In this uncertain economy that still remains rife with unemployment, hundreds of thousands of out-of-work blue-and white-collar professionals, competing for scarce jobs available, are facing the need to continue their training , expand their skills or, in some cases the career change altogether. Many of them are returning to school, some for their first university degree, others to get a degree or higher could give a summary of their much-needed competitive edge in a crowded market.
The demand for the convenience of an online university degree …
In recent years, many “nontraditional” students who can not attend conventional classes at the university’s resident student full-time schedule – working parents, students returning old student holding down a part-time or full-time work – have gravitated to online degree programs that allow students to work toward a college degree from home (or anywhere with a computer and an Internet connection) and your own hours. Accredited schools and online programs have grown, so have the number of students pursuing a college degree online.
These online degrees, however, can often be expensive, require many students to take a significant amount of money in student loans and private student loans. And some universities have continued to offer online associate degrees and certificate programs only, no bachelor’s or advanced degrees. As competition for jobs has intensified in a declining economy, many professionals seeking work have found that their two years of college degree is against four years of university degrees and professional.
… and the demand for reducing the costs of the programs Community College
Community colleges have traditionally offered low-income and non-traditional students from low-cost, easy switch, and part-time on-line alternative to the expensive university degrees and full-time four-year colleges and universities. But two years of community college level has raised the same problems two years as a college degree online: When it is against the degrees of four years in a job search, two years of grades are simply not as competitive.
Four years of Community Colleges offer a solution cost of convenience
Now, however, students are finding an increasing number of degree of four years, the options in community colleges. As more community colleges to respond to increasing student demand for affordable higher education, expanding their programs to include four years of undergraduate degree and applied, new and returning students are increasingly able to get the pedigree of an academic title of four years with much of the flexibility it offers degree programs online, but at a lower cost of community college education.
Degree Programs Expanding Community Colleges
Florida currently leads the nation with 14 community colleges authorized to award bachelor’s, reports The New York Times, with 12 schools that have done so in areas such as management of fire safety and health technology ( “Community Colleges With hierarchical Challenge 4-Year Degrees, “May 2, 2009). The country, 17 states, including Nevada, Texas and Washington, community colleges have been granted the authority to award associate and bachelor’s degree.
In some states, community colleges have become four-year institutions to facilitate their new long program. Miami Dade College in Florida – formerly known as Miami Dade Community College – more than 1,000 students are enrolled in schools for degree programs. The average age of these students is 33.
LaKisha Coleman, a Miami Dade student who will graduate with a degree in management of public safety this spring, it is recommended to the school for family members of their advantages over the traditional four years of a degree program at universities state or private.
“It is much cheaper, the teachers are good, you can do at night while you work, and everyone is very helpful,” said Coleman, The New York Times.
Applied Another growing Community College Degree Offering
In today’s economy, at a time when students have fewer financial resources to cover the costs of college and their employment prospects are uncertain, the school applied is becoming a popular option for students, said Debra Bragg, the director of the Forum on the Future of Public Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
They often focus on academic or applied science and applied technology, a BA will implement a four-year bachelor’s degree can be obtained in both two and four years, the institutions, including technical colleges and community colleges. Unlike in a bachelor’s conventional universities in four years, however, the technical and applied baccalaureate degree with grade-level credit courses, allowing the community college students to keep their costs low and reduce the current minimum need for student loans or other financial assistance.
“Applied baccalaureate programs in community colleges can be used by students seeking a career that is emerging, or for adults who have college credits in the past and are looking to re-enter the university, often to advance their careers at a supervisory level, “says Bragg.
Since 2000, the number of states that offer applied baccalaureate degree has doubled, reports the University of Illinois. Currently, 39 states offer the degree.
The “real world” approach to implementing programs and high school course is aimed at grooming students to meet the projected needs of the country in areas where large concentrations of jobs were lost due to outsourcing, declining manufacturing base, or a change in local industry.
“A baccalaureate applied represents a viable way for someone who previously had not thought about earning a bachelor’s degree,” says Bragg, “but now sees it as a necessary step to achieve and maintain a good job with benefits.”
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