| By Gale Staff |
Today’s headlines paint a dystopian future for the humanities: declining enrollment numbers, dwindling department sizes, and a decreasing share of degrees awarded. However, these discussions continually focus on worst-case scenarios at four-year universities and almost completely overlook experiences at community colleges.
Although we’ve seen a decrease in the number of humanities-related bachelor’s degrees awarded at four-year institutions, data from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) reveals the number of humanities degrees awarded at two-year and four-year public colleges combined has increased over the twenty-first century. Aside from completed degrees, the number of declared humanities majors at both institution types has also stayed consistent since 2007.1
Community colleges provide accessible pathways for students interested in humanities fields. At a pivotal moment for the humanities in higher education, community colleges have the potential to play a vital role in strengthening student success. From offering more pathways for humanities transfers and career seekers to building essential workforce skills to cultivating inclusive learning environments, discover how your community college can make an impact on the humanities.
Support Transfer Success in the Humanities
Many students attend community college intending to transfer to a four-year school to complete a bachelor’s degree. However, only a third of students who intend to transfer actually do and only 16% of community college transfers go on to earn their bachelor’s degrees.2 Although many factors affect this success rate, studies indicate two major issues: community college credits don’t always transfer to four-year degree programs, and community college students who do transfer are not performing at an appropriate academic level.3
Research from the CCRC demonstrates that community college humanities courses help more transfer students find success. Students who perform well in humanities courses at a community college are more likely to transfer and complete their degree, and students who take more community college humanities courses demonstrate improved outcomes at four-year schools.4
How can you ensure your community college transfers are prepared to perform well in a four-year institution? Provide accessible tools to practice research and learning in a rigorous academic environment in your humanities courses. With a comprehensive solution like Gale Research Complete, you can help students across disciplines learn to navigate content like historical primary sources, scholarly articles, eBooks, and reference materials while developing essential research and analysis skills. Plus, faculty can enhance instruction with an extensive collection of engaging humanities course materials to promote critical analysis and skill building in the classroom.
Equip Students with Essential Workforce Skills
Why do humanities students outperform their peers in four-year schools? Research demonstrates humanities courses uniquely prepare students with essential skills, instill more motivation for learning, and lead to greater transfer outcomes. Most importantly, humanities courses equip students with cross-disciplinary skills like communication, creativity, and ethical reasoning, leading to improved performance across courses.5
Make skill-building essential to learning in your community college’s humanities courses to help students succeed. Gale Research Complete helps students develop skills like digital literacy and critical thinking. With the powerful cross-search feature, novice researchers can search across multiple databases to explore relevant content across resources focused on literature, history, and more, enhancing their learning experiences.
Building these skills is essential not only for academic success but also for thriving in the workforce. Employers increasingly seek transferable skills from the humanities, like effective communication and problem-solving.
Create Inclusive, Equitable Learning Environments
As accessible and inclusive institutions, community colleges foster learning environments that benefit from students who have a multitude of perspectives and backgrounds. This array of viewpoints is valuable in humanities courses, leading to rich discussions and students developing an understanding and appreciation of varying cultures.
Support equity in learning for students from every background with a user-friendly platform like Gale Research Complete. Backed by key accessibility features like text adjustment tools, text-to-speech technology, and translations into 50+ languages, this resource helps your institution engage all learners with relevant, cross-disciplinary content.
Plus, with Gale Research Complete, students can discover a wide range of topics, perspectives, and cultural contexts. By exploring a mix of viewpoints, students expand their worldviews and deepen their understanding of humanities topics both inside and outside the classroom.
Community colleges provide humanities education for various student populations, fostering critical thinking, advancing cultural understanding, and furthering appreciation for the arts. By equipping students with valuable humanities skills, community colleges can help support success in four-year institutions and the workforce beyond.
Tap into a comprehensive solution to enhance humanities education in your community with Gale Research Complete. Learn more about how this cross-disciplinary resource can help you build student skills, drive cultural exploration, and improve success for learners in the humanities with one simple, affordable subscription.
Notes:
1 Theo Pippins, Clive R. Belfield, and Thomas Bailey, “Humanities and Liberal Arts Education Across America’s Colleges: How Much Is There?” Community College Research Center, June 2019.
2 Velasco, Tatiana, “How to Boost Community-College Transfers,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 2024.
3 Theo Pippins and Clive R. Belfield, “Humanities and Liberal Arts Education at Community College: How It Affects Transfer and Four-Year College Outcomes,” Community College Research Center, June 2019.
4, 5 “Humanities and Liberal Arts Education at Community College: How It Affects Transfer and Four-Year College Outcomes.”