Why you should consider a community college (gasp!)

[Anonymous]

I have two co-workers who went to a community college for the first two years in California and then transferred to a 4-year university and a liberal arts college. I didn't know about the stigma - until each of them qualified their undergraduate degrees by explaining that their first two years were at a community college. It was the way each qualified their undergraduate degree that says they are seen as second-class college graduates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - it's not over looked. A thread about going to Community College is started here on DCUM every week. Are you all getting paid to continually post about this?

This is my first post ever about CC. I did it because my husband is head of the engineering program at local CC and I can see first hand that many of his students are getting better instruction that those in into classes at the big state university. In fact, the university doesn't like to admit to it but some students come to the CC for certain classes (transferable) because CC offers much more up to date engineering software.

[Anonymous]

OP here. No, I'm not being paid. As said in the post just above this one, it's the first X I've ever posted on this topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could be but 4 year universities have had more time to build a seasoned faculty and an expectation of tenure. Community colleges, however, have strict budgets and a particular demand of classes for which they must find teachers. They usually hire adjuncts quick and fast.

This is a delusional assessment of the sector.

State U and CC pay basically the same rate to adjuncts. I know several who are employed at both institutions but prefer CC because of the emphasis on teaching. Good adjuncts are actually considered for permanent positions at CC, never at university.

[Anonymous]

State Us normally have tutoring centers so if the classes are huge and the access to the professor is limited, the students go to the tutoring center for help . Often the professors will videotape their lectures, too, so students have the option of watching a lecture over again if they are struggling with a concept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. No, I'm not being paid. As said in the post just above this one, it's the first X I've ever posted on this topic.

I think you still have to consider the stigma and other factors. A student is surrounded by low-performing students at CC, making it harder for him or her to succeed. Two years of being surrounded by disgruntled students who might have other priorities and family obligations, e.g., kids at home, working inordinate amount of hours to support him/herself or family, takes toll in one's academic aspirations. This is why the graduation rate at top SLACs and Ivies are significantly higher than at state unis.

For the same reasons why SLACs/Ivies > State Unis, I thnink State Unis > CC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could be but 4 year universities have had more time to build a seasoned faculty and an expectation of tenure. Community colleges, however, have strict budgets and a particular demand of classes for which they must find teachers. They usually hire adjuncts quick and fast.

This is a delusional assessment of the sector.

State U and CC pay basically the same rate to adjuncts. I know several who are employed at both institutions but prefer CC because of the emphasis on teaching. Good adjuncts are actually considered for permanent positions at CC, never at university.

No they don't. This is totally incorrect per the Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Adjunct-Project-Shows-Wide/136439. Also, more than 51% of the average community college faculty is part-time/adjunct so they are never in their offices and simply have no reason to be interested in building a community or taking care of students. They also know they will never get tenure at a four-year institution.

[Anonymous]

"No they don't. This is totally incorrect per the Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Adjunct-Project-Shows-Wide/136439. Also, more than 51% of the average community college faculty is part-time/adjunct so they are never in their offices and simply have no reason to be interested in building a community or taking care of students. They also know they will never get tenure at a four-year institution."

There is basically no such thing as an average community college.

There are good ones and there are bad ones.

The good ones behave as the CC supporter states.

The bad ones behave even worse than the CC knocker states.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - it's not over looked. A thread about going to Community College is started here on DCUM every week. Are you all getting paid to continually post about this?

This is my first post ever about CC. I did it because my husband is head of the engineering program at local CC and I can see first hand that many of his students are getting better instruction that those in into classes at the big state university. In fact, the university doesn't like to admit to it but some students come to the CC for certain classes (transferable) because CC offers much more up to date engineering software.

How are you seeing that “first hand”? How much time are you spending in your DH’s classes and in the classes at the university?

[Anonymous]

Poster, it's talked about over-and-over again. We get it, it works for some people.

[Anonymous]

My nephew did a year of community college and went on to graduate with honors from a good university all within four years. He is very smart but got in with the wrong crowd in high school. He goofed off for the first few years and then didn't have time to bring up his GPA by the time he got serious. He was on the young side too (16.5 when he graduated high school), so a year commuting to the community college from home was also good for him. At 26, he is making over 200K, so I'd say the community college thing didn't hurt him at all and was probably a good transition year for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I covered higher education for a daily newspaper for decades. Elite and even average universities consider "intro" courses a cash cow that requires very little effort on their part. Faculty are evaluated for tenure based on publishing and research grants. They have little or no interest in teaching undergraduates.
Community colleges, on the other hand, evaluate faculty solely on the basis of their instructional skills. You would be amazed at the skills and dedication of many faculty and adjuncts teaching at community colleges. Classes are relatively small in comparison to those at four year colleges, where freshman and sophomores are often packed into lecture halls with hundreds of others, taught by adjuncts or graduate students.
No one will care where your child gets his first couple years of college education, only where the diploma comes from. Even that means precious little after the first couple years in the workplace (really!). Lots of sophomores at good schools burn out, leaving openings and scholarships available for transfer students. Having said this, it IS harder for CC college students to stick with the program and succeed in their courses as they aren't living in an atmosphere surrounded by other students. Nevertheless, it's a really good option for many people and is often overlooked by upwardly mobile families.

Weird post, OP. No they don't. community colleges hire the cheapest they can find. Adjuncts. Mostly at $1500 a course. Our experience at a community college was abysmal. The teacher was teaching the same course in 3 difference community college locations (same system) and clearly was just phoning it in.

One of the worst teachers my dc had to deal with is a middle school math teacher who teaches also at a local community college. There is no way I would pay to have her "teach" a math class she does not understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have two co-workers who went to a community college for the first two years in California and then transferred to a 4-year university and a liberal arts college. I didn't know about the stigma - until each of them qualified their undergraduate degrees by explaining that their first two years were at a community college. It was the way each qualified their undergraduate degree that says they are seen as second-class college graduates.

I'm one of the OPs who's concerned about the apparent over-hyping of community colleges as a great solution for our families' college funding problems.

I think the take-away from the statistics is that a student who starts out at a community college and ends up with a four-year degree is a hero. That's an individual who can climb up a mountain while wearing an anvil and just laugh at the anvil.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. No, I'm not being paid. As said in the post just above this one, it's the first X I've ever posted on this topic.

I'm the third poster; sorry about jumping down your throat.

It sounds as if the community college you're close to is one of the ones that's doing a great job. Maybe it would be good to figure out how, without doxxing yourself, to come back later and post a nice post about that particular community college.

Just the fact that you're related to a faculty member and have good feelings about the school is a great sign. That school is doing something right, and any college that are bringing in that school's students in a smooth way are also doing something right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - it's not over looked. A thread about going to Community College is started here on DCUM every week. Are you all getting paid to continually post about this?

This is my first post ever about CC. I did it because my husband is head of the engineering program at local CC and I can see first hand that many of his students are getting better instruction that those in into classes at the big state university. In fact, the university doesn't like to admit to it but some students come to the CC for certain classes (transferable) because CC offers much more up to date engineering software.

How are you seeing that “first hand”? How much time are you spending in your DH’s classes and in the classes at the university?

Assuming the CC-supporting poster is being sincere and candid: Just the mere fact that the poster likes the community college DH teaches it is probably a sign that the faculty there is reasonably happy. The spouses of the faculty members at bad community colleges are probably not going to come here to post about how great those colleges are.