Unique Ways to Pay for Your Community College Tuition

Choosing a college is a huge decision – one that will affect your career options for the rest of your life. Not only is selecting a college a life-changing decision, but it can be a very challenging decision to make simply because there are so many options. Between state colleges, private colleges, and community colleges, your options are nearly limitless but, for many people, community colleges aren’t even on the radar. Why is it that community colleges get such a bad rap and is a bad reputation deserved?

In this video, Aspen Institute College Excellence Program Executive Director Josh Wyner discusses the benefits of community colleges, including how they are preparing a skills-ready workforce.

The Benefits of Community College

Before getting into the reason behind the bad rap community college often receives, it would benefit you to learn some of the reasons why someone might choose a community college over a state or private institution. You will find a list of benefits associated with community colleges below:

• Lower Tuition Costs – The main benefit of attending community college over a state or private institution is reduced tuition costs. While a private college might charge $30,000 or more for a single year, community colleges might charge the same amount (or less) for four years of education. Not only are tuition costs lower at a

Global Learning Made Accessible: Exploring Study Abroad Opportunities for Community College Students

For many students attending four-year colleges or universities, a semester abroad is a typical experience and one that offers a host of benefits. Students who study abroad have the opportunity to live and study within a new culture and often have the chance to hone valuable language skills. However, for community college students, many of whom have essential responsibilities outside of the classroom, spending months away from home and work is impractical at best and more than likely impossible.

This video offers some reasons why you should study abroad.

In recent years, several community colleges have identified the benefits of studying abroad and have acknowledged the unique challenges their students face in doing so. As a result, many community colleges now offer short-term study abroad and traditional semester programs. In the last decades, the number of community college students who take the opportunity to study overseas has expanded tremendously, from just fewer than 4,000 students back in 2001 to almost 300,000 in 2015.

Community colleges offer programs to fit the schedules and unique learning needs of almost any student:

• Short-term educational programs
• Traditional semester-long programs
• Short and long-term volunteer or service-learning programs

Community college students can work with study abroad program providers, who will coordinate with a student’s college to assess the credit available for different short and long-term programs. They can also

There’s a change coming in California.

Recently, a measure passed that allows community colleges in California to offer four-year degrees. Until now, such offerings have been the sole province of other institutions. Now, the game has changed.

On September 28, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 850 (Block), authorizing up to 15 California community college districts to offer a single Bachelor's degree on a pilot basis. The bill's goal is to create one million bachelor' s-degree jobs by 2025.

A Better College System

Former California State Senator Dean Florez says this measure is a decisive move in the right direction. “Allowing California Community colleges to offer four year skill-based degrees has grown from a long-simmering recognition—from students, employers and government leaders—that skills matter more today than how and where they were acquired. This new four-year program offers students a more accessible and shorter education pathway with a recognized skill-based credential.”

“Students benefit with a tailored personalized degree program directed in part by employers, blending their career needs with an affordable degree. It is also very cost effective, given the planned BA degrees will be under $10,000 dollars, which is nearly one-half the cost of California State's four year schools and one-eighth the cost of a traditional University of California four-year degree. Most community college students can't afford to give up four or five years of income while accumulating six-figure debt, so this degree

Twenty-five thousand men and women work as air traffic controllers in the United States. Every year between 400 and 500 new air traffic control positions become available. Working in aviation as an air traffic controller is a lucrative career with a median salary of over $100,000 per year.

In order to become an air traffic controller, one must earn a two or four-year degree in aviation control or a closely related field, pass a medical exam, a security investigation, have related work experience and pass the Federal Aviation Administration’s pre-employment tests. The first test, the bio-data assessment, assesses a worker’s experience, general education, and work habits. The second test, the AT-SAT is an eight-hour computer-based test that assesses an applicant’s knowledge directly related to air traffic control.

Two-year air traffic control degree programs are developed specifically to help applicants acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to pass the AT-SAT exam. They are intended to supplement a student’s prior experience in aviation and serve as a pathway to a qualifying to become an air traffic controller. Students with no prior aviation experience can also prepare for the FAA Academy via an accredited two-year program.

The Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative is a partnership between the FAA and thirty different colleges and universities designed to make high-quality Air Traffic Control education available to students around the country. While earning a degree from a college or university within the program does not guarantee that an applicant will get a job in