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I attended a community college (mostly during high school) and also have taught at one. In my experience, the community college offers two general styles of ed

by tjr 17y ago

I attended a community college (mostly during high school) and also have taught at one. In my experience, the community college offers two general styles of education programs: one is more or less equivalent to the first two years of a 4-year college, and the other is primarily focused on skill development. Many students who plan on completing a 4-year degree start at the community college for a year or two, because they can complete a lot of the general education requirements for the 4-year degree cheaper and/or easier. Other students attend a community college basically to learn a trade. While the college might have a 2-year program in computer science, they may also have a 2-year program in "computer programming", offering classes like "Introduction to IBM AS/400", "COBOL Programming", "Java Web Services", etc. For some IT jobs, this sort of training is really more useful (at least in the short term) than a study in computer science. Other "trade" programs that I saw included culinary arts, industrial craftsmanship (welding, usage of AutoCad, etc.), dental assistantship... these are basically terminal associates degrees, and the college tells you up front to not expect these classes to transfer toward any other university program.

elblanco 17y ago
You also forget the adult education population that are there for career changes because theirs was cut short, further education for promotions etc. and the foreign student population attending to learn English. The community college system in my area if packed with ESL students from Asia and Africa looking to either return to their home country with a new skill, or move into better life in the U.S. using the CC system as a way to open the doors into the 4-year state schools they wouldn't have been eligible from coming fresh off the boat. IMHO, community college systems are one of the backbones of the American Economy. Cheap, customizable, readily available, flexible and practical education that nearly anybody can benefit from at any age in almost any subject.

by tjr 17y ago

elblanco 17y ago

You also forget the adult education population that are there for career changes because theirs was cut short, further education for promotions etc. and the foreign student population attending to learn English. The community college system in my area if packed with ESL students from Asia and Africa looking to either return to their home country with a new skill, or move into better life in the U.S. using the CC system as a way to open the doors into the 4-year state schools they wouldn't have been eligible from coming fresh off the boat. IMHO, community college systems are one of the backbones of the American Economy. Cheap, customizable, readily available, flexible and practical education that nearly anybody can benefit from at any age in almost any subject.