I recently saw a post on LinkedIn where a young lady was congratulating her daughter for graduating high school AND coming away with an associate's degree from a local community college! This was an amazing accomplishment, and I thought to myself "Wow!, what an opportunity!".
Honestly, this isn't the first time I've heard of it, and I know of some schools and districts who are having their students take advantage of this...
I just wish that more schools would take advantage of an opportunity like this...
The way I see it, what better way to help students out academically AND financially than to give students' this route to further their education.
Community colleges are a great resource and provide students with an opportunity to further their education without breaking the bank (of course, there are students in our society who can't even afford to go to community college, more on that later.). They also provide future students the opportunity to come away with a degree AND the opportunity to continue to a four-year school! You can even receive scholarships from four-year schools if you do well. Community colleges can allow you to fortify a foundation of learning at the post-secondary level while earning a degree that will lead you to accomplish a goal; obtaining a degree.
Now, this idea is being brought into high schools. Students are getting an opportunity to earn an Associate's degree WHILE going to school. Bergen County Community College in NJ, for example, has an early college program that provides a pathway to make this happen. Several school districts are already on board and taking advantage of this opportunity, but I think this should be a pathway that all schools should really look into...
Why?
Because as institutions of education, providing opportunities for our students to be successful is one of our greatest responsibilities. Earning an associate's degree WHILE in high school helps students come away with a tangible degree ahead of their peers. It can be an automatic outlet to the workforce, which can set recent graduates for higher earnings right out of high school. Increasing their marketability and financial opportunities, especially to students in low socio-economic districts, where resources are critical, can really be impactful to students and their families.
This also helps students ease the financial burden of student loans, which have really strapped students going to college. It's well documented that community colleges are less expensive than four-year institutions, so why would you want to financially burden yourself with additional loans for the same degree. Think about this, if you decide that you want to go to a four-year college after obtaining an associate's degree, wouldn't you like to go for much less than what you would have paid for by entering the four-year school from the start? Had I thought of that instead of going into a four-year private college as a freshman, I'd be less hampered by student loans! Community college is going to be an option for my kids because I don't want them hampered by the burden of student loans. Also, depending on the state, community colleges are now being set up to be tuition-free for students. That is a game-changer, especially for students who cannot afford to go to college!
Finally, how would you like to cut the amount of time you go to college in half? This opportunity provides students not to waste two years of their time and go right into learning, exploring, and working (if that's your route). It is not an easy route, though. Getting into this program means lots of time after school taking courses and doing college-level work. However, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, especially cutting the amount of time you spend in higher ed. For those of you who say that they'll miss out on the "college experience", if they go to a four-year school afterward, they'll get it then. they'll still get the experience of working in a group and make friends, as most of these are done in cohorts.
Let's be clear....I'm not a spokesperson for community colleges. School districts should look at their local community colleges and see what are the benefits and drawbacks of having students attend that institution. Regardless, it would be a great dialogue to have on both sides. There are many benefits to having programs such as these, and I can only see this as a win-win for students and the schools that serve them. From the K-12 side, if you could make this happen, you should! It's this type of innovative opportunity that we always talk about, but rarely ever act on. Kudos to those who have!
That's the way I see it
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