Is Community College the Future?
Right now there are over 20 million people enrolled in American colleges and universities. That number will continue to increase with enrollments before the fall semester of 2017. Community colleges have made improvements in recent years to try and give equal opportunities to their students as four-year universities
“Does Your School Matter” takes a close look at dropout rates and publications by economists who graduated from regular schools and elite schools. They also talk about the Little fish big pond theory and how it effects the amount of success a school has based on graduation rates.
The infographic demonstrates how similar the schools stack up against one another when it comes to graduation rates. Obviously a future employer would rather hire someone with Harvard on their certificate over a Robert Morris or College of DuPage but isn’t a degree a degree.
The show Community is a satirical and comedic take on a group of abnormal individuals who are trying to increase their knowledge for their respective reasons. Many community colleges officials around the country had trouble seeing that this was a sitcom and so they took offense to many of the stereotypes made about community college students and faculty. Their displeasure was not loud enough, or taken seriously enough to take up any legal action. The show ended its sixth season in 2015.
The cost of college is a legitimate problem for the majority of people planning to continue their education after high school. With junior colleges and other two-year institutions growing in popularity, here are some numbers about average tuition payed in 2015. So are community colleges the future? Research suggests that enrollment into community colleges has climbed in recent years. It will surely continue to do so with the 2017 budget proposal by President Obama. His proposal contains reforms that would make community college free for students who maintain a 2.5 GPA or higher, along with other criteria.
I personally feel that community colleges continue to struggle with how society views them today. One statistic sourced, stated that 46% of undergrads have attended a junior college of some sort and with the economic state the U.S. has remained in for some time now, I have to imagine that that percentage has increased, and still not much has changed in the eyes of the public.
What this infographic shows is how important these colleges are in their communities. People from every background, every age can attend these institutions. Why? Because as life happens, and money can become tight. Community colleges have a lot to offer the working student, the single mom and returning vets.
In conversations I have had with people who attend community colleges and regular colleges they have all said in one way another it is the best decision anyone could make when it comes to furthering their education. Ultimately is it up to each person to decide the path they will take to get their degree. We know the cost is low and with that some other features and resources may not be available the way they are at other schools, but what is important to you? Is community college YOUR future? If you want to spend your time and money efficiently, in world where those two things are hard to come by, yes. Yes it is.
