Ep 71: Reinventing Community College with Tade Oyerinde, Chancellor of Campus
Nov 23, 2023
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Tade Oyerinde, Chancellor of Campus, aims to reinvent community college by improving quality and increasing completion rates. By creating a gig economy for top adjunct professors and providing support to students, Campus seeks to reduce attrition. They acquired a brick-and-mortar school for hands-on skills training. Tade believes community college is the smarter path for most students, and hopes Campus will lead a new era in higher education.
Campus aims to drastically increase completion rates and provide high-quality education with zero debt for community college students.
Campus offers a two-pronged approach with a gig economy for adjunct professors and a support system to reduce attrition rates, while also acquiring a brick-and-mortar school for skills training.
Deep dives
Importance of Community College
Community college is often seen as a lesser choice compared to four-year schools, leading to a negative perception. However, for many students, community college is a smart and clever path to take. Despite lower graduation rates, community college offers a better alternative to getting into debt at a tier three private school. By understanding the value of community college education, more students can make informed decisions about their education.
Challenges Faced by Community Colleges
Community colleges in the United States are currently facing a crisis in terms of graduation rates and student benefit. The average graduation rate at community colleges is as low as 30%. Many students are coming out of community colleges with debt and not reaping the expected benefits. The lack of student support and resources, along with the decline in the perceived value of a degree, contribute to this problem. It is crucial to address these challenges and make community college work for all students.
The Innovative Approach of Campus
Campus is a new model of community college that aims to provide an innovative solution to the challenges faced by traditional community colleges. By rethinking the system, Campus focuses on improving graduation rates and providing support to students. They offer a model inspired by successful programs such as CUNY ASAP that includes free transportation, ensuring affordable tuition, assigning support coaches to students, and encouraging full-time enrollment. Technology plays a significant role in their approach, which involves online and offline learning and a network of top professors from prestigious institutions.
The Potential Impact of Campus
Campus has the potential to make a significant impact on higher education. With an estimated 10 million community college students in the United States each year, Campus aims to offer high-quality education with zero debt to as many students as possible. By providing access to renowned professors and building a sustainable model, Campus strives to increase graduation rates and help students achieve their educational and career goals. With its focus on scalable solutions and a mission-driven approach, Campus aims to transform the community college landscape.
Ten million students attend community college annually, but only 30% ever graduate! It's a massive economic loss to students and society. What if a new model could drastically increase completion rates while maintaining a high-quality education, and leave students with zero debt? That's what Tade Oyerinde is aiming to build with Campus, a new way to conduct community college.
His approach is two-pronged: improve quality and increase completion rates. First, Campus is pioneering a gig economy for top adjunct professors. Recognizing that adjuncts at elite universities are often underpaid and drowning in debt, Campus offers them the opportunity to teach part-time online — a win for adjuncts and students alike. Next, they surround students with support designed to reduce attrition: tuition includes a laptop, wifi, and a personal coach, all at a cost less than the annual Pell Grant (currently $7,495). Campus also recently acquired a brick-and-mortar school in Sacramento that offers hands-on skills training for in-demand career tracks, such as medical coding and cosmetology.
Instead of taking on large sums of debt to attend mediocre private schools, Tade believes community college is the smarter path for most students, and hopes Campus will be at the forefront of a new era in higher education. But it won't be easy. Learn about his journey to reinvent one of America's most entrenched and misaligned sectors.
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