The concept for community colleges began in the latter part of the nineteenth century with a period of time that is coined as the “Great Scare” a period of economic depression in Europe and North America. Rev. J.M. Carroll then president of Baylor assembled a meeting of the Baptist colleges in Texas and Louisiana to address the issues of lack of finances to support the Baptist institutions in both states. Carroll introduced the idea that the smaller colleges reduce their curriculums to just two years and Baylor University would provide both the third and fourth years. This reduction required fewer resources in which they would need to operate drastically reducing the cost.
William Rainey Harper then president of the University of Chicago
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believing that the American liberal arts college lacked the adequate rigor and did not meet the standard of university level work. Harper would go on to help to construct, strengthen and mold the first two years of undergraduate study into what became known as the Junior College. Harper did not stop there, urging the denominational schools to reduce their curriculums to two years, then send their students to the university, Harper also pushed for high schools to add the first two years of college. Two men by the name of S.V. Hedgepeth and J. Stanley Brown member of Harper's congregation and superintendent of high schools in Goshen, Indiana, and Joliet, Illinois took Harper up on his plan and developed junior colleges within their high schools. This led to to the establishment of Joliet Junior College in 1901. The development of Joliet Junior College is significant because Joliet is recognized as the oldest community college in America. Community colleges began to appear in smaller rural areas as community leaders wanted to replicate the institutions associated with civic life, “a comprehensive high school, a library, a hospital, a courthouse and a college” (Pederson 502).
In the early years, community colleges generally had less than 200 students focusing on liberal arts education. This began to change as community colleges would begin to move toward more vocational curriculums in the late nineteenth century to serve the needs of the communities especially in the area of teacher training a move that would increase the access and enrollment of women in these …show more content…
institutions. Community colleges due to their popularity experienced a period of regulation. System reformers wanted shift junior colleges away from the liberal arts and from their role of providing the first two years of college instruction and toward “terminal vocation” (Thelin –H 250). Advocates of this regulation wanted the community colleges to align with the initiatives of the state universities. The great Depression helped to change the philosophy of community colleges as they began to offer job training to help curb the widespread unemployment that symbolized this period in American history.
At the conclusion of WWII, the US converted from a military economical industry to one based on consumer goods created more skilled jobs. This transition combined with the influx of veterans due to the GI Bill pushed a movement for more options in higher education. In 1948 President Truman formed a commission to create a network of community colleges to serve the needs of the community. The Carnegie commission of 1970 called for a community college to be within driving distance of every adult. Combined with these commissions the Higher Education Act of 1964 and the amendments to the act helped community colleges to grow to meet the demands of WWII
generation. Today community colleges are seen as the center of educational opportunity providing access to many people regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or previous academic experience. The term “comprehensive” has been applied to many community colleges today. Providing students with transfer opportunity, career, developmental and continuing education along with industry training. The community college has come a long way from its roots. Originally they were normal schools which provided mostly teacher education which originated in Massachusets. Community colleges historically have been the bastion of access far more than 4-year traditional institutions. Dubbed an “American Invention” community colleges provide access to half of all minorities undergrad students and 40% of students who live in poverty according to the American Association of Community Colleges. This open access not only benefits community college attendance but other sections of higher education. In closing, community colleges have added a significant role in expanding higher education offerings. By offering a practical curriculum, which serves the needs of a complex and technical society it has been lauded by the Federal Government for its service to the disabled, unemployed and those needing basic education.
These junior colleges were reorganized into community colleges with the broader function of serving the needs of their communities’ educational needs. The greatest growth in American higher education came after World War II with the passage of the G.I. Bill in 1944. To help readjust society to peacetime and reintegrate returning service people into domestic life, this bill provided federal funds for veterans for education. Seven million, eight hundred thousand veterans took advantage of this bill’s assistance to attend technical schools, colleges and universities. This increased growth in higher education enrollments that has continued through today.
I always wanted to attend to an important college. To me, that meant that the smartest people has to be there and one that had good reputation. After research and research I understood that my life have changed since I got to the United States. As an international student my opportunities were less, since I do not qualify for financial aid. My choices were less, but i realized that that does not stop me in going to college and prepare myself to be someone in life. I do not need to be at the most important college to prove myself how worth it I am. A two-year community college would let me prepare myself for much less cost and with great opportunities. Glendale Community College a small college would be the best place for me as a student. It is a place where I can get more attention for the teachers and I could pursue my career in medicine.
For something seemingly so obvious, it is often left out of the conversation. Rick Perlstein wrote about the change in “student life” and how it is “no longer all that important”(Perlstein), and Liz Addison wrote mostly about culture and the available beginning. Both fail to give justice to the central idea of increasing your level of education. Due to this idea, I disagree with part of Addison’s argument. If the purpose is to increase education, then how can two years be better than four? Technically speaking, an associate degree from community college is half of what a bachelors degree would be from a four year university. While everything has a starting point, where it finishes if often what is most important. The value of a start in community college, in my opinion, is that you can eventually get into a four year school you could not previously have gone to. I imagine Addison brings up her degree from the university she attended before mentioning the two community colleges she
... through the years after the Great Depression the Unites States staked a claim in the educational advancement of its citizenship in order to build a strong economy. However, unlike years past, public ownership and support of higher education has decreased in the face of growing inflation and the nations changing economy.
This GI Bill in turn created a major expansion of the nation's higher education system and made college a cornerstone of middle-class American life. Although the GI Bill is still in existence, the effects of the bill has been limited due to the high costs of college today. A plan that was once extremely successful is no longer as effective. Free education, during this time, did, in fact, create jobs and improve the economic standing of America and can still help societies
After World War II, the nation was focused on the promotion of democracy throughout the world. In 1946, President Harry Truman mandated a commission on higher education. The first federal commission on higher education in US history, submitted a report a year later and argued two fundamentals for higher education: equal opportunity and to educate the citizens. Philo Hutcheson (2011), an Associate Professor of Educational Policy Studies at Georgia State University, explained the principles as: first, to promote “equal opportunity as a social economic good” (p. 45) and the latter to educate individuals so they can “make wise choices, especially in the face of totalitarian threats” (p. 45) after the war.
In the early 1600s, America was given the opportunity of higher education. As decades flew by universities grew and flourished to a point where it’s no longer a struggle to be admitted into a university, and it’s also more accessible to pay for, such as student loans, federal loans, scholarships and grants (Kirszner). Since attending university has become an essential to most high school graduates, universities have welcomed larger classes. A common argumentative debate when it comes to college is whether every American should attend. An example of someone who believes college is only for a handful of individuals is Charles Murray. Murray wrote, “What’s Wrong with Vocational School?” an article published in 2007 for the Wall Street
Going to college and getting a degree is a very important factor in succeeding in the 21st century competitive world. Nonetheless, many people do not go to college because of how expensive col-lege has become and the fear of being in debt. Sometimes college does not work out for every-one. President Barack Obama has proposed a plan to make the first two years of community col-lege free to encourage people to go to college, get a degree, and make the United States the most educated country or at least catch up to the rest of the countries like Russia and Canada. Howev-er, Obama 's action of reducing the costs of community college will not significantly increase the number of students who will graduate with degrees. Instead of making college
Community colleges have been tool used by many American students and families as a means of affordable education for better life for themselves and their children. Community colleges has played a big role in helping middle and lower income families who can 't afford to go to 4 years colleges ,the chance to educate themselves and their children. Community college was created in order to give basic liberal , technical and vocational education to all willing to be educated.
While universities can range from having 20-1000 participants at a time, community colleges usually have no more than 50 participants in a class. As a result of such a large class size, it is harder for a professor to be able to develop the one-on-one time with a student. Due to most community colleges having a lower number of participants, it becomes easier for a student to reach out and ask questions and receive proper answers.
With tuition rising every year, students face the challenge paying the debt achieving a college degree comes with. “Student debt surpassed credit-card debt in June 2010 for the first time in history, rising to about $830 billion — or nearly 6 percent of the nation 's annual economic output”(Clemmitt, Marcia). Not everyone has a ton of money just laying around. Being that financial trouble is the biggest problem for students, they begin to question whether college is worth it or not. In recent years, students have taken out loans to help with expenses. Most students choose to attend a community and junior college to help minimize the debt. Even after graduating with a degree, students still face the struggle of finding a job in this economic time. For higher class families this may not be a problem to them. But for the middle class and low income families, they face tougher times being that they don 't have the financial help like higher class families do. For the middle class and low income families, it makes more sense attending a community and junior college rather than a four year university.
According to the Oxford Dictionaries a college is “a school offering a general liberal arts curriculum leading only to a bachelor’s degree”. It shows how tuition cost is increasing every year and its making students to take loans. That climb in educational cost is primarily due to a limited extent in most colleges need and they also require more cash to stay on the top in today’s world. Most of the times it’s really hard for the students to attend a school that has high tuition and other expenses. For example, The University of New Hampshire is one of only 22 universities that cost more than $20,000 for tuition in America. They also say school graduate usually has exceptional interpersonal skills and they can accomplish any milestone in their life. The college tuition usually increases because of the rise in peoples salaries in all over the United States of America. If college tuition does not increase, it will diminish a lot of jobs and there will be a decrease in worker’s
I agree with … that community college is a real college because students have to work really hard to earn their real diplomas and get real jobs. Many students try to transfer from community college to cal states, or real university to get bachelor degree, while students who are going to community college enroll in a real work force program and get more experiment to go straight to real jobs. For example, I had a bestfriend who was major in nursing. She has participated in a nursing program in a college where she studying. At there, she learned both the theory and practice. With her hard work trying to learning, she was practicing at a hospital. After she finish two years in college, she got a associate degree for nursing and she was admitted
Professors changed up their teaching styles and more career focused classes were offered to women. Solomon further explains this by describing a classroom setting, “the controlled dull recitation format was supplanted in part by lectures and group seminars. (pg.88).” Now more professors wanted to be engaging and home economics—where students learn about proper care for a child, knitting and more, classes were being offered. More specifically though race made it extremely harder for some women pursing a higher education. Jeanne Noble, an author in a book titled “Women and Higher Education in American History,” describes black women as being frustrated. “Many black college women describe feelings of alienation and frustration whenever they attempt to relate to black men and white women with whom they are grouped in affirmative action plans. (pg. 99).” Women had it tough from beginning to end. Black women had to get into college and consistently compare themselves to men and white women, but there were always differences among each group. Even if the goal of a college degree was the same some people faced different hardships then others because of sex, race and
Women have had quite a few hurdles to get over since the 1950's. In 1958 the proportion of women attending college in comparison with men was 35 percent. (Friedan,