The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

In Hard Times Students Head For Community Colleges

Students are flocking to two-year public colleges, which have become refuges in the recession. The schools have open enrollment for most programs, and tuitions markedly cheaper than four-year private or public institutions. Students who earn an associate’s degree at a two-year college can usually transfer the credits to four-year schools. "In economic hard times, there is always a return to education for older students,’’ said Massachusetts Higher Education Commissioner Richard M. Freeland. “There also are a lot of families this year for whom the cost of college has become a significant issue.’’ Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/11/08/community_colleges_are_a_good_deal_in_hard_economic_times/

Obama's Community College Plan May Need More Funding

President Barack Obama wants to invest some $12 billion in community colleges with the aim of seeing an additional 5 million students graduate by 2020. This goal comes while many schools are already bursting at the seams with droves of displaced workers hit by the recession competing with traditional students seeking an education bargain. Obama's 10-year initiative would provide a welcome infusion of cash, but some fear it would not sustain community college programs. Read more at:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jxxmzQ-sohzH8p-DkXg1fiPRjTTQD9BMS5480

Minnesota's Two-Year Colleges See Biggest Enrollment Increase In History

The high school graduate, the out-of-work and the just-plain-nervous are crowding classrooms at your local community college. Enrollment has grown by double digits at 13 community and technical colleges in Minnesota, boosting the biggest jump in the public system's history. The figures show a "strategic" response to the recession, said U provost Thomas Sullivan. Experts expected the influx, which is playing out across the nation. Read more at:
http://www.startribune.com/local/63816602.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUvckD_V_jEyhD:UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs

Students Opting For Value Over Prestige

As the recession grinds on, prestige has taken a back seat to affordability. Sky-rocketing university tuition, along with more reluctance to take on huge loans (especially if grades are less than stellar or your major is "undecided") has spurred students to reconsider an alternative they once dismissed.  Although recent statistics aren't available, officials say there's plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that this group has contributed to the overall record enrollments currently being seen at community colleges nationwide. Last year, some 70 percent of high schools reported an increase in the number of students who jettisoned their "dream schools" for more budget-conscious choices, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-reverse-transfersoct01,0,6879194.story

Entrepreneurship Courses Are Hot At Community Colleges

Community colleges across the country have beefed up their offerings this year as laid-off workers search for training and tips on start-up success. But entrepreneurial and career-specific classes like the one Roberts attends are particularly popular in North Texas, where small businesses remain a financially feasible option because the recession has been milder here than in most areas. Entrepreneurial classes are taking off nationwide in myriad versions, said Heather Van Sickle, the executive director of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. Read more at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/092409dnmetcommcollege.40e75e5.html

Community Colleges Looking To Send More Students Abroad

Community colleges, acknowledging increased attention to their role in preparing today's workforce for a global economy, are looking for new ways to send more students abroad. But just 114 of the nation's 1,200 two-year campuses offered study-abroad opportunities in 2006, up 34% from 2001, says a report by Raby released last year. Work and family obligations pose hurdles for many community college students, but Raby says lack of interest is not a problem. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-09-23-community-college-abroad_N.htm?csp=34

Challenges Of Underprepared Students

In her decades of teaching, Thomas-Val has been shocked at just how unprepared most of her students are, how little they know—and how hard it is to help them.Thomas-Val is standing astride what is perhaps the leakiest juncture in the pipeline of American higher education, a pipeline that has unquestionably seen better days. America is losing its lead in higher ed: while other countries are turning out ever increasing numbers of college graduates, the U.S. has stalled. But the problem isn’t just getting high school graduates into college—about 70 percent of them already enroll. It’s getting them to finish it. Only about half of American enrollees leave college with a degree, putting us behind at least ten other developed nations in educational attainment, according to a recent report by the Brookings Institution. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/feature/higher_eds_bermuda_triangle.php?page=all&print=true

California Community College Transfer System Needs An Overhaul

Community college student Kristen Grand dreams of transferring to Cal State Long Beach so she can earn a bachelor's degree in social work and become an adoption caseworker. But the process of accumulating the right course work and filling all the requirements is overwhelming, the 26-year-old says. Grand is not alone. More than 2.7 million Californians are students in the state's sprawling network of community colleges. Now, a new study finds that the obstacles California community college students face in transferring are endemic and require an overhaul of the transfer process. Read more at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/education/la-me-transfer27-2009aug27,0,6528437.story?track=rss

Community Colleges Will Retrain American's Displaced Workers

As legions of displaced autoworkers and others face the prospect that their onetime jobs may be gone forever, many like Mr. Sollar will need training for a fresh start. And perhaps the best place for them will be community colleges, long the workhorses of American higher education, workhorses that get little respect. In an unforgiving economy, these colleges provide lifelines not only for laid-off workers in need of a new career, but for recent high school graduates who find that many types of entry-level jobs now require additional skills. Sinclair Community College, widely acclaimed as one of the best such colleges in the nation, is at the vanguard of such efforts. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/15/business/15college.html?th&emc=th

New TV Show Says It Won't Mock Community Colleges

“The Breakfast Club” set in a community college might be the quickest way to describe NBC‘s upcoming Thursday-night comedy “Community.” But panelists say the laughs won't come at the expense of two-year institutions. The fictional Greendale Community College will be a character in and of itself. “I compare it to the Charlie Brown Christmas special in that its ambition exceeds its grasp,” Harmon said. “Community” revolves around the adult misfits who glom onto a lawyer (Joel McHale, host of E! Television‘s “The Soup“), who needs to earn the degree he faked earning so long ago or be disbarred. Read more at:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/08/tca-press-tour-were-not-mocking-community-college-say-nbcs-community-producers.html