How to Earn Your GED and College Degree Simultaneously

To mitigate the soaring costs of a college education, schools are striving to dramatically cut back on expenses in order to provide more affordable tuition for students. Fortunately, although educational costs are on the rise, new technologies are serving to fight back the expenses!

With an array of new tools and resources that can help lower a school’s energy and maintenance costs, community colleges across the country are embracing newer and revolutionary methods on their campuses.

How Green Technologies are Cutting the Costs of Community College

One of the fundamental ways in which schools are striving to save dollars on the costs of community college operations is through the implementation of solar energy. Specifically, as evident at North Shore Community College, located in Lynn, Massachusetts, leaders are installing new solar panels on the roof of one of its prominent campus building. With this innovative installation, these solar panels will help produce 3 percent of the school’s entire energy needs. Ultimately, this energy production will equate to approximately 74,726 kW each year! With both federal and state-funded support, North Shore is optimistic that their solar panels will help to cut costs and ecological wastes for all students on campus.

In addition to specifically implementing solar energy plans, many schools are striving to create a more holistic approach to going green to save money. For example, according to Green California Community College Summit, leaders are creating informative programs and seminars to teach community college students and faculty

As the government is now offering tax cuts and financial incentives for companies and individuals to “go green,” community college students are finding incredibly vast opportunities in the fields of environmental safety and studies.

The economy is predicting a new rise in “green collar workers,” and subsequently, more students are preparing for jobs in the field of renewing resources, eliminating corporate and facility emissions, and other “green” career avenues. If you want to enter a greener career path, consider starting at your local community college.

This video offers an overview of careers in sustainability.

Green Energy Careers

As the Los Angeles Times reports, the new studies in climate change and global warming are inspiring a whole new range of careers and collegiate studies; “Concern about climate change is galvanizing more undergraduate students to turn toward a subject involving science and engineering.”

In fact, many college students feel confident that an environmental educational pathway will lead to an array of job opportunities upon graduation. As President Obama is proposing a multibillion-dollar push to stimulate clean energy standards, the President is striving to improve the environment while also hoping to create millions of new “green collar” jobs.

Presenting that college engineering programs have dropped over 5 percent from 2003 to 2005, Obama argues that new environmental studies and engineering careers will be the key to boosting the country’s economic recovery. To help students pursue this

How safe are you on your community college’s campus? Many students have begun to express concern regarding their safety on campus, especially during off-peak hours.

For example, to take a night course at a community college, students are typically forced to either enter or leave class after sunset. With less light visibility and decreased crowds on campus in the evening, some students feel concerned about violence.

As a result, many students assert that they must take extra measures to ensure that they are well-protected. In light of this argument, some community college campuses are beginning to permit the carrying of personal handguns on campus.

This video looks at the question of students having guns on campus.

The Debate over College Campus Gun Regulations

Currently, most community college campuses do not allow the possession of a concealed handgun on campus. However, according to The Facts publication, college students in the state of Texas, who are above the age of 21, are now permitted to carry a gun on college campuses!

According to reports, in light of the public school and college violence in recent years, many students feel less protected when they’re attending classes. Specifically, upon the violent attacks on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007, many students began to protest school policies to fight for their right to carry a gun for protection. As 32 people were killed in the Virginia

As workers face a bleak economy with high rates of layoffs and low rates of new employment, President Obama has initiated new plans to help workers become more educated to compete in the job market.

In fact, in Obama’s recent 2009-2010 budget proposal, he clearly made college education a focal point for the improvement and success of the United States. Titling this budget proposal “A New Era of Responsibility,” Obama is seeking to provide students with additional financial aid support through both student loan programs and Pell Grant programs. With this approach, current and future college students may be able to save money while preparing for their futures.

An Increase in Aid

Through the proposal, President Obama asserts that the path to an enhanced economy and society is achieved through education. As the document states, college should be more properly funded and supported to, “Make sure that we have a highly-educated workforce and that the opportunity to go to college is not determined by how much money you have.”

To allow all individuals, regardless of income, to gain access to higher education opportunities, Obama’s proposal to increase student loan and Pell Grant financial aid support should stimulate an almost immediate benefit. Essentially, the 2009-2010 budget proposal allows for an increase in the maximum Pell Grant amount for each student. Currently, the Pell Grant maximum was capped at $4,731 per person; Obama has proposed to raise this maximum to $5,350 per