Accessing Free Healthcare: How Community Colleges Are Bridging the Medical Gap

If you love working with creatures furry, scaly, and sometimes prickly, then community college can be an excellent starting point for your animal service career. In fact, according to College Grad, students interested in animal service have a wide variety of career options, including animal training, veterinary assistance, zoological services, kennel attending, breeding assistance, grooming services, and much more.

If animals are in your professional future, learn more about unique community college classes that can help prepare you for your career in animal services!

Animal Care Career Pathways

Animal Care and Management Technology

For students interested in learning the necessary skills and experiences to work in the animal care industry, Durham Technical Community College (DTCC), located in Durham, North Carolina, provides diverse courses and opportunities for hands-on practice.

As DTCC explains, courses in the Animal Care and Management Technology program teach students about the basic sciences of animal work, while instructors also educate students on the legal and management skills that are essential for both animal and human interactions. Adding to this, “This course of study offers the student a wide variety of employment options. Opportunities exist with humane organizations, kennels, city and county animal control agencies, animal shelters, zoos, residency facilities, and veterinarians.”

In addition, to help students who are juggling challenging schedules, DTCC also offers cooperating courses at the nearby Alamance Community College Campus. With this option, students can enroll in select weekend courses at Alamance while also continuing

According to Autism Speaks, a national society devoted to serving the autistic population and family members, 1 out of every 150 children is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is a learning disability that typically involves a child’s struggle to socially, emotionally, and personally interact with others. Autistic children tend to show an unawareness of others’ feelings, facial recognition, and social cues.

Despite these struggles, however, ASD students are commonly intellectually exceptional. Autism Spectrum Disorder is described as a “spectrum” because the symptoms of each child can vary significantly. Those with strong signs of Autism are generally labeled as having “Classic Autism,” while individuals with fewer signs of autism may be labeled as having “Asperger’s Syndrome.”

The National Autism Association defines autism as follows:

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by:

• social impairments
• cognitive impairments
• communication difficulties
• repetitive behaviors

According to Autism Speaks, “Compared with classic autism, children with Asperger's Syndrome usually don't show any signs of major cognitive difficulties — their IQ falls in the normal or even superior range.” Similarly, children who are diagnosed with Classic Autism may have more noticeable signs but are often able to exceed their peers’ standard intellectual and cognitive abilities.

High school students or adults who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder can be confident that community colleges across the country have various programs for individualized support. As Autism is, by far, the fastest-growing serious developmental disorder in the United States, community college leaders are ardently seeking

Approximately 7 percent of Americans cope with various degrees of hearing loss, according to The New School. While most community colleges offer sign language courses, many students who require hearing assistance need more resources. Students who are hearing impaired often need access to a sign language interpreter for courses and require accommodations for oral or written assignments.

To help hearing-impaired students maximize their academic opportunities, community colleges are working to diversify their hearing services. With new forms of technology, experimental instructional courses, and additional venues for support, students who are hearing impaired can access an incredible cache of tools at a number of community college campuses across the country.

This video offers some strategies for teachers of hearing-impaired students.

What Hearing Support Services Should a Community College Offer?

According to The New School, an institution dedicated to providing classes for hearing impaired students, individuals who require hearing assistance may need a range of tools and support systems. As each individual student, regardless of hearing ability, has his or her own strengths, struggles, and needs, the best community colleges will provide a diverse array of resources for individual guidance. Examples of tools that may benefit hearing-impaired students include:

• Sign language interpreting services in the classroom
• Access to class materials and notes in advance so interpreters and/or students can prepare for upcoming lessons
• Seating accommodations to place students who have a minor ability to hear

Hey there, future college students! Did you know community colleges are becoming a secret weapon for getting into top universities? It's true! While these two-year schools started focusing on job skills, they've become a launchpad for students aiming for bachelor's degrees and beyond. Here's the scoop: big universities are catching on that community college success is a better predictor of how you'll do in a four-year program than high school grades or SAT scores. So if you're dreaming of attending a prestigious university but worried about the competition, consider starting at your local community college. Not only could it give your application a serious boost, but you'll also save a ton of money, enjoy smaller classes, and have a smoother transition to university life. It's a win-win situation that more and more savvy students are taking advantage of!

Why are Universities Seeking Community College Students?

Proof of Student Success and Excellence

While many students seeking affordable, convenient, and program-specific courses often pursue degree pathways through community colleges, many higher education leaders are striving to shift motivated community college students into university education.

A central catalyst for this new focus on community college applicants is most notably based upon studies that reveal the soaring success rates among students who transfer from a two-year institution to a four-year school. As the Longview News-Journal reveals, “Studies show that students who complete community college course work before going to four-year institutions tend to graduate at a higher rate than those who begin