Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden's wife, has been teaching in community colleges for the past 18 years. Dr. Biden believes that community colleges are "…uniquely American institutions where anyone who walks through the door is one step closer to realizing the American dream." This is an inspiring sentiment. However, of all the first time college students who enrolled in community college in 2003-2004, fewer than 36% earned a post-secondary credential within six years. In light of the low completion rate, one has to question whether community colleges are fulfilling their promise. In this article we will look at the recent demographics of community colleges, compare the role of community colleges to that of proprietary colleges in post secondary education and discuss promising research initiatives aimed at improving the community college system.