Consumerism Comes to the Community College. Topical Paper No. 55.

N

38

TP-55

Community Colleges; Community Relations; Consumer Protection; Educational Trends; Information Needs; Legal Responsibility; Occupational Information; Public Relations; Publicize; Recruitment; School Community Relationship; School Publications; Two Year Colleges

As interest on the part of federal and state agencies increases, and legislation is enacted to prevent consumer abuse in higher education, institutions must recognize that students, as well as taxpapers, are consumers of higher education, and that the educational marketplace must concern itself with fair practices, much as business and industry have done in the past several years. The first section of this paper is a philosophical overview of the effect of consumerism in the community college. Some reasons for the development of consumer problems in community colleges are outlined, and a rationale for committing institutional resources to deal with them is given. The second and third sections deal with constructive suggestions of student affairs specialists at two community colleges (one rural and one urban institution) for facing the problems that consumerism presents to post-secondary education. Focuses include: the need for quick action; the need to gather accurate, relevant, and useful data concerning job descriptions and future job opportunities; the need to present both positive and negative information about the college facilities and atmosphere; and the need to explore various means of dispersing such information to interested members of the community. (Author/NHM)

1976

ED118205