of focus and becoming pseudo-universities (Dunlop 1998). This issue has, to some extent, been addressed by focusing on applied degrees. The applied degree is characterized by a practical, hands-on curriculum as opposed to the academic nature of a university degree. Yet, if there is to be such a distinction, it is a questionable practice to continue to refer to both credentials as degrees (Skolnik 1995). Critics of community college involvement in applied degree granting suggest that the defining characteristics of the community college - especially open access and community orientation - may be lost as colleges incorporate the greater student selectivity that is needed to offer degree level programs, including the recruitment of students from outside the province (Farnsworth 2006; Skolnik 1995; 2002). As a result, the potential for academic drift towards universitylike programming may also end up being accompanied by a drift away from a community- oriented and decentralized focus. While there is considerable momentum in many provincial college systems for granting more degrees, it is an issue that requires on-going attention in its implementation to ensure academic drift does not occur in a manner that makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish community colleges from universities.
Reconciling community orientation with economic globalization
The gradual evolution of Canadian colleges towards a more market-based orientation has, especially in the context of globalization, shifted the emphasis away from programming that addresses the social, cultural and citizenship needs of communities (Kirby 2007; Levin 2001). According to Levin (2001), a "hyper-economic" preoccupation within colleges, driven by the demands of globalization, has made education a commodity where the traditional characteristics of community access and responsiveness have been refashioned into a means to promote global competitiveness of the local workforce. Serving the social development needs of local communities has become subservient to serving the economic demands of globalization as defined by business. This shift to a hyper-economic focus in higher education is controversial in Canada (Kirby 2007: 18). It is especially controversial given the potential for economic globalization to undermine equitable social development (Deacon 2000). Reconciling the college's past role in social development at the community level with its emerging preoccupation with economic globalization represents one of the most significant challenges the Canadian college system faces.
Conclusion: Lessons for Higher Education Reform
Canada's experience with its community college system provides a number of lessons for other national higher education systems that are contemplating or undergoing reform, especially at the college level. For national reform efforts that are interested in better linking higher education to socioeconomic development, the following are brief suggestions based on the Canadian experience.
Decentralized governance structures are key for promoting education and training that is timely and responsive to changes in community socioeconomic conditions. The Canadian community college model has developed governance structures that promote considerable community-based input into curriculum development, program planning, budgeting and program standards. This decentralized approach is especially important within countries, such as Canada, that have diverse regions and communities, often with very different histories, cultural makeup and socio-economic needs.
A decentralized system should have formal connections to a national higher education strategy. Canada's provincial patchwork of college systems is responsive to unique provincial and community needs, but it lacks a clear national strategy and performance framework. Incorporation of a national strategy linked to a decentralized system will provide a mechanism for national performance measurement as well as an ability for integrated planning that minimizes the potential for academic drift. This requires several linked, and potentially complex, bureaucratic layers - from the national through to the regional and local levels. But linking higher education from the local through to the national levels is necessary if a more seamless and meaningful connection is to be made between the evolving education needs of local communities and the demands of the global context within which they exist.
Implementing explicit open access strategies is an important tool for providing increased educational opportunities to historically marginalized populations. This, in turn, creates greater opportunities for economic success among those most often denied such success. In Canada, the use of lower tuition fees, learning centres located in small centres, increased programming options, and provision of academic credit for prior informal learning are important strategies enabling colleges to reach low income, aboriginal and rural students in much greater numbers than Canadian universities. There can be a considerable financial cost to the implementation open access strategies, but they are vital for promoting socio-economic development among those in greatest needs.
Predictable and consistent public funding is critical to maintain the college system's ability to respond to social as well as economic development needs. A number of the challenges faced by the Canadian college system throughout its history are rooted in the gradual decrease in public funding that
