MaggieMae
Reality bits
- Apr 3, 2009
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Community colleges serve a purpose. However, here's the problem:
New Jersey's community colleges also saw the smallest increase in enrollment in the past five years last fall, with a few of the colleges losing enrollment. In 2009-10, almost 260,000 students enrolled in credit programs, with another 100,000 taking noncredit courses.
Grabill said only 25 percent of students who complete remedial courses go on to take credit courses, which means most students are spending time and money working toward a degree they never get. She said one issue is how to assist students who test far below the college readiness level.
New Jersey county colleges launch effort to increase graduation rate - pressofAtlanticCity.com: Atlantic County News
These are students were not academically inclined in high school, and now are expected to do college level work. For a huge number of kids, it is just an expensive (and painful) extension of high school. Imagine if those kids had been given an apprenticeship opportunity in high school instead.
When politicians and bureaucrats read the words "college readiness" they raise the standards for high school. Then the kids fall further behind...
I still think the reason for low enrollment in community colleges is because of the stigma that they're inferior. Peer pressure being such a strong factor in teen development these days, in some circles it would be demoralizing to have to admit you're only going to a community college when the popular crowd is all going to colleges and universities. That's probably not the only reason, but one of the biggest ones, I'll bet.