Community College Myths: An Explanation of Misconceptions

When people think of the open enrollment community college, many times it is a negative connotation. These Community Colleges are the catch-all for the people who just aren't ready for the traditional college path. Really, the Community College is much more than that. These schools have excellent two year degree programs that prepare many people for the work force. They also save students money, and prepare them to be successful in a four year degree program. Community Colleges get a lot of undue flack.

First and foremost, these colleges do not just let anyone in. Yes they make it possible for more people to have the opportunity to take classes through their school. Still, they have some basic criteria to measure against. The student has to show that he or she has an ability to benefit from the classes offered at the college. Many of these schools have remedial classes. The levels that the remedial classes start at will vary from college to college. Let's say the remedial classes start at fourth grade math, and seventh grade reading and writing levels. The student will need to take an assessment test to determine if they meet these standards. If they do, the test will also let the school know where the student's skill level is, so they can place the student in the proper classes.

Second, Community Colleges do not have sub par instructors. These Community Colleges usually have the same accreditation as the four year Universities in the area. That means the criteria for hiring faculty is the same at both places. In the Midwest, many schools have an accreditation from the North Central Association. With this accreditation, you need at least a Master's Degree in the area of study (or a comparable field) to teach program level General Education classes. To teach remedial classes, you need to have at least a Bachelor's Degree in that subject or a related area with at least with a minimum of nine hours in that concentration. These rules apply regardless of the type of institution.

Another Community College myth is that transferring your credits will be a nightmare. This has actually some a long was in recent years. More and more four year universities are creating articulation agreements with community colleges. That means they have standing transfer agreements on what classes will transfer in as what. Some schools have it broken down even further with articulation agreements on specific programs. Basically these say that if you complete your whole associated degree at the community college, the four year school will transfer in your whole degree. You will start at that institution as a junior. If the college you want to transfer to does not have an agreement with the community college, as long as you did your homework and made sure that the four year school has the same accreditation, or accepts the accreditation of the community college, you should be in luck.

Community Colleges have come a long way in the past twenty years. Most states even have a community college system in place. That means the transfer and program options will just keep growing.