Microbe interactions undermine predictions.

C R E D IT : C H R IS S C H M ID T /I S T O C K P H O T O .C O M Response ZAITSEV RAISES A VALID ARGUMENT FOR increasing student support services. It is good to see faculty understanding of the obstacles that community college students face. I certainly agree that more resources should be devoted to student guidance, tutoring services, and fi nancial aid, and I strongly advocate for the importance of these programs. However, that does not mean that attention should not also be placed on the quality of the academic program. The Committee of Undergraduate Science Education of the National Research Council states that “[i]nstitutions of higher education should provide diverse opportunities for all undergraduates to study science, mathematics, engineering, and technology as practiced by scientists and engineers, and as early in their academic careers as possible” (1). One way to accomplish this is to involve students in science projects or research experiences. There are many examples of undergraduate research projects at community colleges (2), including several good examples of student research at Zaitsev’s institution (3). Student transfer to upper-division universities is an important goal for many community college students. We need to continue to do what we can to remove the obstacles to their success.