Abstract
Purpose. Using the Delphi technique, the purpose of this study was to identify the top 5 student access issues California community college presidents and chief student services officers predict they will face in 2012. The study also examined how likely it is that those issues will be addressed in the master planning of the colleges. Methodology. The design for this study was descriptive and used the Delphi technique to predict student access issues for California community colleges. The Delphi technique focuses on prediction and consensus building to collect information on a topic from a panel of experts through questionnaires. It provides an opportunity to gauge the opinions of various experts as opposed to only one. Findings. The researcher sought to find consensus in the areas of access at the community colleges for importance, likelihood of implementation of those issues and the planning, and the top rated item for combined importance and likelihood of the access implementation. The student access issues with consensus for importance were underpreparedness, internal factors that inhibit persistence and success, capacity, perception of the value of education, funding, and workforce preparation demands/needs. Additionally, the student access issues with consensus for likelihood of implementation in their planning were capacity, underpreparedness, technology, financial aid, and workforce preparation demands/needs. The student access issues rated highest for importance and likelihood of implementation by the panel of experts were capacity, underpreparedness, workforce preparation demands/needs, and articulation. Three of these student access issues—capacity, underpreparedness, and workforce preparation demands/needs—also had consensus among the panel. Conclusions. The panel of experts agreed that capacity and underpreparedness were the student access issues that were important and most likely to be included in their master planning. They recognized that these student access issues are the ones that can be addressed and agreed that they should be addressed in order to meet the needs of students in California community colleges. The experts had strong, sophisticated insights that they agreed on for most issues throughout the study. This adds credibility that the student access issues identified and ranked for importance and likelihood of implementation are necessary to increase student access and success.