The Community College of America covers this country college by college and community by a community (Addison, pg. 257). In the article “Community Colleges Offer a Smooth Transition” by Dale Schlundt the article kept repeating that with community colleges offer a smooth route to the transition from high school to the “new world” of college. Compared to their university peers, community college faculty are popularly constructed as advanced high school teachers with less teaching qualifications, credentials, or pedagogical preparation (Alexander, Karvonen, Ulrich, Davis, & Wade, 2012; Grubb, 1999; Townsend & Twombly,2007) (Flynn,2017, p.71).
The point of this strategy is to boost retention and in turn completion. The goal is to establish a culture of student success at City Colleges that will improve the lives of the students, their communities and cities. Each of these strategies are currently being carried out by the Reinvention7 Initiative and the creation of Student GPS (Guided Pathways to Success). In each of these areas, they describe a number of more tactical actions that are focused on a five year plan: Increasing relevance Increase the relevance of the work a student does at City Colleges: Ensure that the courses of study that students embark on will advance their goal of a meaningful career or transfer.
In the essay “Two Years Are Better than Four” written by Liz Addison, the main purpose of the essay is to get the point across to the readers that community colleges are very sensible and useful for the public. Addison argues that community colleges are a great way for anyone to begin somewhere and to give anyone a starting point. Community colleges will take anyone who has graduated from high school and is wanting to advance in there schooling, but not sure in what field. Community colleges allow students to have more financial freedom and still offer a quality higher education. Addison explains her reasoning to why she believes in the importance of community colleges because of her personal experiences with two different community colleges
She attended two of them and has a major in biology from the Southern Maine Community College, which makes it easier for her to connect with her audience because she knows what the experience is like. She understands that some people may rule out going to college because of the price, so it’s important for her to inform them that there are cheaper alternatives with community colleges. “ ‘College is the key,’ a young African American student writes for the umpteenth torturous revision of his college essay, ‘as well as hope.’ Oh, I wanted desperately to say, please tell him about community college. Please tell him that help can begin with just one placement test,” she pleads (Addison, 213).
After listening to the wisdom of Husky, one can recognize that he offers valuable insights, but also provides some inaccurate information regarding academic affairs in community college. Beginning with the valuable information, he is correct when he states that the cost of community college, in both tuition and price-per-credit, is significantly lower than a four-year institution. He is also partly correct about the curriculum. For students enrolled with the intention of transferring to a four-year institution, general education courses in the liberal arts are offered that will transfer to their desired school. He explains that these liberal arts courses are generally smaller than those offered at larger schools, and provide for more interaction with the instructor – both claims are true.
“Choosing a college is not easy; the administration should stop implying that it should be.”- Patricia McGuire, President, Trinity Washington University. Every person who has attended a college in lifetime knows this. Although, Annie’s idea has a potential of revolutionizing the Education industry
In the article “Two Years are Better than Four,” Liz Addison argues that community college is better than four year universities, such as the one Rick Perlstein attended. Where Perlstein reminisces about his days in college and claims that the greatness of American colleges is gone. Addison makes it apparent to the reader that she not only disagrees with Perlstein, but makes remarks suggesting that she believes that Perlstein’s college days were less for studying and more for partying and enjoying the fact that he went to a fancy private college. Addison continues by detailing some of the opportunities for people that attend community college such as being affordable, a place for the student to begin, and possibly a better match for students’ lives. She claims that this is the way college is intended to be and by no means is college as we knew it coming to an end.
Addison’s tone is also optimistic when she adds that “the community college system is America’s hidden public gem,” and that “they offer a network of affordable future, of accessible hope, and an option to dream.” Through this remark, Addison not only exhibits a hopeful tone but, also makes others optimistic that community college is an option for them. She does such by listing that it is “affordable,” meaning achievable for those that don’t have much, as well as, being a place to “dream.” This shows that in and after community college, there are opportunities
Community college is accessible to everyone who wants to go to college for a better price than what a 4-year university might cost. Addison corroborates this idea by saying, “The community colleges of America cover this country college by college and community by community. They offer a network of affordable future, of accessible hope, and an option to dream.” The essence of Addison’s argument is that students don’t have to spend a small fortune to have a future, it can be affordable, and it is within reach. Community college can be a good choice for those who are afraid to spend a lot of money just to have an education.
Free community college should be supported because it will not only advance careers and education, but it will help the nation’s economy, build a stable government, and more importantly, give fulfillment to American
Can Two Be Greater Than Four? Does college really matter? Has college lost its rite to passage appeal? Can one still go to college and be successful in the pursuit of self-discovery? These are the types of questions that Liz Addison challenges in her short essay “Two Years Are Better Than Four”. By taking into account my own experience as a current community college student and advocate, in this response to Addison’s essay I choose to elaborate on her views of community college being better than a four year university in the sense of offering a better college experience.
However, it is still an issue for students to cough up that money. The idea of making community college free to any student in America has been a dream for low income students for a while. President Obama’s desire to make the tuition of community college to everyone in the nation would only make it difficult for students to get a free education, limit them to essential resources, and discourage students from applying to four year universities. Granting free community college tuition to incoming freshmen will draw “more students to already crowded community colleges”. Along with the overcrowded campuses, a very long waiting list will soon form making it just as competitive to get into a four year university.
In the United States a community college is defined as a nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. They are post secondary schools and are also referred to as junior colleges, vocational or technical schools because generally the course of study is for two years. The student can earn an associates degree or certification and/or continue their education by transfering to a four year college to complete their educational pursuits and earn a Bachelor 's degree. Community colleges started in the late 1800’s and have grown and evolved over the years. Today many four year colleges and universities have become so expensive to attend that many prospective students are opting for the more affordable alternative of a community college for their first two years of study where they can save money by living at home and taking classes that will transfer to a four year institution, however, there are students that cannot afford the lower cost of community colleges.
There are many different people in community college including veterans, of marital and maternal status, and middle-aged men wanting to improve their employment prospects (Hanks). Hanks shows how diverse and ambitious the community college environment is. One might object that the efficiency of the student might decline because of how social the college is and how prone the students are to distractions at a community college. To some extent this is true however, President Obama’s proposal prevents this from
After my senior year of high school I thought I was prepared to transition into college level writing, but of course there was still room for improvement. Throughout this semester I learned new things that I could incorporate in my writing like punctuation, having a good choice of quotes and word choice. Overall my writing skills have improved exceedingly. My punctuation has improved and I use it when it’s needed. In my This I Believe essay I put “I also believe that a child should not have to provide for their parents, that it should be the other way around, but in certain circumstances I understand one has to provide for the family.”
