June 11, 2015
Community colleges have always been one of the best higher education bargains around. Now with the ever-rising tuition costs of private, and state four-year universities, community colleges are a smarter decision than ever – for students who eventually plan to move on to pursue a four-year degree or those wanting the skills to go directly into a job.
Affordability is critical and U.S. community college tuition and fees run less than half of what a four-year university costs, but cost savings is just the beginning of the story.
Remember these good-sense reasons for considering community college. You get:
At many large universities, faculty members, regardless of the discipline, are expected to spend much of their time on research, publication, or both. At community colleges, on the other hand, teachers are there to do one thing – teach. Many community college alumni who move on to four-year institutions miss the easy availability of professors at their former schools and ironically, many community college professors also teach at area universities – so you’re often getting top-notch faculty at a fraction of the cost.
The class scheduling at many community colleges is done with a special eye toward accommodating students who work, or who want to attend part time. Evening, weekend, and online classes are many, and are intended to make it easier for the estimated 80% of community college students who work part- or full-time.
Community colleges are just that – right there in the community – allowing students the convenience and cost-savings of living at home. Dormitory costs at private universities can be upwards of $10,000 annually, and for a shared double-room or suite at that. Additionally, some students at age 17 or 18 just aren’t ready to fly the nest, and frankly prefer the comfort and security of returning home each evening while completing their first two years of post-secondary education.
There was a time when community colleges were limited in their course and major offerings – but they’ve come a long way. Today, most community colleges offer courses in a full array of disciplines in the arts, sciences, humanities, business and social sciences – in addition to practical training in careers that lead to immediate employment.
Community-college administrators know that many of their students expect to move into a four-year public or private university after their associate’s degree. As a result, they take care to make courses sufficiently rigorous and compliant, so that credits are generally fully transferable to a larger institution. In fact, many community colleges have close partnerships and relationships with area universities and their admissions offices, so that the application and transition process into a B.A. or B.S. program can be seamless, and in some cases guaranteed.
For those whose high school GPA could be stronger, community college provides a wonderful period in which to improve and burnish your transcripts before applying to a four-year institution. The motivation that some students lacked in high school is often reawakened in community college courses.
For these and so many other reasons – including the strong student support services that they provide, and the opportunity they offer for students unsure of their future direction to simply “test the waters” of higher education – community college is more than worth a second look.
