From One College to Another; What Went Wrong?

To the Editor: 
As one gets older, we experience the many discomforts of aging, but for most of us, a great benefit is that we have a memory. It is in that vein that I would like to comment on Al Campbell’s April 11 column entitled “An Opportunity for Our College.” He notes that at a recent meeting in Cape May County, individuals lauded the efforts of the community colleges in Burlington and Gloucester in establishing a seamless entry from the community college to Rowan. 
The fact that this was discussed as something new and praiseworthy shows an astounding lack of understanding of the New Jersey community college system and the intent of Congress in fostering the transition of high school students into two- and four-year colleges.
Shortly after the Legislature allowed counties to establish a college, they enacted the Full Faith and Transfer Policy. This policy stated that an A.A. or A.S. degree from a New Jersey community college would be fully transferable as the first two years of a baccalaureate degree program at New Jersey public four-year institutions. Over the years, there has been much debate on whether or not the four-year colleges have lived up to their responsibilities.
In 1992, Congress amended the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act to include the Two Plus Two Tech Prep Associate Degree program. Funds were made available to partnerships of high schools and two-year colleges to implement an accelerated program of study that eliminated duplication of coursework thereby allowing students to take enhanced college courses.
Encouraged by the success of the Tech Prep programs, Congress subsequently changed the act to include four-year institutions as a Two Plus Two Plus Two partnership.
In New Jersey, between the years 1992 and 2002, more than $2 million per year was awarded to develop the Tech Prep partnerships.
Given the amount of money that was provided, and the apparent lack of a coordinated articulation process between the high schools and the county college, our focus should be on understanding what went wrong and how to fix it.