...Community Colleges are all over the nation. We know this and see this as Phi Theta Kappans in Michigan. We experience this first hand and learn from this and become successful because of them. President Barack Obama has set forth an ambitious agenda for U.S. postsecondary education: by 2020, he would like to once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. This is an amazing and ambitious goal but it will take the help of us as Phi Theta Kappans to reach this. In April 2010, the American Association of Community Colleges and five other community college organizations responded by reaffirming their commitment to completion while maintaining their commitment to increasing access and quality by issuing a joint statement, Democracy's Colleges: Call to Action. The partnering organizations were the Association of Community College Trustees, the Center for Community College Student Engagement, the League for Innovation in the Community College, the National Organization for Staff and Organizational Development, and the organization that we are all involved in Phi Theta Kappa. With this commitment to completion articulated, Re-balancing the Mission: The Community College Completion Challenge addresses what it means for community colleges to embrace completion in the same way that they have historically embraced access. Because community colleges are, first and foremost, oriented toward their communities, they may need to modify their traditional ways of fulfilling...
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...Philosophy Concerning the Community College To me, the mission of the community college should be to provide a diverse population with accessible, affordable, and quality education in order to prepare students for transfer to othercenters of education, immediate employment, or career advancement. Courses often serve as the foundation for a career, a new life, or a new perspective, and it is the responsibility of the college to provide quality instruction, advisement, and resources to the students. The diversity of the student population sets community colleges apart from four-year institutions. The community colleges offer an environment where the ideas and contributions of all students are respected, whether they are just out of high school or returning to school after forty years. Due to this variety, development courses are necessary to assist students in learning skills and overcoming educational deficiencies. The students’ success must be fostered by providing a student-centered environment and support services that respect each unique case. Only by maintaining educational opportunities for all can we continue to improve society. I believe that community colleges have a responsibility not only to accept a wide variety of students, but to fulfill their mission of course and degree completion, using quality instruction to lead the students on to further programs or careers. Retaining students for too long defeats thepurpose of the community college system. In our current economic...
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...cost of college. The cost of college has outpaced inflation over the last two decades, and many families are feeling the pinch. Many Americans are looking to other systems, such as those practiced in Germany, of socialized education and wondering why college is so prohibitively expensive. For those reasons, leftist politicians such as Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and even President Obama himself have offered up free community college as a solution. The president’s words on the topic “That’s why I am sending this Congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college – to zero.” are bold (Obama citation). However concerns about the cost of this type of...
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...1-309-582-4200 My life has changed and there’s a huge aspect that has made it that way; that aspect being Black Hawk College. Black Hawk College has given me knowledge, perseverance, compassion, and a strong-minded personality. I know that making this decision in going to school at this community college was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has prepared me for further education at a four-year university. It has opened up my mind to new possibilities of people and the way that they think. It’s not a college that should ever be talked down about. It has prestige in the fact that I know with my associates from Black Hawk my life is going to change for the better to push me to be the best person that I can be. Community college is an experience that I think that all people should take. It gave me the chance to be able to go to school after I thought I wouldn’t have the money or knowledge to attend. The advisors and administrators helped my mom and I further my education and acceptance into Black Hawk and it’s been the best thing so far to endure my life choices. My senior year gave me a lot of challenges with my biological father passing away and losing the man whom which was my stepfather leaving. I gave up on school because I didn’t think I could do it and I knew that my mom and I hadn’t the funds to make it possible for me to attend school. Black Hawk College changed that for me. The advisors helped me plan my classes and schedule’s according to my specific needs. They...
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...As a first year student attending the Illustrious Clark Atlanta University, I am a biology major with a minor in public health. Upon attending this university, I was dual enrolled by last two years of high school at Cuyahoga Community college receiving 30+ credits that has transferred with me. Taking general education course at community college really helped me get prepared for university. It not only eliminated the amount of money and time I have to spend it also put me ahead of the game. Choosing a major that fits me was very easy. I’ve always had an aspiration to become a doctor and a passion for taking care of and being able to educate people and biology with a minor in public health did just that for me. I love biology and all it...
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...train students in a specific skill. In some instances they are transfer degrees to help student to enroll in 4 years bachelor’s degrees. Community colleges originally were created to offer individuals higher education opportunities that were not provided in university settings. Through time, the offerings of the community colleges have diversified. Recently some community colleges began offering baccalaureate degrees; this phenomenon has resulted in controversy over the mission and function of the community college. the mission of most community colleges as shaped by the following commitments: * Serving all segments of society though an open-access admissions policy that offers equal and fair treatment to all students * Providing a comprehensive educational program * Serving the community as a community-based institution of higher education Teaching and learning * Fostering lifelong learning Many believe that a community college cannot be all things to all people and offering four-year degrees may decrease the focus from the open access mission (Dougherty, 2001; Eaton, 2005; Townsend, 2005; Wattenbarger, 2000). Furthermore, the graduates‘ preparedness to compete in the market or be successful in graduate school has been questioned. Others believe that the community college should respond to the needs of its community and the changing student population (Floyd, 2006; Floyd & Walker, 2003; Walker, 2001). There are...
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...Right now, there’s a big debate whether or not community college should be free. Some say it should under certain requirements, some say it shouldn't no matter what. It's believed that if college is free, it can help give people a boost on striving for a degree. It's hoped that more people enroll to college to increase the amount of people with degrees. I think the whole situation is pretty interesting, therefore I believe that community college shouldn’t be free because there's already a way in which someone doesn't have to pay for tuition, the pell grants basically covers your tuition and more, and there’s going to be a lot of competition because students varying from low income to upper & middle class. Making college free sounds like a good idea, who wouldn't want to go to college and pay nothing? The idea can benefit a lot of people, but there's no need for it to be free because according to Felipe Bezerra, a student at Rio Hondo College, “about half of the state's community college students qualify for those waivers.” It wouldn't really make a difference to many students because a lot of them are going to have their tuition covered by fee waivers. They're going to realize that they went through some hassle to not pay for tuition, when at the end, it ended up being...
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...Despite the potential for community colleges to advance their students’ careers and earnings, student graduation rates are abysmal. According to a report by National Center for Education Statistics, 13 percent community college student complete their degree in two years, 22 percent graduate in three years, less than 30 percent have earned a degree in four years (Figure #). A separate study of California community colleges found that only 24 percent were able to either transfer to a four-year college or obtain an Associate's degree within 6 years. We identify six factors in the literature explaining poor community college completion rates:lack of student preparedness, lack of personalized support from understaffed counselors and teachers, uncertainty...
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...It’s no secret that financing a college education is getting tougher. College costs have skyrocketed over the past decade or so but, and there is relief insight. Average tuition at four-year colleges will increase seven percent this school year. Recently, President Obama unveiled his “ America’s College Promise” program - a plan to make two years of community college education available free of charge to “everyone who’s willing to work for it”(Sean). This program would help reduce student debt and increase the number of college graduates . Since its creation, community college has aimed to provide open access to higher education. Today, the average cost of community college remains approximately one third the cost of average tuition at a public four year institution. However, tuition and fees only represent a quarter of the total cost of attending a community college. Total annual costs of non-tuition related expenses such as off-campus room and board, books, and transportation for a full-time,...
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...College is a big topic of discussion for me now that I am almost halfway through my senior year of high school. There have been recent debates about whether college tuition should be free or not. I realized that it would be better to pay for schooling on my own. I have looked at the community college price compared to prices at universities. I would much rather go to a community college especially because I’m not sure what I want to get into. Many of my classmates would probably say that free college sounds like a wonderful idea, while others don’t really think so. Some college graduates might have already paid off their own student loans or started paying them off. Why should others have to worry about paying more tax money for other people...
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...Community College vs. University Graduating from high school brings many changes to one's life. Students are faced with the decision of going to a university or staying home and attending a community college. While both can be a similarly great experience, there are also many differences between the two. The main difference however, is that a community college grants 2 year degrees and a university grants 4 year degrees. Many people think that community college is only for those who can’t get into a university, but that is not true. Community college is a much more affordable way to start an education. In fact, the current price of a state four-year university is nearly triple that of a community college. Not only do students who attend universities have to pay for classes, they also have housing and food to worry about. Students who attend community college can simply live at home and not have to fear the extra expenses. If a student does decide they want a four year degree, starting off at a community college and then transferring to a university is much cheaper than entering a university right out of high school. It is much easier to get into a community college right after high school versus having to wait to be accepted by a university. There are also many things universities look at that community colleges do not, such as standardized test scores, class rank, and academic GPA. Community college is also more convenient than a university. These schools are accustomed...
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...you tell a bunch of young adults that their first two years at a community college is going to be free, the idea of saving money and getting your free education towards your degree sounds awesome. Yet many won’t really take to consideration the situations they will be in when they enroll in the community college route. It is easy for the many people across the nation to agree with having free college, but the idea is to achieve their goal toward there degree. The many situations that will become an issue for the country is having enough funds for each community college, ensuring that each student enroll will have all cost covered and being able to take in the many applicants that are wanting to enroll in the community college route. In my case, I believe this...
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...If you haven’t considered life out of High School you may want to consider going to a Community College. For people wondering what a community college is, a community college is commonly defined as a nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. Illinois State University and Heartland will be compared as they are in the same state. After High School it may be a good Idea to attend a community college instead of a traditional 4 year college. One possible reason as to why it is a good idea to take a Community College is because it’s cheaper. For comparison Heartland costs $10,306 for two years of in state community college and $3,456 per twelve credit hours. Illinois State University is $28,295 for four years of in state college and $12,152 for twelve credit hours. If a given person were to transfer credit from Heartland to Illinois State...
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...perceive the program which can help students massively. On the one hand, free community college gives the student a powerful tool which is education to carry out their jobs; on the other hand, the same program may also attempt to constant temptations to avoid work and it will likely cause laziness among students and will consume up their academic motivation. Sometimes government funding in education can be a waste if students do not cherish their hard-won education opportunity. “Only 41...
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...Throughout my first semester at Aims Community College, I have learned and had many academic experiences. Some of these academic experiences include my academic growth, in class/ online discussions, and the challenges and obstacles I overcame throughout my first semester. While taking taking this semester, I have made some huge personal and academic growth. First I learned how to manage my time more effectively, through scheduling work around the time of each class. By sticking to a specific plan including the time to study, working on homework, and other activities it has made me to manage my time more effectively. Also my grades have improved tremendously since high school. I have learned how to open up during class, as well as submitting...
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