They can abandon algebra. So can high schools. But let's be clear on one thing. They will limit their students' future potential severely. If you can't do algebra, you have no chance in hell of ever programming a computer. No chance of doing anything in STEM whatsoever. No chance in finance, business, or any position requiring critical thinking. Yes, if all you're trying is to teach liberal arts majors, this might be an option, though I'm not even sure of that. If you want to prepare students for any kid of future, abandoning algebra is beyond horrible. And we're talking about community colleges here. First and second year students who in many cases have no idea what they really want to do in the world. Do we want to limit students' futures so severely because of our institutions' and teachers' failings at teaching? Why even go to college then? I'm not even sure what these students can excel at if they can't even pass algebra. Maybe manual, hard labor at best.