Community College of Phila. can do more for the city’s students...

Pennsylvania's community colleges are among the less noticed beneficiaries of Gov. Wolf's proposed budget. The schools, which served more than 300,000 students last year, would see their funding grow by 7 percent, or $15 million, under the plan, which is tied up in a political standoff that went into overtime Wednesday.

A recent Pew report suggests community colleges need the money. Its examination of Community College of Philadelphia shows that the city's education challenges don't end when students graduate from high school.

The report found that the Philadelphia school's tuition, which is the third highest among the state's 14 community colleges, is well above the median among similar schools. College officials chalk this up to falling state and local support, which has forced tuition to make up the difference. While the majority of the college's students receive Pell grants and a new 50th Anniversary Scholars initiative extends free tuition to those who qualify, many residents remain unaware of the available assistance.

That could be one reason the college enrolls a smaller share of the city's adults than similar community colleges in places that, like Philadelphia, have many colleges and universities. Administrators also blame the city's high poverty rate, which decreases the likelihood that high school students will go to college.

Moreover, of the country's 15 largest cities, Philadelphia has the lowest rate of college attainment. Many potential students never make it to any of the colleges in Philadelphia.

To increase the likelihood that they will, Community College of Philadelphia has expanded its outreach activities. The college hired an additional admissions recruiter in 2014 and has plans to hire another this year. Both will work in the college's regional centers to improve community ties in neighborhoods away from the main campus. This school year, for the first time, college staff members spent a day collaborating with high school counselors from the School District of Philadelphia and held a "commitment night" to encourage prospective students in May.

The college also launched Complete with 15, which funds an additional 3-credit course for students who take at least 12 credits in a semester, with the goal of encouraging students to get their degrees faster. Compared with similar urban schools, the college moves students through remedial classes quickly but has less success when it comes to graduation. Just 17.5 percent of students earn degrees within six years, lower than the average at similar urban colleges and community colleges nationwide. While many students enter with the intent to transfer and earn bachelor's degrees, Pew found that only about 10 percent do so within six years. The college has set goals of boosting completion rates and increasing the number of students who earn bachelor's degrees within four years by 4 percent as of 2017.

Community College of Philadelphia is a fundamental component of the city's education system, and its success depends on reaching out to those who need it and supporting their progress toward degrees. College administrators have acknowledged their shortcomings and are working to address them. Harrisburg needs to do the same. Wolf's budget would help the hundreds of thousands studying at the state's community colleges - and those who could be.