who enroll.
Also, the community colleges should intervene early if students are having academic difficulties.
Becky Reeder, a Henderson County school board member, asked if colleges were focusing on life skills in any way.
Rhoads, of Madisonville Community College, shared a program called College Bound that allows community college students and employee volunteers to visit fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms in Hopkins and Muhlenberg counties to introduce students to general issues they might encounter when looking at colleges.
These include the admissions process, financial aid and student activities, among other things.
The goal, Rhoads said, is to get more students to consider attending college. But in order for those students to succeed, the colleges must adapt as well.
"It comes from both sides working together and not from (just) one or the other," she said.
