Eric review: educating immigrants: the community college role.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, immigration to the United States continues to be a powerful force shaping the country's population counts and ethnic composition. According to the most recent Current Population Survey, in March 2000, 28.4 million foreign-born persons resided in the United States, comprising over 10% of the country's population. This proportion represents a steady climb since 1970 when only around 5% of the populace was foreign born. Further, the 27.5 million second-generation immigrants--those of foreign or mixed foreign- and native-born parentage--constitute an additional 10% of the country's residents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). Social institutions, including the educational system, play a crucial role in the settlement and societal adjustment of these immigrants by providing opportunities for economic and social advancement. Immigrants, through the varied ethnic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds they represent, play an important role in diversifying the student body of American educational institutions. The experiences and potential stresses related to immigration, including adjusting to a country that may embody significantly different cultural and societal norms, can, at the same time, present special challenges to educational institutions in responding to their students' needs.

This review examines issues related to the immigrant population at one segment of the American higher educational system--the community college. Community colleges, by virtue of their open-access policies, affordability, proximity, and wide range of course offerings including English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL), play an essential role in educating America's newcomers. Questions concerning immigrants' needs, participation, and educational attainment at community colleges and the policy initiatives and institutional responses directed at this population have only recently begun to receive serious scholarly attention. These questions include the following: In what proportions do immigrant students participate in the education offered by American community colleges? How do immigrants perform at two-year colleges, and what role does the community college play in their advancement to further degrees in American higher education? How do colleges strive to serve their population of immigrant students?

The purpose of this review is to discuss these questions through an overview of the existing literature on the community college's role in educating immigrant students. The discussion centers primarily on first-generation immigrants, including naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, individuals who are in the process of legalizing their immigration status, and persons residing unlawfully in the United States. Some of the literature cited, however, focuses on the foreign-born population, comprising all persons residing in the United States who were not American citizens at the time of their birth, such as immigrants or individuals possessing work or student visas. Following a brief examination of the immigrant population in the United States, the review considers questions of access, educational attainment, and institutional services, policies, and programs introduced with specific attention to the needs of immigrant students.

The Immigrant Population

The United States. In addition to a significant increase in immigration, over the past 40 years several important changes have transpired in the population of immigrants in the United States. These changes, in turn, hold consequences that are highly relevant to community colleges providing educational services to immigrant students. Perhaps most importantly, in a significant shift from earlier decades when immigrants arrived primarily from Europe, individuals from Latin America and Asia are overrepresented among today's immigrants, constituting close to 80% of all newcomers. Europeans, by contrast, make up less than 15% of the foreign-born population. Describing today's immigrants, Rumbaut and Portes (2001) observe that "[t]he new immigration to the United States ... is unprecedented in its diversity of color and class and cultural origins" (p. 1). This highly diverse population arrives from a wide variety of educational traditions that may be substantially different from the ones they encounter in the United States. Immigrants also bring a large array of needs and educational aspirations, as well as prior achievement and qualifications to American higher education (Jensen, 2001; Vernez & Abrahamse, 1996). The challenge for educational institutions, including community colleges, lies in finding appropriate ways of responding to the diversity of backgrounds and needs these students represent.

Between 1960 and 2000, the regional distribution of immigrants within the United States also underwent considerable transition from a concentration in the Northeast and the Midwest in the earlier period to the increased settlement of immigrants in the West and the South. The six states with the highest concentration of immigrants today are California, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, and Illinois, as compared to New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts in 1960. The foreign-born population continues to favor large cities as its place of residence. The metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Miami, and Chicago are home to close to 50% of the nation's immigrants (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). Because of the unique density of the foreign-born population in certain geographic areas of the country, the issues related to the education of immigrants are especially relevant for community colleges in these regions of the United States.

Immigrant Enrollments at Community Colleges. Due to the frequent lack of information about students' country of birth, citizenship, and immigration status, no comprehensive national data source exists that can produce an exact description of immigrants at American community colleges. In a 14-institution study of 4- and 2-year institutions of higher education, Gray, et al. (1996) found that only 8 of the colleges "were able or willing to provide the research team with any statistical data about immigrant student (permanent resident or refugee) enrollments, and only two routinely reviewed enrollment data about immigrant students" (p. 30). The situation is further complicated in tracking the enrollments of undocumented immigrants.

Thus far the most inclusive study undertaken to enumerate the immigrant population of community colleges was conducted by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). In 1995, as part of an effort to examine international education programs and services at its member institutions, the AACC requested 1,154 two-year colleges to provide information on the number of international and immigrant students enrolled in their programs (Chase & Mahoney, 1996). The data obtained, however, can only provide highly conservative estimates due to the definition of immigrant status the AACC utilized. In the category of immigrants, the AACC survey did not consider individuals who had been naturalized United States citizens, but instead limited itself to the inclusion of legal permanent residents, undocumented aliens, and refugees. Of these categories, exact figures were only disclosed for permanent residents. Out of the 624 responding institutions, 476 reported on their foreign-born population, citing an overall enrollment of 167,572 international and immigrant students. Of this figure, 90,953 students were legal permanent residents. The highest share of legal permanent residents was reported by community colleges in California, Florida, Maryland, Washington, and New York.

As part of another national inquiry of immigrant students in the United States, Vernez and Abrahamse (1996) studied the community college role in providing education to immigrant students. Based on data collected by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) "High School and Beyond" dataset, examining the educational progress of students who attended 10th and 12th grades in 1980, this research is limited to the study of immigrants who had at least some exposure to U.S. high school education. The authors found that immigrant students in this category were 10% more likely than the native born to begin and complete their educational careers at community colleges. With respect to differences in students' racial and ethnic background, in both the foreign- and native-born populations, Hispanic students were the most represented among those who only attended a community college. According to the findings of this study, the community college does indeed play an important role in the education of immigrants in the United States.

A system-wide institutional research report at the City University of New York (CUNY) reveals a slightly different picture on immigrant enrollments at community colleges as opposed to baccalaureate-granting educational programs. When considering the discrepancies in findings between the two studies, it is important to keep in mind that the "High School and Beyond" dataset and CUNY enrollment records capture different immigrant populations. The first study is limited to immigrants entering the country before or while in high school, while the CUNY dataset contains information on all foreign-born individuals regardless of the age at which they established residency in the United States. The recent increase in the number of immigrant students is striking at CUNY, a public higher education system including four- and two-year colleges, as well as several associate degree programs within the four-year schools. While in 1990, 33% of CUNY's entering student population was foreign born, by 1997 this proportion increased to 48%, mirroring similar growth in New York City's counts of immigrant residents (from 28% in 1990 to 42% in 1999). Interestingly, the foreign-born population overall was no more likely to enroll in the two-year programs than was the native-born population. In fact, while native-born students represented 52.2% of CUNY's overall enrollments of entering students, they accounted for a slightly higher percentage, 53.4%, of persons beginning their studies in two-year programs. These findings led the authors to conclude that "[i]t probably makes more sense to think of CUNY as a whole as an extremely important immigrant-educating institution" (Bailey & Weininger, 2000, p. 12).

While at CUNY the overall immigrant population does not appear to be overrepresented in the associate degree-granting programs, several interesting differences surfaced when the country and regional origins of New York's immigrants were analyzed. In 1990, out of all countries and world regions represented, students from Asia and Russia were more concentrated in the bachelor's degree programs, whereas entrants from South and Central America and the Caribbean were slightly more likely to be enrolled in associate degree programs. As an example, out of all bachelor's degree entrants, more than 32% arrived from Asia, while only 16% of the students in associate degree programs were from Asia. In addition, students' racial and ethnic background was a significant determinant of their enrollment in a two- as opposed to four-year program. Among the foreign-born population, White and Asian students were overrepresented in bachelor's degree programs, while Black and Hispanic students were more likely to be found in associate degree programs. These trends mirrored the racial and ethnic differences existing in the native-born student group (Bailey & Weininger, 2000). The research at CUNY revealed another important distinction within the population of foreign-born students, relating to whether a student graduated from high school in the U.S. or a foreign country. With respect to attendance at CUNY's two- and four-year programs, immigrants who had earned their high school diplomas abroad were somewhat more likely to be enrolled in a two-year program, while those attending high school in the United States were represented in somewhat higher proportions in the bachelor's programs.

Policy Issues: Access, Tuition, and Financial Aid

Community colleges play an important role in providing opportunities for immigrants to participate in the American educational system. However, several factors may hinder these students' access to higher education. In the community college context, these factors are primarily concerned with students' residency status as it relates to eligibility for instate tuition and the availability of need-based financial aid.

Tuition. While naturalized citizens and legal permanent residents are typically eligible for in-state tuition in public higher education in a way similar to their native-born counterparts, considerable state-by-state, and within-state, institution-by-institution variation exists in the treatment of nonpermanent residents for tuition purposes. In their study of 14 institutions of higher education, among them 5 community colleges, Gray et al. (1996) found that in the early 1990s, nonpermanent residents, including the undocumented and those awaiting action on their applications for asylum, could not qualify for in-state tuition in states such as California, Florida, New York, and New Jersey. In addition, the study revealed that institutions within states followed diverse roles in granting or denying eligibility for in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants. In the state of New York, while the CUNY system allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, institutions in the State University of New York (SUNY) collected out-of-state tuition from these students. Similarly, beginning in January 1999, the seven institutions comprising the Dallas County Community College District in Texas opted to charge in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants who could prove residency in the state of Texas for at least a year. At the time, the University of Texas at Dallas collected out-of-state tuition rates from students who were illegal immigrants (Patton, 2001).

Today, the issue of undocumented immigrants' tuition liabilities at public institutions of higher education remains complex and surrounded by legal debate. In 2001, after years of efforts from lawmakers and activists to lower tuition rates for illegal immigrants, both Texas and California passed legislation instituting in-state tuition for undocumented students (Hebel, 2001). In California, Assembly Bill 540, in effect January 1, 2002, provided an exemption from the payment of out-of-state tuition for undocumented immigrants who are enrolled in public California community colleges or the California State University System. Section 68130.5 of the Education Code specifies that undocumented students at these institutions can meet the requirements necessary for exemption by 1) having attended a California high school for at least three years; 2) having graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent of high school graduation; 3) registering for or enrolling in an institution of the California Community College System or the California State University no earlier than fall 2001; and 4) signing an affidavit stating that the student filed or intends to file application for legal immigration status. California community colleges can report such students as full-time equivalent for apportionment purposes. Earlier in 2001, Section 54.052 of the Texas Education Code was passed with similar provisions, applying to all the state's public institutions of higher education.

The debates over undocumented immigrants in public higher education continued with renewed force following the terrorist attacks of September 11. In November 2001, CUNY abandoned a 12-year policy of treating unlawful immigrants as residents for tuition purposes and reverted to charging out-of-state tuition to these students. In the overall CUNY system, 2,100 students were affected by the decision. At the institution's community colleges, the change resulted in a tuition increase from $1,200 customarily charged to residents to $1,538 for nonresidents. CUNY's administrators cited the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, a legislation denying undocumented immigrants eligibility for any benefits in postsecondary education that are not available to U.S. citizens, as the basis for their decision (Hebel, 2001; Hebel 2002a). As the most recent development, in June 2002, new legislation was passed by the New York State Assembly allowing some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at both CUNY and SUNY (Hebel, 2002b).

Financial aid. Citizens of the United States and legal permanent residents attending any segment of American higher education, including community colleges, are generally eligible to receive federal, state, and institutional financial aid. By contrast, students residing unlawfully in the United States and those who have applied to legalize their immigration status are ineligible for federal aid and most forms of state financial aid. Individual institutions may choose to provide financial assistance to immigrants, however, if additional aid from external sources becomes available (Gray, et al., 1996). Another barrier to access to financial aid affecting immigrants at community colleges relates to policies restricting financial aid to students enrolled in credit courses and programs. Low-level English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses are often included in community colleges noncredit curriculum, thus barring immigrant students taking these courses from receiving financial aid. However, community colleges frequently make efforts to broaden their students' chances of receiving financial support. In Gray et al.'s (1996) study of immigrant education, three out of the five community colleges examined had students who were awarded credit for their units earned in low-level ESL classes, thus facilitating students' ability to receive financial aid.

Educational Attainment

Examining the educational qualifications of first-generation immigrants is important in determining the ways in which the community colleges may provide these students with opportunities to achieve their educational and economic objectives. According to the 2000 Current Population Survey, the overall proportion of foreign-born individuals age 25 or older with high school or more education (67%) is substantially lower than that of the native born with similar educational qualifications (87%). Within the foreign-born population, those who had obtained American citizenship were more advantaged in this regard, with 76% as opposed to 60% of noncitizens having completed at least high school (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). At the level of the bachelor's degree, however, these differences by country of birth disappear; close to 26% of both the foreign and native born attained a four-year college degree or more. However, the country origins of the United States immigrant population are crucial in understanding these overall figures. In particular, among first-generation immigrants, "Mexicans, Cambodians/Laotians, Salvadorans, and Dominicans stand out for their comparatively low educational attainment," whereas "those born in the non-refugee-sending Asian countries have very high educational attainment" (Jensen, 2001, p. 41). As an example of these disparities, in the 1990s, nearly 4% of Mexican-born adults in the United States had completed college, while the corresponding figure for Filipino immigrants was close to 45%.

Little research examines immigrant students' educational attainment at community colleges. Vernez and Abrahamse's (1996) analysis of the "High School and Beyond" dataset and Bailey and Weininger's (2000) study of the immigrant student population in CUNY's two-year programs are notable exceptions in the literature. Vernez and Abrahamse, in examining transfer to four-year colleges and universities, found that in a nationally representative sample of students, the foreign born were 20% more likely than natives to begin at a community college and thereafter transfer to a four-year institution. Significant differences in students' racial and ethnic background also surfaced, indicating that Hispanic and Asian immigrants were the most likely among all groups to enroll at community colleges as stepping stones to further education at four-year institutions.

In order to present a more comprehensive account of immigrant students' performance at American community colleges, Bailey and Weininger (2000) assessed several outcomes reflecting educational success, including the number of credits a student earned, associate degree attainment, and transfer to a four-year program or institution. For the purposes of these analyses, the population of foreign-born students was again divided into those who graduated from a foreign, as opposed to a U.S., high school. Foreign-born students with foreign high school degrees tended to earn considerably more credits than native-born students, while immigrant students with a U.S. high school education represented the middle category. In concrete terms, approximately 48% of foreign-born students with high school diplomas from abroad earned 60 or more credits, as compared to over 39% of immigrants who attended U.S. high schools and around 29% of the native born. Similar results were obtained regarding associate degree completion and transfer rates, with foreign-born graduates of non-U.S, high schools outperforming the native born, and the foreign-born graduates of U.S. high schools lying between the two extremes. Reflecting on these results, Bailey and Weininger (2000) conclude that "immigrants who graduated from high school abroad arrive with a reasonably strong underlying level of education, but with language deficiencies.... They then use the community college to strengthen their language skills. Once that is achieved, they are able to accumulate credits and are more likely to earn degrees" (p. 14). Further multivariate analyses indicated that after controlling for such factors as students' alternative commitments related to work and family obligations, socioeconomic status, aspirations, and educational preparation, immigrant students outperform the native born in the number of credits they earn and rates of associate degree completion. Having accounted for these characteristics, the educational achievement of foreign-born students who attended high school in the United States or abroad becomes comparable.

Institutional Response

Great variation exists in the ways community colleges have responded to the rising immigrant student population on their campuses. Even in regions and communities with a sizable proportion of immigrants, institutions may lack support and education services tailored specifically for these students. College administrators often emphasize immigrant and native students' comparable achievement and persistence rates to justify the scarcity of focus on this population. Gray et al. (1996) point to a common perception among institutional leaders that immigrants are in fact advantaged and successful compared to other groups, underscoring the importance of attending to the needs of disadvantaged native students. These views are generally in accordance with the assessment of Vernez and Abrahamse (1996) who, based on their findings related to the high educational aspirations and performance of immigrants in the education system, conclude that "there is no need to develop policies targeted uniquely on immigrants" (p. xiv). However, as the authors continue, "[t]his does not mean ... that the increasing number of immigrants in U.S. schools does not place new and unique demands upon the educational institutions serving them," (pp. xiv-xv) referring to English language instruction and social support services catering to the special needs of immigrant students.

In many colleges, administrators extend existing programs for underrepresented students to also include immigrants. Equal Opportunity Programs (EOP), for example, attract many immigrant students as they fit the general description provided in the program's mission statement to serve educationally and economically disadvantaged populations (Gray et al., 1996). One community college campus responds by providing adjunct services, such as tutorial programs for small groups of students of mixed language backgrounds (Brickman & Nuzzo, 1999). The college also offers services that group international and immigrant students together, often focusing on language acquisition, but also encompassing social activities designed to help familiarize students with their new cultural and linguistic surroundings. Through informal gatherings and field trips, participating students are exposed to various aspects of American culture (Brickman & Nuzzo, 1999).

Increasingly, however, the literature on immigrant education highlights the position that the growing body of immigrant students in American higher education represents a distinct population with specific needs. The importance of directing institutional attention to the needs of immigrant students is reaffirmed by Gray et al. (1996) in stating that "[t]he widespread assumptions and beliefs about immigrant students ... are unconfirmed by empirical data. Unchecked, these assumptions may result in unfair practices and reduced educational quality" (p. 105). Brickman and Nuzzo (1999) contend that the educational needs and experiences of international and immigrant students frequently differ, especially regarding English language acquisition and vocational training. Furthermore, facing cultural adjustment, discrimination, and citizenship and language difficulties, immigrant students often require counseling and advising beyond the services that are normally provided. Some community college campuses have responded to these needs by developing support services, including academic, personal, and career counseling. At certain two-year colleges, distinct immigrant education programs have also been founded to serve the large immigrant student population particular to the area where the college is situated.

Counseling. As in traditional academic counseling, much of academic counseling for immigrant students involves informing students of educational goals, credentials, and opportunities. Specifically, immigrants who have difficulties with English or are unfamiliar with the higher education system may depend on advisors to assist them in filling out admissions documents, completing financial aid applications, and keeping track of deadlines. Counseling may also address language acquisition and achievement frustration as well as ESL programming. Because cultural differences can affect immigrant students' learning styles, participation in class, and interaction with faculty and peers, academic counselors also frequently advise new immigrants on techniques for studying, note taking, and test taking (Do, 1996). In addition, career counseling is an important service for these students as many immigrants come to the United States in search of economic opportunities and may be working while also attending community college. In conjunction with job advice, immigrant students also commonly seek guidance on issues of health, insurance, housing, and finance management (Ellis, 1995).

An especially important aspect of counseling immigrant students relates to the personal and cultural struggles these students face in settling in a foreign country. Students can turn to the counseling services provided by the community college when confronted with the difficulties that accompany this cultural and linguistic transition. Accordingly, counseling needs to address students' psychological and emotional stress, adjustment, feelings of isolation, and poor self-efficacy (Curry, 2001; Do, 1996). Brilliant (2000) explains that many newcomers, in the process of adjusting to their new surroundings, also fear losing their identity or connection with their native culture. This fear, in turn, can negatively affect students' academic success and willingness to learn English. Psychological counseling in the form of one-on-one advising or acculturation groups that meet regularly with counselors is an approach taken by colleges to help students during their transition (Brilliant, 2000; Gray et al., 1996). Due to the specific needs of immigrant students, researchers advocate that counselors develop multicultural sensitivity and establish partnerships with the faculty (Brilliant, 2000; Ellis, 1995).

While many immigrant students benefit from advising and counseling, cultural differences may sometimes inhibit students from seeking help. Do (1996) explains that immigrants are not always aware of the counseling opportunities offered at their college because such programs are not recognized or accepted in their native cultures. Orientation sessions designed specifically for immigrant and ESL students are important entryways for providing students information on the support services available to them. In addition, employing counselors who share students' cultural or linguistic backgrounds can help students feel more at ease about seeking help, sharing their experiences, and asking questions (Do, 1996; Ellis, 1995). Since instructors have direct interaction with students and may be students' first contact when they experience problems or are in need of information, partnering faculty with support staff has been shown to be particularly effective. For example, Brilliant (2000) describes the collaboration between counselors and ESL instructors in team-teaching freshman seminars at community colleges. Such classes give both instructors and counselors a chance to know students well and, conversely, these classes also provide students easy access to counselors. For those institutions that do not provide support services specifically for their immigrant population, the instructional staff frequently assumes responsibility for meeting these students' needs (Ellis, 1995).

Immigrant education programs. At certain campuses enrolling a large immigrant population, more comprehensive programs have been developed with the specific goal of serving the needs of immigrants. These programs are supported and sponsored by community colleges, but may be housed either on or off campus. Rhoads and Solorzano's (1996) case study describes one such program offered by Triton College in Illinois. To accommodate and respond to the large influx of immigrants since 1980, which contributed to an 80% increase in the institution's Hispanic student population, college administrators created the Nuevos Horizontes program at the Triton College Community Center. Among its multiple missions, the program aims "to provide educational programs and services to enable immigrant adults to become productive and responsible parents, employees, and citizens" (Rhoads & Solorzano, 1996, p.7). Nuevos Horizontes is founded on the ideal of multiculturalism and stresses the two-way view of community education, where immigrant students not only learn about American culture, but also contribute to it by sharing their native cultures. The program offers a range of services including citizenship classes, free legal advice on immigration and naturalization policies, tax preparation assistance, parenting workshops, academic counseling, cultural events, and tutoring in the disciplines of Spanish, English, and math.

In evaluating the effectiveness of Nuevos Horizontes, Rhoads and Solorzano (1996) cite the popularity of the program. Nuevos Horizontes has been in existence since 1981, and in 1993, over 8,000 students utilized its services. The program advocates the philosophy of adding a new culture as opposed to supplanting the old and the practice of sharing cultures instead of acculturation. These values, complemented by the presence of bilingual staff, contribute significantly to Hispanic students' view of the program as "culturally friendly" (p. 11). Similar to the Nuevos Horizontes program is TOTAL ACCESS, an educational service for eligible aliens seeking legalization, offered at Houston Community College (Seaman & Cuellar, 1990). TOTAL ACCESS provides ESL, citizen instruction, and basic literacy and high school equivalency classes for new immigrants.

English-as-a-Second-Language Instruction. While support services, in the form of counseling and advising, are essential in meeting the needs of the immigrant student population, most college administrators concern themselves first and foremost with the academic needs of students. Accordingly, the predominant way community colleges respond to immigrant students is by providing ESL programs (Gray et al., 1996). While it is difficult to assess the exact numbers of immigrant students enrolled in these classes, the doubling of the percentage of two-year colleges offering ESL programs between the years of 1975 and 1998 is to a great extent attributable to the increase in immigration (Gray et al., 1996; Kuo, 1999).

The complexity and degree of ESL programming differs by campus. While English proficiency tests such as the TOEFL are not required for admission to community colleges, entering students are often subject to institutional placement exams. Depending on individual institutional policies, students can enroll in ESL based on performance on a placement test, on referral by a counselor or faculty member, or by self-referral (Gray et al., 1996). Because ESL is often not required, but only recommended for students with low English proficiency, the numbers of students enrolling in these classes show considerable variation. At some campuses, the proportion of ESL-enrolled students is substantial. For example, over 10% of the total student population, including international students and immigrants, at El Paso Community College attend ESL courses for credit (Ignash, 1992).

In a study surveying five different community colleges located in regions heavily populated with immigrants, Gray et al. (1996) found that at three institutions, ESL had the status of an academic department, while all supported tenure-track faculty positions. At these colleges, between 4 and 13 different levels of ESL were offered. At other campuses, ESL is situated in the English department, considered remedial education, or offered through adjunct divisions. For example, one community college examined by Curry (2001) offers noncredit courses in ESL through the Alternate Learning Division. In some cases, ESL courses designed specifically for immigrant students also exist. Clark College in Washington State offers different ESL programs for F-1 visa students and immigrants and limited English proficient (LEP) students. Administrators created these designations because they felt that the level and educational background of the two subgroups of students varied considerably (Ignash, 1992).

The curriculum of ESL programs generally falls into two categories: for immediate job marketability or for eventual transfer (Kuo, 1999). Both types of curriculum encompass listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and grammar components. ESL for the workplace may also emphasize rapid reading, technical writing, accent reduction, presentation skills, and team communication skill building (The Connector, 1996). The Pima County Adult Education Program offered through E1 Paso Community College in Texas is an example of workplace ESL for immigrant workers (The Connector, 1996). ESL curricula for degree completion and transfer typically strive to combine language with content. In an effort to improve articulation between ESL programs and other academic departments, colleges such as the Community College of Philadelphia have also created transitional programs that offer interdisciplinary courses like ESL psychology (Ignash, 1992).

The benefits immigrant students receive from ESL courses are numerous. First, the acquisition of language is commonly considered a necessary precursor to adjustment to a new culture (Gray et al., 1996; McDonald et al., 1997). Brickman and Nuzzo (1999) report that immigrant students are interested in learning both formal and informal English and recognize the need to be able to speak English in social as well as workplace environments. In addition, ESL classes serve as potential settings for interaction among students who are going through similar experiences and difficulties. These classes can provide peer support and informal counseling, helping to foster confidence among students as they converse and interact with each other (Brickman & Nuzzo, 1999; Gray et al., 1996).

Nonetheless, ESL programming at community colleges, especially programming set up to respond to the growing immigrant student population, faces serveral challenges. First, ESL instructors and administrators encounter students with heterogeneous educational backgrounds and learning styles. In a single institutional study, Curry (2001) reported alarmingly high attrition rates in the ESL courses offered at the community college. Noticeably, immigrant students of lower educational background showed decreased participation and persistence rates. The learning styles of immigrant students are also diverse. For example, Brickman and Nuzzo (1999) explain that the learning styles of immigrants from Asian countries often contrast sharply with the instructional style of American instructors; the differences, in turn, strongly affect ESL acquisition. In addition, Ellis (1995) points to the lack of faculty members trained specifically for ESL instruction. Currently, a large proportion of colleges rely on faculty from English departments or part-time instructors to teach ESL courses. Improvement in funding for ESL programming can facilitate faculty training and also increase the scope and opportunities provided to immigrant students.

Conclusion and Future Research

The dramatic increase in the volume of immigration to the United States has left a distinct impression on the student populations of many community colleges. Immigrants have played a significant role in diversifying these institutions because of the high levels of racial, cultural, linguistic, and economic variation among their population. Importantly, because immigrant students are typically concentrated in a limited number of states, community colleges in these regions are more affected by the growth in the enrollment of foreign-born individuals. Existing research concerning the overall population of immigrants in the American educational system has consistently found high achievement and aspirations within this group (Vernez & Abrahamse, 1996). However, the literature has also shown this population to be highly heterogeneous in most aspects of educational attainment when considering immigrants' native countries. Despite the high level of internal diversity, immigrants in higher education, including those at two-year institutions, are often looked upon as a homogeneous group, failing to account for the large array of backgrounds and needs these students bring with them to the educational environment. Pervasive beliefs about immigrants as a uniform and educationally successful population have been influential in determining institutional policies and services.

In the early 1990s, although some colleges instituted various programs and support services catering to their immigrant students, many involved these students in existing programs established for racial and ethnic minorities. Many others, however, remained unresponsive to the needs of immigrants in their student bodies (Gray et al., 1996). Institutions' frequent failure to respond to this growing segment of their campus populations is strongly related to the limited availability of data on immigrants at community colleges. In Gray et al.'s (1996) account of colleges' response to immigration, the authors conclude that "[f]ew institutions regularly studied trends in immigrant student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates.... None had examined the effectiveness of ESL instruction in promoting higher achievement in graduation rates. None had explored whether immigrants were displacing native-born students. And none had asked immigrant students about their needs and perceptions of the campus environment" (p. 105). To this day, studies of immigrants at community colleges remain scarce, reflecting the fairly novel nature of this field of inquiry (Bailey & Weininger, 2000).

Several important areas of research need to be considered in order to fill this gap in the literature. These include national, regional, and institutional studies on immigrant students' educational achievement and aspirations in the community college context. In particular, examining such factors as length of residence in the United States, country of origin, age at the time of immigration, gender, and generational status (e.g., studies comparing achievement and aspiration among first-, second-, and third-generation immigrants) will aid in understanding the different levels of internal diversity within this population. Other important issues concern students' participation in immigrant-specific as opposed to international student-oriented support services and the nature of interactions among immigrant and native-born students with specific attention to how those interactions shape institutional cultures. Longitudinal studies are also important in exploring the long-term educational, labor market, and economic outcomes immigrants gain through their community college education. Such research will not only extend our understanding of the issues surrounding immigrant education but will also play a crucial role in informing institutional decision making and policy formation at two-year colleges.

References

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Brickman, B., & Nuzzo, R. (1999). Curricula and programs for international and immigrant students. Journal of Intensive English Studies, 13, 53-62.

Brilliant, J. J. (2000). Issues in counseling immigrant college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 24, 577-586.

Chase, A. M., & Mahoney, J. R. (Eds.). (1996). Global awareness in community colleges: A report of a national survey. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges. (ERIC Reproduction Document Service No. ED395610)

Curry, M. J. (2001). Adult ESL students in the contact zone: Exploring the effects of multiple educational attainment levels on the community college writing classroom. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED454706)

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Katalin Szelinyi is a research analyst for the Higher Education Research Institute and a doctoral student in the Higher Education and Organizational Change Division of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. [e-mail]

June C. Chang is a research assistant for the ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges and a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. [e-mail]