Just a quick mention, in relation to something I thought about while responding to a comment. I wonder why there isn’t a stronger push for community colleges in the DC metro area?
A little info on me. I have about 12 or 20 (I have to look) credit hours from my hometown community college. At least 4 credit hours I took while still in high school. The county school system had this great program where we could get a head start with college by taking courses at the CC (comm. coll.) free of charge. Since a huge bunch of us were going to go to Univ of Florida, FSU, FAMU, or another state university it was a great way to knock out some required courses for free. Later, I went to CC during the summers so I could get Cs in classes I was going to do badly in anyway, so why not get a C for about $29 a credit hour, vs a D (these were weed out classes) at $45 a credit hour?
My mom got her Certified Nurse’s Assistant (CNA) certificate from the CC, and that is what she’s doing now in her semi-retirement. My sister is a CC drop-out, but she was aiming for something in the veterinary field. So I’ve experienced and seen how CCs are useful in a community in helping people get jobs by giving them specific training. When I hear about job training around here, it (and please forgive my ignorance) doesn’t sound like more than advice on doing a job interview and introduction to a computer. And this goes back to another problem I mentioned before of the community trying or asked to support programs it has no direct dealings with, difficulty judging the efficacy of those programs. Basic skills have value, but I wonder how far it gets you in an environment where more workers have that skill set, plus this, that, and something else.
6 thoughts on “I went to community college”
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Community colleges definitely have a great role in cities. My siblings in-law, for example, went to a CC to knock out their pre reqs, saving money taking the same classes they would be taking at the state U. But in DC, I don’t think that we could pull off a CC program well. UDC is already a joke academically. (The facilities are no great shakes either.) A smaller institution with less funding is bound to fail.
I didn’t touch the topic of UDC because it is such a …. I’m at a loss for words. It produces lawyers that do go out in the world and practice law, so that’s the only practical profession that I know that it is useful in producing. I can’t say anything about the quality of those lawyers vs anywhere else. If that law degree helps you pass the bar and practice law for money be it working for the govt, chasing ambulances, divorcing couples, or finding loopholes for people, then UDC has served a purpose. Now for everyone who isn’t in the law school, I don’t know what.
If it could produce people where there is an actual demand, like RNs (so we don’t have to import them from the Phillipines), we would be closer to reducing the unemployment and giving people real marketable skills that they can use in DC, NYC, or CA.
UDC used to have a really good programs that trained EMTs, nurses, airline mechanics, master gardeners, gis for police officers, and speech theraphy. Hopefully it still does.
UDC used to have a really excellent and competitive co-op student program, where during your junior/senior year, you alternated working a semester and going to school. They were good paying professional jobs in your chosen field too.
I liked going there. I enjoyed going to classes with foreign students, and many of the younger professors were really good instructors.
I did not like the old guard “I got mine and you can go scratch” admimistrators and teachers that would coast in their jobs,and then snickered about UDC standing for the University of Dumb Children”
I have to say that I never understood, their logic in having paid scholarships for football and basketball players, but no childcare.
essee
UDC has a football team?
For other universities I understand the reasoning behind athletic scholarships.
Since posting this I did see according to the udc.edu site, that they do offer AA degrees and offer some nursing programs.
Community colleges played an important role in New York, both in NYC and upstate. I had plenty of friends who were not quite ready for a 4-year college, or did not have the grades for the 4-year of their choice, and went first to community college, then later transferred. Community colleges also provide a better fit for some — whether it’s because they are more interested in learning a skill, can’t afford a 4-year degree, or are going back at an older age to start a new career. DC Appleseed and the DC Fiscal Policy Institute just put out a report strongly recommending a CC system for DC. A Washington Times article, however, said it may be a pipe dream because we’ve spent all our money on a baseball stadium. I blogged more about it here: http://caryforcouncil.org/campaign/index.php?blog=9&title=educationalopportunity
It’s really sad. UDC could be a good school if it took itself seriously and the staff got off their butts an worked. They’re union – they don’t have to