Education & Careers » college education

Community College Enrollment Falls

kristie — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:57:26 +0000

For decades, community college has been the starting point for students earning a college education. For students that cannot afford to pay the tuition costs for a four-year university right after high school graduation, the local community college offers a lower cost option for getting their education on its way. In spite of community colleges being a popular alternative to a four-year degree program, enrollment in community colleges is falling. Some education experts blame it on the economy and declining population rates. Other financial experts say it’s the placement test that some community colleges require. These placement tests are forcing some students to waste money they don’t have taking remedial courses rather than launching right into earning their two-year degree.

Placement Tests

According to the Washington Post, one California student was required to take a placement test before enrolling in classes. Unfortunately, she failed the placement test, which forced her to enroll in a remedial class. The kicker is that she had already taken the class and earned credit for it previously, before returning to college. But, since she failed the placement test, she is now wasting money taking classes that she has already taken.

Placement tests are not the policy for all community colleges. The tests are not even the policy of different departments in the same community college. For example, at the second largest community college in the country, Northern Virginia Community College, if the student had failed the math placement test, the math department would require the student to enroll in remedial class. If the student failed the English placement test however, this would not be the case.

The moral of the story is that students need to find out what the policy of the community college is on placement tests. The outcome of these tests can affect the students’ ability to choose their courses and save money by paying for courses that are required toward earning a degree, rather than classes forced upon the student because of a placement test score.

Economy

Connecticut Community College blames enrollment decreases on the economy and a declining population. In Connecticut’s 12 community colleges, enrollment has plummeted by 7.4 percent for full-time students and a one percent drop overall for the fall semester.

It’s a double whammy when you talk about the downturn in the economy. Not only is the economy causing students to have less money to cover their college education, but even community college budgets have seen their fair share of cutbacks. Cutbacks to community college budgets have caused:

Application acceptance caps
Cutting out class and course options
Laying off professors

Population Decline

The recession did not only hit the economy, but it also made a dent in the Baby Boomer population. Some education experts blame the decline in community college enrollment on basic population cycles that the U.S. goes through. With the number of college graduates declining, so is the number of college applications.

Some would argue that the high unemployment rate would force the unemployed to return to college to improve their skills and make them more marketable in the job market. According to Michael Meotti, executive vice president of the state’s new Board of Regents, which oversees community colleges and the Connecticut State University system, retraining may have already exhausted itself because the unemployment rate has been so high for so long.

Community colleges are often lower-cost options than four-year colleges to obtain a college degree. The statistics are revealing something different, with a decline in the number of students enrolling in community college. Financial experts blame it on several things, but only time will tell what the real truth is.

Choosing a College for the Education

kristie — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:30:35 +0000

Apparently, a lot of students choose colleges because of the weather, because it’s where their boyfriend/girlfriend is going or other reasons that have nothing to do with the education the college provides. While you may not realize it as a high school junior or senior, when you choose a college, you should choose it for the education it provides. Find out what you should be looking for in a college because of the education and overall college experience it can offer you.

The Major You Want to Pursue

One of the great things about heading off to college is that you get to explore who you are and what types of areas you like so that you can choose a major and a career path. For some students, this is the perfect way for you to take some different classes and narrow down your options, so you can declare a major when it’s time.

Then there are those that have some idea what to study and what career path to pursue. Whichever type of student you are, it is imperative that you review the types of classes the college or university offers before you have to declare a major.

If you are not sure which major you want to pursue, then verify that there are classes on the schedule that will allow you to try some different areas out. If you know what career path you are on, then make sure that you have the right to choose classes during your first few years of study to apply to that career path, and even test it out to make sure it is the major you want to declare.

For example, one student started out wanting to be a child psychologist. After taking a few psychology classes as electives while earning her associate’s degree, she decided that psychology was not something that held her interest. She found instead that it was her business and marketing courses that held her interest, so she ended up declaring her major in business instead of psychology.

Choosing Classes vs. Preset Curriculum

Look at how the curriculum for the college or university is set up. This is especially true for the time when you have declared your major and are working toward your specialty. Some schools allow students to choose their own classes. While there may be some guidelines on which classes you have to choose, you can choose from a certain amount of electives and a certain amount of required courses, so that you can create a semester schedule that works for you.

Other colleges and universities have a preset curriculum and schedule of classes. Each semester, the college or university tells the students in the program which classes they are taking and when.

Nothing is wrong with either type of curriculum. You just have to make sure that it is a set up that works for your goals and promotes the best learning environment for you.

College Reputation

You should review two parts of the reputation of the college. First, you should consider the overall reputation of the quality of the education the college or university provides. Look at statistics that include:

How many freshmen enter the college
How many change schools
How many graduate

This is one way to gauge the school reputation. You should also make a campus visit and talk with some of the students, the professors and the other campus staff to get a feeling for the overall vibe.

Second, you should consider the college reputation for your chosen course of study. Numerous publications rate colleges and universities each year, based on various factors, but one is the area of study that the college is best at delivering. For example, some schools are well known as top-notch business schools, while others are best-known for pre-med for pre-med majors.

Financial Aid Help

Another consideration when choosing a college is the amount of financial aid help or the type of financial aid that the college can offer you. In light of a very tough lending environment, if you need help paying your way through college, this is a factor that requires some investigation.

The Next Steps

You should also look into the pre-graduate and after-graduate resources the college offers. Not only do you want to choose a college for the education it provides to put you on your career path, but you also want the college to have resources that prepare you to look for a job after you’ve graduated.

Choosing a college is an important decision. It’s a decision you should make on what the college offers you in the way of education, rather than incidentals that won’t make or break your career in the future.

Should Moms Really Go Back to School?

Lindsey Clair, Moms in School — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:15:41 +0000

As a mom that has gone back to school in the past and planning on returning in the future I can honestly say I have heard just a few negative comments regarding this decision. Not to myself directly but to moms in school in general. Here is one comment that made me cringe and may make you cringe as well. “Going back to college is selfish. You need to focus on your children and go back when they are grown.” In some cases this may be true especially if you decide to put your heart and soul into school (like going full time). I think moms with young children are smart enough to know that it would be too hard to pull off depending on their situation but every mom is different. It’s all in what they can handle. What do you think?

Would you believe that there are tips out there steering moms and other individuals away from the decision to go to school? Okay, so this may not be too surprising as there is so much information on the Internet that people read and mentally digest. People will believe just about anything. Here are some examples of a few tips (as mentioned at Spacebull Hubpages on hubpages.com) on reasons why you should NOT go to college:

Reasons NOT to go to college examined

Who needs college learning when there is an abundance of resources at our finger tips such as the library and Internet? Basically, you can just teach yourself what you need to know to survive in this world. Okay, in some cases this may reign true for many individuals, especially those who cannot afford college or feel that the college world is just simply not for them. But for moms wanting to better themselves and increase their pay, this route will most definitely not get them anywhere.
Learn from each other! Wow, really? Sure, you can obtain a wealth of knowledge from those who are educated but will that help you get a degree in the field you so desire like say becoming a nurse or a lawyer? I think not!
You can create your own career without the help of college. This may be true for some people that have endless creativity shooting through their brain but not everyone is lucky at building a career from scratch and becoming super successful!

What do you think of that? Do you feel discouraged at the thought of returning to school after reading those negative tips? Hopefully, it has inspired you to want to return to college and prove those pessimists out there wrong doesn’t it? I know that it frustrates me to a degree to think that there are many out there that think it’s all a joke or that all knowledge comes at a cheap price or no price at all. I know, it would be great to earn our education at a very low price but it’s just not reality.

Upon further research of those out there determined to steer people away from the doors of higher education, I was surprised to find that Forbes by Forbes Staff has a brief section on “5 Reasons not to go to College.” Are you ready for this? Here are those reasons:

Kiss four years of solid working skills goodbye!
You won’t earn less money.
Invest your tuition! Really? This is advised to do in order to make more money. Wow!
You can learn just as much outside a classroom, so who needs it?
Bill Gates and others did just fine without a college education. Though this may be true, do you think they wish that they did get some sort of college education?

I am seriously just blown away by all of this and not in a good way. I understand that there are many individuals out there that will do just fine without college but I feel that having a college education is like carrying gold in your pocket. At least you know that you are marketable when it comes to a college degree than those who do not possess one. I also understand it’s all dependent on the economy too.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you think that there are too many anti-education alarmists out there on the fast track to discourage people from their dreams? Okay, so this may seem a little harsh and exaggerated but it sure feels like it when you type in the search engine about going back to college but instead seeing ”reasons why you should not go to college.”

Should moms return to school? Share your thoughts and/or opinions, I would love to hear from you.

If you are a mom bound and determined to return to school to earn your degree, check out our list of online schools here on classesandcareers.com.