Community Colleges Challenge The Hierarchy
17 states now allow community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees:
NY TIMES -- Florida leads the way, with 14 community colleges authorized to offer bachelor’s degrees, and 12 already doing so, in fields as varied as fire safety management and veterinary technology. But nationwide, 17 states, including Nevada, Texas and Washington, have allowed community colleges to award associate’s and bachelor’s degrees, and in some, the community colleges have become four-year institutions (see map above). Others states are considering community college baccalaureates.
In most cases, the expanding community colleges argue that they are fulfilling a need, providing four-year degrees to working people who often lack the money or the time to travel to a university. But some of those universities are fighting back, saying the community colleges are involved in “mission creep” that may distract them from their traditional mission and lead to watered-down bachelor’s degrees.
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> Although a growing number of American students arrive in college with several Advanced Placement credits, the College Board discusses that program not as a route to early graduation, but rather as a tool to promote on-time graduation.
That's because AP tests don't supplant the @%$@#% idiot general ed requirements of colleges. All taking an AP test in English gets you is the need to take a harder course in English to graduate -- it's not like it gets applied to the actual Gen Ed requirements for graduation itself.
Gen Ed requirements aren't about basic knowledge at graduation, they're about full employment for Brown Nose graduates -- students in majors like "English" and "History" who don't actually have any abiliities in those fields, so they get advanced degrees and become professors.
If you let people opt out of them by studying and taking mere tests, then how will you fill the sections needed to justify those grad students and the professors?
"...universities are fighting back, saying the community colleges are involved in “mission creep” that may distract them from their traditional mission and lead to watered-down bachelor’s degrees."
I agree, only universities should be allowed to award watered-down bachelor's degrees. After all, universities have thirty years of experience at increasing the dilution factors of their BS degrees.
Except for a few degrees (mostly science and engineering) from a few schools, bachelor's degrees have lost most of their value. BS degrees are so worthless that some health care specialties now require masters degrees.
In Washington state there are seven community colleges offering bachelors degress in one specific area. They are mostly nursing degrees with two hosptitality management positions. Only one of them is fairly good and that is Bellevue Community Collge with 36,000 students. The course work is rigorous and students who already have four year degrees from universities are a substantial percentage of the nursing program.
The nursing profression requires an obvious health sciences program but also the ability to manage the wide variety of electronic instruments being used in health care today. The community colleges are excellent trade schools, GED and college introductory institutions but earning a bachelor's degree at them is degree inflation. If you are in a hospital and your nurse is a graduate of the University of Washington Nursing School then you should be confident in your nursing care for that shift at least.
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community colleges to award associate’s and bachelor’s degrees,
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When Universities are reserved for naturally gifted, serious students during their pursuit of advanced degrees, then local community colleges should have early start programs for the gifted to enter before finishing high school. With local citizens having more control over their colleges and more input into undergraduate curriculum thus the university hopefuls will be better prepared for eventual university placement. When you see wider distribution across out nation of educational resources then universities can concentrate on the serious side of graduate schools. Many companies need less expensive colleges for their company training and vocational programs. Stronger community colleges will provide strength to our country and respective communities. With most high schools operating as diploma mills we need more allocation towards community colleges.
Grazia,
A
Why not get bachelor's degrees in Community College? My son is going to have an associates degree when finishes High School.
Hey Steep,
I would like wish good luck to your son because it's not easy
Good Luck to your son !
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