Without a concerted national effort to bolster the role of two-year institutions and expand access to them, the United States is in jeopardy of losing its status as an economic and global leader. That is the urgent message of a new report released by the College Board’s National Commission on Community Colleges that analyzed the function of community colleges in the context of the nation’s labor force and economic growth.

“Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening America’s Middle Class: An Action Agenda for Community Colleges” concluded that the United States must significantly increase the number of students who earn associate and bachelor’s degrees and calls for the president and Congress to take action in the form of the Community College Competitiveness Act, which would provide matching grants to states to support the construction and modernization of facilities. The Competitiveness Act is one component of the combined agreement the report recommended to national leaders, state officials and community colleges to make these institutions a priority and a national focus.

The report also called for a national commitment to universal access to two years of education beyond high school.

“As a nation, we overlook community colleges at our own peril,” said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board. “If the United States intends to remain competitive and shape international life, there must be a federal commitment to college access and success, building individual opportunity and strengthening the middle class in America.”

Community colleges are currently responsible for educating almost half of all U.S. undergraduates. “Community colleges were built through local understanding and support,” Augustine Gallego, chancellor emeritus of the San Diego Community College District and chair of the National Commission on Community Colleges, said. “We will continue to do our share in protecting the future of our communities, states and our country.”

While applauding the efforts of four-year institutions to respond to the growing needs in education, engineering, mathematics, science and technology, the commission reported that the role of two-year institutions must be expanded with transfer agreements that permit properly qualified students with associate degrees to advance to bachelor’s degrees. Otherwise, the current degree-completion gap for low-income, African-American, American Indian and Hispanic students cannot be overcome.

Ronald Williams, past president of Prince George's Community College and now vice president at the College Board working with the commission, said, "The important thing about this report is that the community colleges are asseting their role as agents of the public good and are saying, ‘Make the best use of us.’”

States are more involved with financing for community colleges than is the federal government, and it is imperative that governors and legislators become more involved in desired outcomes, the report stated. Furthermore, with encouragement and financial support from states, community colleges should work with secondary schools and four-year institutions to improve curriculum alignment and strengthen the bridge between high school and college success.