Should Our Door Stay Open?
Brookdale is one of the nation's 1,200 comprehensive community colleges. One of the key aspects of our kind of college is that we offer "open door access" to anyone who wants to go to college. This is regardless of their prior academic record or even their skill level.
Even though the door is open to everyone, that doesn't guarantee success in college. Once students are admitted, they take placement tests to figure out whether they will need to take basic-skills classes in order to prepare them for more advanced college work.
Some people across the country are questioning the value of the "open door." They say that community colleges need to focus their dwindling resources only on students who have a chance to "benefit from college." They say that letting everyone in isn't fair--not to the ones who "belong" there and also not to the ones whose skill levels are so low that, for all practical purposes, they really have "no chance of ever succeeding."
What do you think?
Even though the door is open to everyone, that doesn't guarantee success in college. Once students are admitted, they take placement tests to figure out whether they will need to take basic-skills classes in order to prepare them for more advanced college work.
Some people across the country are questioning the value of the "open door." They say that community colleges need to focus their dwindling resources only on students who have a chance to "benefit from college." They say that letting everyone in isn't fair--not to the ones who "belong" there and also not to the ones whose skill levels are so low that, for all practical purposes, they really have "no chance of ever succeeding."
What do you think?