How Do Political Trends Affect Community Colleges

What affects college students will affect community colleges. Since more than 40% of undergraduates attend community colleges; students’ challenges will spill over into the milieu of these institutions (Bailey, Jaggars, & Jenkins, 2015; Mellow, 2017). Hence political trends affect the typical community college student. Therefore, new politics must include education as a vital component if democracy is to survive. The continuance of democracy for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) and dual enrollment students offers opportunities through community colleges for students to experience access to education. These young students represent the poor, ethnically minority, and low-income families that are denied an opportunity in an already frail social order (Boggs, & McPhail, 2016; Giroux, 2015). Thus, DACA and dual enrollment students are two specialized group of students that are current trends within the political lenses of higher education. First, DACA college students have become an emerging

Both DACA and dual enrollment issues affect the mission and completion agenda of community colleges. It is vital that higher education leaders have plans that support the increasing demands of dual enrollment while fighting for human rights for DACA students. While dual enrollment is an opportunity for poor students to close the achievement gaps that have plagued higher education; DACA issues redefine the mission of the community college to include Dreamers. Higher education leaders must be on the frontline of these conversations and policies while providing professional development and incentives to equip its instructors with the tools to manage high school students who make their way into college classrooms. Change is upon community colleges and leaders must rightly respond to the political climate that affect their