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NACC’s Kennamer Speaks at National
Conference
Dr. Mike Kennamer, who serves as Director of Workforce
Development at Northeast Alabama Community College, recently
presented his dissertation findings at a national community
college conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The conference was the
51st Annual Conference of the Council for the Study of Community
Colleges (CSCC), an affiliate of the American Association of
Community Colleges (AACC), and was held in conjunction with the
AACC annual conference.
Kennamer’s presentation was entitled, Closing Doors of
Opportunity? Trends in Enrollment, College Costs and Direct
Grant Student Aid for Community College Students, 2000-01 to
2005-06. In his presentation, Kennamer described his
findings, which included an influx of 2.3 million new students
into America’s rural, suburban, and urban public Associate’s
Colleges, tuition increases averaging 40 percent, and student
grant aid increases that barely kept up with the rate of
inflation. Kennamer, whose community college education was paid
for with a combination of Pell Grants and scholarships, called
for increases in Pell Grant maximums to bring the buying power
of the Pell Grant back to the level experienced in the 1980s.
Co-presenters included members of Kennamer’s dissertation
committee at the University of Alabama, where he successfully
defended his work in March and graduated May 9 with a doctorate
in higher education administration. Dr. Stephen G. Katsinas, one
of the foremost experts in the study of community colleges and
Kennamer’s dissertation chair, stated that “Mike Kennamer's work
to chart the changes of enrollment, tuition, and student
financial aid--federal, state, and institutional direct grant
aid, as well as loan indebtedness incurred--has produced an
important, yet troubling picture. From 2000-01 to 2005-06, in
just five years, America's community colleges have seen a 30%
increase in enrollments--2.3 million new students, with over 1
million of them at rural community colleges. Sadly, the
enrollment increases and substantial increases in tuition over
the past five years overwhelmed the nearly $2 billion increase
by the federal government in Pell Grants during this same
period.”
While enrollment at U.S. community colleges grew by 30% between
2000-01 and 2005-06, enrollment at Alabama community colleges
grew at only half that rate. In fact, during this time
rural-serving medium community colleges in Alabama experienced a
slight decrease in enrollment. Northeast Alabama Community
College was an exception to this trend in Alabama. Northeast,
which is classified as a rural-serving medium community college,
experienced an enrollment increase of 26% during the 2000-01 to
2005-06 period, while community colleges classified similarly to
Northeast as a whole had a decrease in enrollment. Moreover,
from 2001 to 2008, NACC’s enrollment increased by 68%.
Katsinas, who serves as the Director of the Education Policy
Center and professor of Higher Education Administration at the
University of Alabama, is president-elect of the CSCC and has
extensively studied community colleges and student aid.
Other co-presenters included Dr. David E. Hardy, assistant
professor of Higher Education Administration, and Director of
Research for the Education Policy Center at the University of
Alabama, and Dr. Billy Roessler, Director of Records and Reports
at the Tarrant County College District in Texas. Both Hardy and
Roessler served on Kennamer’s dissertation committee.
The Council for the Study of Community Colleges is based out of
the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) Graduate
School of Education and Information Studies. Members of the
council include university-based researchers and community
college practitioners who further scholarship on community
colleges.
Kennamer also served as a co-presenter with Stephen G. Katsinas,
David E. Hardy, and David S. Murphy, of Lynchburg (VA) College,
in a study entitled The Rural Dimension of Federal and State
Student Financial Aid.
Kennamer summarized the findings of his study in this way:
“Between 2000-01 and 2005-06, enrollment at U.S. community
colleges grew by 30 percent. Though the federal government
increased total Pell Grant expenditures by 76 percent, or $2
billion, those increases were overwhelmed by tuition increases
averaging 40 percent and the addition of 2.3 million new
students. It’s somewhat akin to trying to feed five thousand
with five loaves and two fishes,” said Kennamer. “In the absence
of a miracle, someone is going to be left out.”
Though federal expenditures for Pell Grants did not keep up with
tuition and enrollment increases during the five-year period
studied by Kennamer, he did report that research shows that
public community colleges continue to be the most affordable
higher education option in every state.
NACC president, Dr. David Campbell, stated, “Mike Kennamer has
done some outstanding research on the trends in federal funding
for higher education. The results of his work chart a path that
can be extremely beneficial to students now and in the future.”
While Kennamer’s study called for increased funding for federal
student grant aid, he noted that Northeast Alabama Community
College provides excellent financial aid resources for its
students. Individuals interested in learning more about
financial aid opportunities may contact the college’s Financial
Aid Office at phone extension 437.
Dr. Mike Kennamer of NACC (left) poses after
his recent presentation in Phoenix with colleages (L-R) Dr.
Chun-Mei Zhao, Senior Scholar with The Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching, Stanford, California; Dr. Kennamer;
Dr. Stephen G. Katsinas, Professor of Higher Education at The
University of Alabama; Dr. Billy Roessler, Director of Records
and Reports, Tarrant County College District, Texas.
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