Over the years, community college has gained a reputation for being the ‘easy’ alternative to the traditional college experience. Many sports orientated students feel that by enrolling at these schools, they can earn a degree while bypassing some of the stress and demand of attending a 4-year university. Unfortunately for these misguided students, community college is by no means easy, and in some cases, may even be as hard to complete as a four-year university.
In a recent study, six of ten students who enrolled at a community college to transfer to a four-year school, in fact, dropped out after their first semester. Instead of sliding through what they thought would be an easy first two years, these students hit the wall at the beginning because they underestimated what was involved with community college. A primary reason for this high dropout rate is the difficulty of courses. Contrary to popular belief, community colleges can be quite challenging.
Most community college programs require students to demonstrate an ability to succeed in traditional subjects such as math and English. These courses can prove problematic if you’ve been away from it for a while. A significant portion of community college students are adults who have been away from school for a while, and their skills in areas like arithmetic, grammar may have lapsed with time.
Required courses can also be necessary for a specific major or program. Almost all academic fields have courses that the school has deemed essential. They are often difficult and cannot be avoided. If you don’t pass these, you cannot earn your degree. Examples include an anatomy course in an allied health program or an accounting course for students studying business management.
Difficult courses can force students to either withdraw from and/or re-take the class. This has a serious impact on your future chances of graduation. Statistically, it’s been shown that withdrawing from or re-taking twenty percent or more of your classes reduces your chances of graduating by over half.
Community college courses feature an abundance of unique assignments and projects. No matter what major you choose, you can expect a combination of quizzes, exams, essays, group projects, and presentations to complete as a part of your coursework. Your area of study determines the type of assignment you encounter. For example, students taking a design course will have most of their grade determined by a mid-term and comprehensive final project. Meanwhile, a psychology program from the same school might not include a final exam but rather grades students based on a series of essays, tests, and presentations. It could also feature a series of smaller exams spread throughout the semester. Depending on how you learn, this may make completing a course much harder. Long essays can be difficult for students who are not experienced writers, and students who have problems with public speaking may struggle with making presentations.
Regardless of subject matter, community college courses are intended to be engaging. Large universities may seat hundreds of students for a single lecture class. Community colleges have an average class enrollment of somewhere from 25 to 30 students. Rather than listen to a professor lecture for an hour, classes often consist of discussion, group work, and various cooperative projects.
Many community colleges also grade their students based on their participation and attendance, meaning you can’t just slide into the back of the classroom and chill out while the teacher talks. You’ll be expected to show up for every class and make meaningful contributions to the class discussion. Failure to do so will almost certainly affect your grade. This often-overlooked aspect of community college can take precious points off your final grade. If you’re hovering between a passing and failing grade, poor attendance and a lack of participation could prevent you from passing.
Many instructors and professors who choose to teach at community colleges do so as a part-time job, meaning they have jobs during the day and teach these courses on the side. Sometimes their jobs are quite industry-specific. This means that your teachers can give you classwork and instruction based on what they’re experiencing in the real world right now. These instructors often teach because they are passionate about their subject. These professors are extremely knowledgeable and able to help students with many different types of questions or concerns.
The final element as to why community college courses can be as challenging as four-year university colleges involve the transfer of credit and articulation. Many students see community college as the first rung on the post high school academic ladder, with the idea that they will transfer to a university once they complete their Gen Ed requirements or earn their Associates Degree. Universities accepting those credits want to ensure that the courses that students complete are at the same academic level as the ones they offer. Check if the community college has an articulation agreement with the universities which you are considering long term.
An articulation agreement is a formal relationship between a community college and a four-year institution to create a seamless transfer process for students. Though many community colleges say they help their students transfer to four-year colleges and universities, only those with articulation agreements can absolutely guarantee admission. An articulation agreement is a signed legal contract that goes into great detail about guaranteed admission, acceptance of transfer credits, eligibility for scholarships, and academic course requirements.
These agreements help open communication lines between the community college and four-year institution to hammer out the details for what transfer students need to know. Articulation agreements are also known as transfer agreements or transfer guides. Still, the founding principle is the same: to provide students with a step-by-step guide for completing necessary course requirements and transferring credits to another school. Having these agreements in place, the community college is responsible for ensuring that the courses they offer are college caliber.
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