Gateway to opportunity? : a history of the community college in the United States / J.M. Beach ; foreword by W. Norton Grubb.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The institutionalization of community colleges : The state of the union ; The institutional effectiveness movement and higher education ; What is an institution? ; The community college: a contradictory institution -- 1. The creation and institutionalization of junior colleges in the United States, 1900-1980s : An aristocracy of talent: the origins of higher education in the United States ; Educational innovation: the creation of junior colleges, 1900-1940s ; A reformation: the reinstitutionalization of community colleges due to increasing student access, 1950s-1960s ; Community colleges, segregation, and equality, 1960s-1980s ; Whither to? Reaching a plateau of orthodoxy, 1970s-1980s -- 2. Institutional ambiguity: continued struggles of the contradictory college : A critique of orthodoxy: the new left evaluates community colleges, 1970s-1980s ; Revised but confused orthodoxy: the contradictory community college's new missions, 1990s-2000s ; Are there economic returns to community college credentials? An economic assessment, 1990-2010 -- 3. Overburdened and underfunded: the California community college : Origins of the California junior college ; Massification of higher education and postwar planning ; Segregated education in California and the junior college ; The California postsecondary education commission ; The master plan revised: declining budgets and a new system of accountability ; Conclusion: accounting and accountability -- 4. The ambiguous legacy of the community college: policy, administrative, and educational implications : The reduction of education to human capital ; The legacy of the community college: a limited opportunity ; Institution reform? Three principles for policy makers.