The outsourcing of instruction at community colleges to independent firms is a growing but still limited practice, and thus far it has been largely confined to non-credit courses. The “contracting out” of other services, such as food services, has been a longstanding and accepted way for colleges to meet some of their ancillary needs efficiently, but outsourcing instruction is quite controversial, and many factors determine its usefulness.

In 2002, with support from the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement (NCPI) for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education, CCRC researchers conducted a study of this topic. Interviews were conducted with community college administrators and representatives of contracting firms, as well as with the persons responsible for managing contracts with outside organizations for instructional services at eleven community colleges. Researchers also interviewed senior managers from two firms that provide instructional services under contract to community colleges. The research was led by Thomas Bailey, CCRC Director; James Jacobs, CCRC Associate Director; and Davis Jenkins, Senior Fellow, Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago.

A report of this study, Outsourcing of Instruction at Community Colleges, is available from CCRC. The report presents the findings of exploratory research designed to identify the characteristics of the outsourcing of instruction at community colleges and the forces that promote or block its spread. It is the second in a series of reports by the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement and the Community College Research Center on the relationship between for-profit higher education and community colleges (see Bailey, Badway, & Gumport, 2001).