Let me begin this post by clarifying that I am in NO way bashing the community colleges of America. However, the marketing departments of too many community or junior colleges in this country have done a really good job of convincing the students and parents in their communities that they are AS good as a four year university. This is a lie.
While many community colleges are very good, and all have some great instructors, as a student there are some major disadvantages to attending a community college that you need to be aware of, so that you can make an informed decision as to weather or not community college is right for YOU.
I personally worked at one community college that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to do “research” on the community’s perceptions of the college. Guess what…the “independent” agency that conducted the study found that people in the community thought that the community college was the “best college” in the area. Better, they claimed, than two other more reputable community colleges…and better, they claimed again than a nationally ranked university. Well, I, along with numerous other people examined the results of this survey. No surprise, they were totally biased. The questions that were asked had been asked in a way that would influence people’s answers. In research these are called leading questions…and it is completely unethical!
Here’s the problem with most community colleges. While often times the instructors at the colleges are highly capable teachers, too often they are not supported by the colleges. In the U.S. more than 60% of community college course are taught by part-time instructors. This in and of itself is not so bad. Except that the reason part-time instructors are used is because they pay them half what full time instructors make, and usually NO benefits. Many part-time teachers must work at several jobs just to make ends meet. The reason this is detrimental to student’s success, is that community colleges tend NOT to support these instructors in personal development. They wont give them money for travel to educational conferences. They often wont give them compensation for office hours, or even to grade papers! The result is two fold: First, these instructors may not have enough time to thoroughly prepare for classes, assist students, and adequately evaluate their work (because they are so underpaid for doing so). Second, it is more difficult for many of the instructors to stay abreast of their disciplines. Many part-time instructors have not remained involved in their academic associations and participated in the ongoing process of new research and ideas. If so, it may be the case that what they are teaching is the same as when they were in graduate school themselves. Since knowledge (and what you, as a student NEED to learn) changes frequently, an instructor who does not regularly read the academic journals in her field, or does not attend conferences regularly is likely to be teaching information that is out of date. As a student this can actually decrease the value of your education. It makes you a bad job candidate and if you do transfer to a university, will make it more difficult for you to succeed with other, better prepared students. I hold the state governments who consistently underfund the community colleges responsible for this disgrace.
As a student there is another issue about community colleges. Groucho Marks said he would not join any club that would have him as a member. The community college leaves you, as a student in the same irony. Community colleges, by law and necessity are open to everyone. There are no admissions requirements (with a few placement exceptions). No standards of academic excellence that students are held to prior to entering. In other words, they have to let everyone off the street into the school. Think about who is sitting next to you in those classes. It could be someone convicted of a crime. It could be someone with a serious mental problem. It could be someone who has flunked out of five other schools. You just don’t know. Obviously the same can be said of many other colleges. But the reality is, competitively selecting colleges (e.g. four year schools) have some control over whom they admit and some ability to remove problem students.
The best reason you should be in community college is because they have a transfer agreement with a four year university you want to attend AND you could not get in after high school. So you need a ‘second’ chance. Or, because you just want to learn about photography, accounting or calculus for the fun of it.
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