Community college has never been considered the pinnacle of higher education. Often the students are attending part-time while maintaining employment, or they are simply not ready for a full university. To that end, community college has been a place to start, and then transfer, to receive a degree. That’s because most community colleges do not offer four year programs. But should that change?
With the introduction of President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative, there is a push for American to roll out more college graduates than any other country. To that end, the President has authorized a $12 billion payout to community colleges around the country.
The idea is that the initiative will help fund prospective students. But this plan does not help cover the cost of a university. So does it make sense for community colleges to start offering 4 year degrees? Just this month, Polk Community College in Winter Haven Florida changed their name to Polk State College after the decision to offer four-year degrees to students.
Polk is leading the charge in what is sure to be a mass expansion of community colleges moving into offering full four-year programs. And this makes sense. College has become increasingly competitive. Universities have tightened their admissions standards, leaving many out of the mix. By expanding community college to offer four-year degrees, you would open the possibility of universities expanding their focus of graduate level programs, thereby allowing even more people to earn Masters degrees and PhD’s.
But not everyone is happy with the new direction of community college. “We have our distinct missions. The two-year and the four-year institutions are very different.” says Michael Boulus, Executive Director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan.
But advocates point that the price difference between a traditional four-year degree program at a university is often 300% – 400% higher than a community college. And considering the massive debt college students often find themselves in, it makes sense to offer lower cost programs. Millions of former college students are drowning in student loan debt, community college four-year degrees offer a low cost alternative that version that could me a bigger difference than other initiative in higher education.
