With the increase of tuition in four-year universities, many more students are turning to community colleges because of the lower cost of attendance. Many more community colleges are offering degrees and need to provide the same type of education students would get at a four-year university, including diversity. Also many people will use a community college as a stepping stone to a four-year institution. Once a student transfers from a community college to a four-year institution, he needs to be ready to compete academically with his peers, so it is important for a community college to offer the same environment as a four-year college.
Diversity is important at all levels of a organization, including community colleges. This goes for students and the faculty and staff. A community college that is diverse provides an atmosphere of learning how to communicate with people of different cultures and backgrounds. Students are taught to mutually respect people who are different from themselves as well as to break down stereotypes.
To achieve diversity on a college campus, admissions recruiters must recruit students from all different cultures and backgrounds. It is essential that there is diversity in admission recruiters. A recruiter who deals with a high school with a largely Hispanic population, should be Hispanic or at least speak Spanish.
The labor force is changing with an increase in women and minorities joining the workforce over the next five years. According to an NAS Insights Study, women in the workforce will increase by 11 percent by 2014. Hispanics in the workforce will increase by 34 percent by 2014, and African Americans will increase by 17 percent. With all these changes, it is essential that community colleges keep up with societal changes and also with preparing students to join a much more diverse workforce.