by Dr. Drew A. Bennett, Chancellor
Missouri State University-West Plains

The following op-ed article was originally published in the Kansas City Star April 19, 2008, with the title Community Colleges deserve Philanthropic Funds.

As chancellor of a two-year college in the Ozarks, I recently attended a Department of Education conference to discuss rural community college issues. Not unexpectedly, the topic of “resource generation” quickly emerged. Leaders from two-year colleges across the country agreed, even though almost half of all undergraduates in the United States are attending two-year institutions, it is extremely difficult to obtain major donations.

Community colleges receive only 2 percent of the $28 billion annually donated to postsecondary educational institutions. Foundations, corporations, and individuals contribute to big named schools, some of which already have tens of billions of dollars in endowments, yet fail to support two-year schools that have a much greater need. What would be the impact if, instead of 2 percent, 20 or 30 percent of the money donated to higher education went to two-year schools?

Consider one such open admission school, Missouri State University-West Plains. Most of our freshmen would not meet the admission standards of selective four-year schools. In fact, 75 percent must take a developmental course in math, English, or reading before they are ready for college-level courses. We serve an impoverished region within the fourteenth poorest congressional district in the country. Almost 85 percent of our students receive financial assistance. Only 50 percent of area high school students attend any college or vocational program – far below the statewide average. Because of admission standards and financial needs, the decision for most of our students was not which college to attend, but whether to go at all. Such rural two-year schools are islands of opportunity in a sea of need.

Despite numerous obstacles and disadvantages, our success stories are astonishing. Whether measured by test scores, job placement rates, accreditation of degrees, or opportunities provided, the value of the education we provide is enormous. For 12 years our students exceeded the national mean score in all categories of the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency. Those who graduate, or transfer to a four-year college, are prepared to perform well.

The cure for cancer and the answer to the energy crisis may lie in the Ozarks with two potential college students, not yet ready for a four-year college. Not only are these students denied the opportunity to attend a selective school because they are unable to meet admission criteria, they would certainly fail if placed in a four-year institution without the preparation available at two-year schools. If we don’t help these students get started as freshmen and support their progress, we lose the chance to make the world a better place.

Philanthropic support to higher education is absolutely necessary if we are to remain a world power and a secure democracy. While four-year schools are the bedrock of our college system, we need a more balanced approach if we want to break the cycle of poverty by providing education to those who need it the most. Otherwise a growing philanthropic egoism widens the chasm between those who have and those who can’t even have the opportunity to have. It is time to educate the supporters of education.