Courses in College
Be inspired by the gamut of community college courses, from the arts to technical training. This section will cover everything from remedial classes to continuing education. Community colleges offer courses for youth and teens, individuals looking for a new hobby or skill, or those behind bars looking for a second chance.
View the most popular articles in Courses in College:
- Are Online Courses Better Than Traditional Classroom Courses?
- How to Take Online Community College Classes for Free
- New Survey Shows Community College Students Feel Unprepared for the Rigors of Higher Education
- Studying Ghosts: Paranormal Investigation Courses at Community College
- Why Should You Take Elective Courses at Community College?
Learn about the variety of options for continuing education in community colleges.
With over 2.5 million adult students enrolled across the country, according to Eric Digest, nearly one third of all community college students are over the age of thirty. The variety of options for continuing education in community colleges gives students of any age great opportunities for both technical and personal interest growth.
Adults Seeking Continuing Education Paths
For adults, or people who are curious about special topics, community colleges and continuing education courses allow the open-study of various subject matters. As Edgecombe Community College, located in North Carolina, explains, “Continuing Education promotes the lifelong learning process by offering a wide range of programs and services.” The continuing education opportunities are meant to support all adults, regardless of their previous background in education. Most continuing education and special interest students are individuals who are taking classes for non-traditional reasons: According to Howell, “adult students come to community colleges with a variant set of characteristics. They are more likely to attend part-time, to take courses for self-improvement initially rather than for degree completion, and to enroll intermittently.” Because most continuing education students are already employed in careers, or work full time in or outside of the home, colleges are reporting that the continuing education students are bringing practical goals and valuable life perspective to the classroom.
What Does Continuing Education Offer?
For many adults, continuing education classes are opportunities to explore hobbies or interests that were more passions, as opposed to career paths. For example, community colleges across the country offer non-degree programs in dancing, art, sports and health,
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Learn how choosing electives can be enjoyable and professionally beneficial.
Whether you have already decided on a career path, or if you’re looking to broaden your horizons, community colleges offer a wide variety of elective courses that can expand your personal and professional networks, while also leading to a fulfilling educational experience.
The Personal Benefits of Elective Courses
While every degree program has specific requirements, electives allow students to test the waters outside their main area of focus. By exploring elective options, you may gain a new perspective on your professional calling. Regardless of whether or not your electives lead you to a new career, or simply add to your community college experience, electives allow potential job-seeking candidates when applying for work. In fact, employers seek candidates who have well-rounded backgrounds. Showing a diverse academic background, along with your career focus, demonstrates that you are versatile and enjoy learning.
The Academic Benefits of Elective Courses
While electives often provide students with new opportunities and fulfilling educational experience, studies are also revealing that electives actually promote better thinking and learning. For example, in considering art electives, “more and more business leaders are realizing that arts education helps to prepare young people for the workplace, acknowledging that arts education develops collaborative skills, technological competencies, flexible thinking, and an appreciation for diversity,” according to Bernard Cesarone. Studies show that the study and practice of art allow students to foster better critical thinking skills, while building values that connect to fellow colleagues and peers, leading to a better-rounded employee or student.
Furthermore, the elective study of foreign or native languages also leads to
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Learn the many reasons why high school students should take community college classes.
It is no secret that college admissions are becoming more competitive. As the children of the baby boomers era enter into their college years, the sheer number of applicants is overwhelming.
Since 2000, each year has seen record numbers of applications. For example, the University of California, 2007 saw more than 110,000 applications – which was a historically record-breaking statistic. According to NYU, their 2007 applications increased by 8.5% in 2007, which also marked record highs.
How can you stand out from the crowd of 4.5 wielding valedictorians, speech and debate captains, and decathlon champions? The answer is quite easy: get competitive with a college edge – a community college edge, that is.
Using community college classes to strengthen your application
College admission committees evaluate your overall application to answer one looming question: will this student farewell at our esteemed institution? Demonstrating your academic skills in high school classes, whether you are taking regular, honors, or AP courses, is certainly important. However, excelling at high school courses does not guarantee your ability to stay competitive at the college level.
Standing out from the crowd of applicants means demonstrating your academic prowess at a college level. You can easily make your application shine by taking courses at your local community college. With the variety of classes, you can take courses at night, online, or even on the weekend – making it easy to fit into your schedule.
You should speak with your high school counselor to determine if the college courses you take will count as credit towards your requirements for high school. Often times,
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Learn how online courses broaden the options of a community college education.
Community colleges have paved the way for online courses, and students are noticing. In fact, according to research conducted by the Sloan Consortium, two-year community colleges have experienced the highest growth rate in online education, accounting for more than 50% of all online course enrollments in the past five years. The enrollment in online courses at community colleges surpasses the numbers of all other higher education programs combined.
Nationally, according to the Online Learning Consortium, approximately 20% of college students in America took an online course during the fall semester of 2006, which equates to 3.5 million students. In addition, the Sloan Consortium research found that enrollment in online courses is growing at a rate significantly faster than the standard student-growth rates.
Advantages to online curriculum
As more careers and jobs require technical skills in computing and internet research, students who do not develop these skills are quickly left behind in competitiveness. Therefore, online courses offer several benefits, such as convenient learning and an opportunity to hone your technical skills.
- Convenience: Taking an online course allows you to progress through the class at your own pace. If you have a job during the day, you
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Recent Articles
What states are home to the most diverse and least diverse community colleges? In our exclusive diversity report, we analyze our data to determine how much diversity there is on community college campuses throughout the United States. In addition, learn about the benefits of attending a community college with a diverse student body.
As the third wave of TAACCCT grants are issued, we take a look at how community colleges are using this federal money to beef up job training programs across the country.
We take a closer look at the Upward Bound program, which is designed to prepare students for college whom might not otherwise succeed due to economic or family factors.
