Community Colleges & Online Education - Common Ground

Indeed, online education has a long way to go in order to be as effective and culturally/socially beneficial as community colleges, but as it relates to the five-part mission statement of community colleges, it seems as if online instruction is meeting the open access and comprehensive curriculum areas quite well.  In addition, online instruction is also breaking down barriers to access as it relates to geographic, financial, and institutional (i.e. easy registration).  In my experience as a full-time online instructor for the last three years, I would also venture to say that we are striving towards increasing enrollments and retention much like community colleges.  We offer student orientation courses, community discussion forums outside of normal classroom activity, and personalized counselors and individualized degree programs.  So, when applying for community college jobs, I am often asked what I know about CCs and what I can bring to the table.  I respond that I know and understand the goal and mission of CCs because it is not that different from online schools/programs.  In addition, we share many of the same characteristics of students.