10 Financial Aid Tips Every Community College Student Needs

Community colleges have been diversifying their student populations in recent years to include students from other states and even other countries. Their appeal also expands as some two-year schools become known for specific programs, transfer agreements with four-year institutions, and even partnerships with local businesses. International students interested in a U.S. community college may enjoy several benefits but face unique challenges in realizing their higher education dreams.

Why International Students Choose Community College

There are several reasons why international students are looking at community colleges today, according to a report at U.S. News, including:

• Lower Tuition Rates – Students from a distance find affordable higher education through America’s community college system. For example, the U.S. News and World Report cites the average cost of 24 credits from Diablo Community College in California at around $6,000, while the same number of credits at San Jose State University, a neighboring four-year school, is around $16,500 for the same number of credits.
• Transfer Options – Many community colleges across the country now have transfer agreements with four-year schools, ensuring students who begin their education in a two-year program can finish their baccalaureate degree at a nearby institution.
• Smoother Transition – Students from other countries often find community college an easier transition to the American way of life. Many community colleges provide English language courses and other services to help international students adapt to a new language and culture.
• Easier Requirements – For international students who don’t have the

What's Wrong with Community College Placement Policies?

Community colleges across the country typically have open enrollment policies that allow students admission to the schools regardless of their academic performance in high school. Many two-year schools don’t collect high school transcripts or standardized test scores before allowing students to enroll in classes. However, most of these schools rely on standardized placement examinations to ensure students lacking the skills to succeed in college get the help they need in remedial classes before moving on to college-level courses.

In theory, this system sounds like a good one. Students are assessed before they are placed in community college classes to ensure they possess all the skills necessary to achieve in higher education courses. Unfortunately, the theory doesn’t always translate into an effective education process. Recent studies have shown community college placement examinations may do more harm than good.

The Problem with Placement Exams

Last year, Inside Higher Ed reported on a study by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College. The study found that up to two-thirds of the students placed in remedial classes after taking placement exams could have passed college-level courses with a grade of “B” or better without the remedial assistance. This study was significant since remedial coursework has a detrimental impact on college completion rates at community colleges nationwide.

This video explains the placement exam at Suffolk County Community College in Selden, New York.

The perception of the value of a college degree appears to be evolving. As some students and their parents begin to focus on their return on investment (ROI), they are beginning to realize that graduating from a prestigious four-year school isn’t as glamorous as it seems. In addition, rising concern over increasing student debt has spurred questions about the best path to a profession. As the exploration continues, community colleges are starting to be seen as offering superior ROI for many students today.

The Value of a Four-Year Degree

PolicyMic reports on a recent analysis that looked at 1,248 four-year colleges and universities across the country. The study showed 28 percent of those four-year schools offered a negative ROI, which means students would have been better off financially if they had not gone to school at all! However, if those students had started their higher education at a community college and then transferred to a four-year school for their last two years, the negative ROI would have been reduced to 11.5 percent.

The best ROI from four-year schools often involved engineering programs. Schools like Colorado School of Mines, Georgia Tech, MIT, and Cal Tech reflect that trend. Ivy League schools also made the list for positive ROIs, demonstrating that high admission standards and a tradition of success do contribute to the value of postsecondary education. Other four-year schools did not always fare as well. For example, the last school on the list, Savannah College

Community colleges strive to operate as institutions of higher education that meet the needs of many today. Convenience and flexibility are the watchwords of these schools that host adult students with a wide range of family and professional responsibilities. To achieve those goals, many community colleges across the country are increasing their selection of online and hybrid courses, allowing many busy students to get in at least a portion of their study time from the comfort of home. As the demand for online coursework continues to grow, community colleges grapple with how to provide ultimate flexibility to students without sacrificing instructional quality or completion rates to give students the education options they are asking for.

A Look Back at The Growth of Online Options

Historically, online courses have been increasing at community colleges nationwide since 2005, according to a recent report at Santa Ynez Valley News. The publication cites a report, titled, “Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011,” which showed that 32 percent more students took an online course during the fall 2011 term. That means more than 6.7 million community college students took advantage of online opportunities during that semester alone.

The number marks a significant increase in online courses from the same semester in 2008 when just 4.6 million students at community colleges took an online course. The 2008 numbers were a 17-percent increase from 2007, suggesting an uptick in the demand for online courses overall. In fact,