Introduction
Community colleges are specific types of educational buildings that allow students finishing their school to join together and learn approximately the same disciplines for their future. Educational facilities and other entertainment services are available for undergraduates and adults living in the local area. For example, in the United States, community colleges usually have a specification in one area to avoid long-lasting education in four-year academies with unneeded subjects for the students’ careers (Stevens et al., 2019). Career technical education (CTE) is one of the most popular in the USA as it allows young professionals who finish school to gain technical knowledge and start working right after graduation (Stevens et al., 2019).
The term community college has different meanings and values in other countries, but in most cases, students do not need specific knowledge to enter these educational institutes. Additionally, many countries allow these educational organizations to provide students with certificates that are almost equal to the university degree but with some limitations. Community colleges can be a good alternative for young adults who want to start working after finishing their basic education.
Discussion
One of the main values of every community college is the process of education and enrollment strategy. Due to the fact that every person in the United States should finish their school education, this type of college allows almost everyone to join their studying process without specific testing or interviews. Even though students start paying more attention to the subject they need in their future career, a wide range of other classes should be accomplished by the end of their two-year education. The responsibility always lies on students, and teachers rarely take attendance. However, it is important to learn all the material and be prepared for the final exams. Carignan (2021) has explained the work of these educational organizations in the example of Mount Wachusett Community College, which remains affordable for people of every social class and helps students with different backgrounds receive valuable knowledge to be able to find a job. It is also appreciated that many community colleges allow international scholars to enter and pay the same amount as the citizens of the United States.
Student success is also one of the key values of the next level of education in the USA, and tutors are interested in students’ general level of knowledge. To support this value and ensure that people receive enough support from teachers, a lot of investment goes into introducing new equipment used in everyday work during seminars and workshops. The cut in the number of extra classes not related to technical skills makes students more motivated, and they can maintain this interest for two years (Hatch et al., 2018). Success is also defined by the fact that all pupils have approximately the same aims. They can share their knowledge while studying time or on breaks to make the environment more academic and interesting for young people. It was stated by Hatch et al. (2018) that many students come to community colleges with a background, and they already know what they want to do in their lives. Therefore, they stay productive and active, and their level of success beats traditional four-year colleges in the United States.
Every community college proposes unique values that should be followed and accepted by workers and students. For example, Delaware County Community College states seven main values that are crucial for goal achievement. Learning should always go first; students’ success is the primary focus. Moreover, students with different levels of knowledge, social position, and skin color are welcomed to the community college. It is also important for tutors to show all their respect and avoid negative communication. This aspect leads to the next value, which is honesty and trust. A positive environment in the college can help to continue developing courses and other educational services to ensure the quality of the proposed information. The value may vary across these educational organizations, but the main ideas remain the same. Students enter these colleges to feel supported, gain knowledge, and stay surrounded by like-minded people. Therefore, these key values described by the Delaware County Community College create one main value for all colleges: related to the student’s performance.
Community colleges, like many other educational organizations, have advantages and disadvantages and can influence the main value. For instance, the benefits of community colleges are the decreased time spent on education and the maintenance of motivation. Additionally, every student can find their field of interest based on their level of knowledge. Workers in these centers avoid mixing different experiences and abilities to achieve better results. It is also beneficial for people who already have work to enter the college as their timetables are flexible and there is no need to spend a full day in the building. Students do not have to live on campus or travel every day as they can work remotely. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it became easier to stay in the common environment and work more efficiently to achieve the colleges’ personal goals and values. Those who have never worked part-time or full-time can also benefit from the education at community college as one of the main roles of these organizations is to prepare students for the workforce. Therefore, it becomes easier for young professionals to mix their working and professional lives.
However, such negative side of community colleges as poor reputation, makes people less interested in this type of education. Even though the mission of community colleges is clear and attractive, some organizations need help to meet their objectives and satisfy the needs of students. The prices may unreasonably increase when the quality of education stays the same. Moreover, tutors in these colleges cannot provide people with the information that can be received in universities because of a lack of personal experience and education in the industry.
Therefore, students may not receive enough information to gain a highly-paid job. There might be a need to enter a university or traditional college to ensure that huge organizations with stable working positions will accept the level of knowledge. Because community colleges accept almost every person, there might be a gap between those who want to improve their skills and those who enter because they need more scores to enter the university. Some community colleges might suffer from a huge number of students who enter without specific purposes to ensure that they receive any type of degree for their future.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the general representation of community colleges may make people believe that it is a good alternative to four-year colleges. Moreover, the value related to the achievement of the student’s success can motivate new professionals to mix their professional and college lives. However, the reality is usually different, and the variation in social classes makes it complicated to achieve the main mission and meet the criteria of the key values. While students have a chance to receive a degree equal to the university level, the accuracy of knowledge might not be significant due to the inadequate preparation of tutors. Community colleges in the USA should pay attention to the processes that cause the values’ failure or success. Consequently, the expectation can meet the reality, and the general appearance of the colleges will not be negatively affected by the poor experience of students.
References
Carignan, N. (2021). Community college: How it works. Mountain Wachusett Community College. Web.
Delaware County Community College (n. d.). Values. Delaware County Community College. Web.
Hatch, D. K., Mardock-Uman, N., & Johnson, M. (2018). Best laid plans: How community college students success courses work. Community College Review, 46(2), 115-144. Web.
Stevens, A. H., Kurlaender, M., & Grosz, M. (2019). Career technical education and labor market outcomes. The Journal of Human Resources, 54(4), 986-1036. Web.