Community College Student Survey - Pearson Foundation

Second Annual Pearson Foundation
Community College
Student Survey
The Pearson Foundation is committed to better understanding the growing student population
attending community colleges and the keys to student success. The Foundation recognizes
that community colleges serve a variety of individuals, from those who are continuing their
education after graduating from high school to those who are pursuing a degree after joining
the workforce, and to those who are looking for self-improvement or fulfilling experiences.
This second annual survey of
community college students
examines who today’s
community college students
are, identifies factors that
contribute to success, and
explores how technology
is being used by this group
of students.
This summary of results
highlights major conclusions
from a nationally representative
online poll of 1,205
U.S. community college
students ages 18 through
59. The Pearson Foundation
Community College Student
Survey was conducted by
Harris Interactive on behalf
of the Pearson Foundation
between August 15 and
September 26, 2011.
A “Detailed Tables”
document providing answers
to each survey question,
segmented by population, is
available upon request.
Summary of Results
1. Access to courses continues to be a problem for
students at community colleges.
• Nearly four in ten community college students (37%)
have been unable to enroll in at least one course
in the fall 2011 semester because the course was full.
• Also in the fall 2011 semester, two in ten community
college students (20%) have had trouble enrolling in the
courses that they needed to get their degree or certificate.
• Students who have tended to experience the most difficulty with course
enrollment are those enrolled part-time or in remedial courses.
2. One-half (52%) of community college students who
recently graduated from high school feel that their
high school did only a fair or poor job of preparing
them for college-level courses.
• Nearly all recent high school graduates now enrolled
in community college feel that their high school could
have done something better to help them prepare for
college-level work, including offering more courses
(52%), offering more challenging courses (49%), and
placing a stronger emphasis on basic skills (48%).
37%
52%
• Half of recent high school graduates who felt their high school courses did a fair
or poor job of preparing them for college-level courses identify having better
teachers as being beneficial in preparation for college (48%).
• The students who say high school did a fair or poor job of preparing them for
college are more likely to have dropped out of community college or to have
seriously considered dropping out.

Second Annual Pearson Foundation
Community College
Student Survey
Summary of Results
3. Online learning has become a standard learning
technique for many community college students.
• Six in ten community college students (57%) have taken college courses online,
with almost one-half (46%) taking at least one course
online in the fall 2011 semester.
• Three-quarters (74%) of students who have taken
online courses are satisfied with their experience.
• Two out of five students (39%) agree that they would
like to take all of their courses online.
• In the fall 2011 semester, 13% of the community
college students surveyed are taking all of their courses online.
4. Many more community college students own and use
various technological devices for academic purposes
than a year ago.
• Tablets are gaining traction among community college students, with tablet
ownership tripling since 2010: nearly one in ten community college students
(9%) now owns a tablet.
• Adoption of smartphones and digital reading devices has increased since 2010,
with over one-half of students owning a smartphone (57%) and three in ten
students owning a digital reading device (29%).
• Two-thirds of tablet owners (64%) use their tablet at
least sometimes when studying or doing homework,
while two out of five smartphone owners (42%) use
their phones for these activities as well.
About the Survey
74%
64%
The Pearson Foundation Community College Student Survey was conducted within the
United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Pearson Foundation between August
15 and September 26, 2011. The survey was conducted among 1,205 U.S. residents
between the ages of 18 and 59 who were enrolled in a U.S. community college and
pursuing at least one course for college credit at any point between August 1, 2011, and
the time the survey was taken.
Data were weighted to be representative of the U.S. community college student
population using targets obtained from the Current Population Survey, National Center
for Education Statistics, and the American Association of Community Colleges. No
estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
The Pearson Foundation will make the cross tabulations, the underlying SPSS data file, and
full methodology available upon request. Please contact media@pearsonfoundation.org
for more information.
When referenced in publications, the source of this copyrighted survey should be cited as
Pearson Foundation Community College Student Survey.