What Types Of Programs Do Community Colleges Offer
Community colleges have a host of programs to serve their students needs. Two-year colleges have unique program offerings, from traditional liberal arts and STEM classes to developmental education and technical courses. For example, at Mount Wachusett Community College, we offer degrees and certificates in subjects like:
- Automotive Technology
- Public, Social and Emergency Services
- Veterinary Technology
As you can see, community colleges offer a diverse range of programs, some of which you cant get at four-year colleges. Developmental education courses in math and writing help students attain the necessary skills to enter introductory college courses. Some colleges also offer technical courses in automotive, HVAC, electrical and plumbing.
Can A 13 Year Old Attend College
There is no minimum age to attend college, though there IS a minimum age for college or private accommodation. Usually, someone qualifying for college at an early age is either living at home or lives with someone acting as a guardian during their college years, often a parent. Homeschooling and SAT.
What Can I Do With A Postsecondary Certificate Earned Through Community College
Community colleges offer certificate programs in a variety of academic disciplines. Most of these are focused on specific occupations. Obtaining a postsecondary certificate through a community college can open up more job opportunities with higher salaries in your particular field of study.
Common certificate fields of study include business and office management, construction trades, health care, computer and information services, cosmetology, and auto mechanics.
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Creating Degrees That Are Too Specialized And Lack Labor Market Demand
As reported above, California community college students can now earn degrees in airframe manufacturing technology, industrial automation, mortuary science, the equine industry, dental hygiene, health information management, biomanufacturing, respiratory care, occupational studies, automotive technology, interaction design, and biotechnology. These fields were deemed eligible for California’s pilot only upon verification of labor market demand. The employability of graduates offers the best evidence that the degrees are neither too narrow nor too specialized.
Stretching Community College Budgets Too Far
Except for $6 million that the state of California initially invested for start-up costs, including equipment and curriculum and professional development, baccalaureate programs are offered within existing budgets and are subject to the same enrollment management analyses that apply to any instructional decisions. Student demand, completion, and employability are among the factors that lead colleges to support certain programs over others. Community college resource reallocations are much more likely to result from enrollment shifts than from the presence of a baccalaureate program.
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What Are The Benefits Of Attending A Community College
The biggest benefit of attending a community college is affordable tuition fees. Attending community college also gives you the advantage of scheduling your classes around your current personal and work commitments so you dont have to choose one or the other. Other benefits include smaller class sizes and the convenience of being able to commute from home.
What If Students Didnt Have To Leave Community Colleges To Earn Bachelors Degrees
By Rebecca KoenigApr 13, 2021
Students training at Miami Dade College.
Set a few miles from the sea and surrounded by swampy state parks, Indian River Community College was for years a lone outpost of higher education on Floridas Treasure Coast. The nearest universityFlorida Atlanticwas nearly 60 miles away, a long haul down I-95 for someone seeking more schooling but bound to her community by a home, a job, a family.
To drive an hour-and-a-half one way to take a course at a university at night and backit was just more than most families could handle, says Edwin Massey, president emeritus of Indian River.
To help more Florida residents earn advanced credentials, the state expanded its university system in the early 1990s. The Treasure Coast region was in the running for a new institutionbut the other side of the state won out.
People in the area started to wonder. They had a college down the street. Workers needed four-year degrees to get promotions. Hospitals needed nurses with management skills, and schools needed teachers trained in science and math. What, exactly, were they all waiting for?
The question I got most was, When will Indian River offer baccalaureate-level programs? Massey says.
And the pace of adoption is speeding up, with half a dozen states signing on since 2018, according to the Community College Baccalaureate Association.
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Contributing To Credential Inflation
Credential inflation is often confused with degree inflation. A 2017 report from Accenture, Grads of Life, and Harvard Business Schooloffers definitions to better inform discussions. Degree inflation is “the practice of seeking a candidate with a four-year college degree for a position currently held by someone with a high school diploma or an associate’s degree.” Credential inflation is “the decline in the value of academic credentials over time as more people obtain them.” According to researchers, “As the concentration of educated labor increases, the minimum credential requirements for jobs concurrently and irreversibly.”2
The reality of evolving workforce needs for baccalaureate preparation should neither be dismissed as degree inflation nor blamed for credential inflation. Community colleges are highly responsive to local labor markets and have been driven to develop baccalaureate programs within that local context. If there is to be serious study of credential inflation, the for-profit education sector might hold more compelling data regarding the number of degrees related to job placements.
Begin Your Bachelors Degree At A Community College: 2 + 2 Agreements
2 years at a community college + 2 years at a university = 4 years
Many American studentsand 90,000 international studentsattend a community college for the first two years of university studies in the USA. With nearly 1,200 community colleges in the country, there are many benefits of this model in comparison to studying all four years at a university. Community colleges offer significantly lower tuition, smaller classes and strong student support. And oftentimes, they serve as pathways to prestigious four-year universities.
One of the great strengths of American higher education is the ease with which students can transfer from one college or university to another. For students who plan to earn a bachelors degree the transition from community college to a university for the final two years can be quite easy. Students will attend a community college to complete lower division general education requirements and then transfer to a university. There, they can take upper division courses and thereby complete a bachelors degree. Such an approach is commonly known as 2 + 2, though it may take more than four years to complete all of the courses required for a bachelors degree.
2 years at a community college + 2 years at a university = 4 years
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Some See Competition Others See Alternative To Transfer Hurdles
While proponents of community college baccalaureate pathways say the offerings increase affordability and create avenues to four-year degrees for underrepresented populations and far-flung communities, critics say the model could undermine public universities.
In Arizona, four-year institutions expressed concern that the new legislation does not require community colleges to collaborate with state universities in determining their baccalaureate offerings. Some two-year institutions such as Pima Community College have been vocal about their intent to continue their strong partnerships with state universities.
Experts say that competition is unlikely, given that community colleges and four-year universities tend to attract different types of students. California, for instance, says it has not experienced any detrimental competition since it launched a 15-school community college baccalaureate pilot program in 2014.
Similar programs in Washington state and Florida have shown that community college bachelors degree programs tend to attract adult learners, working learners, student parents, low-income students, first-generation students, and students of color.
The students who enroll in these programs are students who most likely would not have attended a four-year baccalaureate program, said Debra Bragg, a fellow at the think tank New America. Rather, they are students who need to stay local or students for whom transferring would have proven too burdensome.
Degree Options In Canada
Postsecondary institutions issue degrees, diplomas and certificates, depending on the nature of the institutions and the length of the programs. At universities and university colleges, there is an emphasis on degree programs. Applied degrees are offered by some colleges. At all other institutions, the emphasis is on diploma and certificate programs.
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What Degrees Do Community Colleges Offer
Community colleges offer degrees in academic and vocational subjects. Many learners study academic disciplines like English, history, economics, sociology, mathematics, and biology. Often classified as transfer degrees by community colleges, earning a degree in one of these academic majors can prepare graduates to enroll in bachelor’s programs.
Vocational degrees can prepare graduates for the workforce. Popular vocational options include allied health degrees like nursing, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, and radiation therapy. Community colleges also offer vocational programs in automotive technology, the culinary arts, industrial manufacturing, and engineering technology.
In 2019, 1 million U.S. students graduated with an associate degree. The most common majors included the liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities, which made up 40% of earned degrees.
Nearly 20% of graduates studied the health professions, including allied health careers, and just over 10% studied business. Other common associate degrees include criminal justice, interdisciplinary studies, and computer and information sciences.
States Now Allow Community Colleges To Offer Bachelors Degrees
Arizona this week became the latest state to give community colleges the green light to offer four-year degrees. Twenty-four states now permit bachelors degree programs at community colleges, and others have expressed interest in the models potential to increase college access and help meet local workforce needs, Inside Higher Ed reports.
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The Benefits Of A Bachelors Program
Most community college students say they want to earn a bachelors degree. Yet less than one-fifth do so within six years, according to the most recent data from the Community College Research Center.
One reason why, experts say, is that theres a giant sinkhole blocking students path. Its the requirement that they transfer from one institution to another. Too few community college students escape from that chasm, some higher ed leaders say, while their counterparts who start at bachelors degree institutions never have to face it at all.
If youre at a four-year school, nobody does a transcript review between your sophomore and junior year and says, Sorry, we are not going to take your sophomore-year credits, says Josh Wyner, founder and executive director of the College Excellence Program at the Aspen Institute.
Embedding bachelors programs into the community colleges where students first enroll can help to eliminate that obstacle, proponents say. Such programs also tend to be more affordable than degrees from nearby public and private four-year institutions. For example, Miami Dade College in Florida offers several baccalaureate degrees starting at $10,000, according to president Madeline Pumariega. A credit hour there costs about $130, compared to about $200 at nearby public Florida International University.
Community College: How It Works
Nia Carignan
Other than the popular series about an unlikely group of misfits attending community college, community colleges dont get much attention in popular culture, so many people arent sure how they work. Firstly, you may hear people call community colleges two-year colleges because they award two-year degrees, called associate degrees. Or, some may call them junior college, as they can be a stepping stone to a four-year college or university. If youre a nontraditional student, in particular, you may be wondering whats community college like, how does a community college work and why is going back to school valuable?
This guide should help answer some of the most common questions about how community college works.
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Bachelor’s Degree Pilot Program
The Bachelor’s Degree Program from the California Community Colleges was created to make it easier and more affordable for students to get their bachelors degree and to create more employment opportunities for students.
On September 28, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 850 authorizing the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to establish the statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program at 15 California community colleges. In November 2014, the California Community Colleges Chancellors Office Academic Affairs division sought applications from colleges that were interested in participating in the bachelors degree pilot program. In May 2015, the Board of Governors approved 15 colleges to participate in the pilot program. The first Bachelors Degree Program graduates received their degrees in spring 2018.
The degree programs offered at each college were selected based on careers that are in high-demand in those areas. After graduation, students will often be able to find jobs in the same area they went to school.
Achieving public higher education for Californians is the main goal, but this program was brought to life for community college students. With more employment opportunities available for more graduating students, this program helps to set students up for successful futures.
The following is a list of the 15 California community colleges that offer a bachelor’s degree program.
| College |
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Why The First Varsity Blues Trial Really Matters
Opponents cite these objections to expanding community college degrees:
As a result of these arguments, most states, like Arizona, have placed various conditions on two-year schools offering four-year degrees. Common constraints include: proving that program duplication will not occur, limiting the number of institutions authorized to offer the degrees, specifying the degree programs that will be allowed, capping the tuition that can be charged, and establishing an economic/workforce need by employers, communities or regions before green-lighting a new program.
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Can I Transfer From A Community College To A 4
Yes, you can. Most students who cannot afford the tuition of a 4-year college, even with financial aid, then use community college as an affordable pathway to graduating with a bachelors degree. They first complete 2 years in community college and get an associates degree. They then transfer to a 4-year college or university to complete the next two years and earn a bachelors degree. This cuts down their total cost of education substantially.
In most cases, it is fairly easy to transfer from community college to a 4-year college or university. However, there are many factors that can affect the ease of transfer. You must do your homework if you are considering attending community college and then transferring.
Developmental Education In The Community College
In an nationally representative sample of students who started at two-year public colleges in 2013-14, 60% took one or more remedial courses within three years. They took an average of 2.9 courses. That compares with 32% of four-year college students who took an average of two courses.
Federal BPS data from 2009 indicate that 68% of students beginning at public two-year colleges in 20032004 took one or more remedial courses in the six years after their initial college enrollment; 59% took at least one course in math, and 28% took at least one course in English. At four-year public colleges, 40% of students took one or more remedial courses within six years; 33% took math and 11% took English.
At public two-year colleges, 48% of students who began in 200304 took two or more remedial courses within six years. At public four-year colleges, 21% of students took two or more remedial courses.
At public two-year colleges, 78% of Black students, 75% of Hispanic students, and 64% of White students take remedial courses. Of students in the lowest income group, 76% take remedial courses, compared with 59% in the highest income group.
At public four-year colleges, 66% of Black students, 53% of Hispanic students, and 36% of White students take remedial courses. Of students in the lowest income group, 52% take remedial courses, compared with 33% in the highest income group.
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Az Bill Prioritizes Labor Needs Affordability
Under Arizonas legislationwhich passed the state Senate 24-to-6 and was signed this week by Governor Doug Duceycommunity colleges must ensure that their baccalaureate programs reflect local labor needs and do not duplicate existing offerings at state universities.
For example, the 10-campus Maricopa Community College said it is considering offering a degree in respiratory therapy among its new bachelors programs. Arizona hospitals increasingly require respiratory therapists to have a four-year degree, but none of the states universities offer that training.
The new bill also requires community college to cap the price of baccalaureate-level courses at 150 percent or less than the cost of their associate-level courses. At Maricopa, that would work out to around $3,000 per semester, maximum, for a bachelors degree programaround one-fourth to half of the cost of attending a state university, according to Steven R. Gonzales, interim chancellor of the Maricopa Community College District.
With students leaving higher education with mounds of student debt, this would be an opportunity to have access to high-quality, affordable and hopefully leave community college with little to no debt and a bachelors degree in hand, Gonzales told Inside Higher Ed.