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Community Colleges

Community Colleges in America are publically funded institutions of higher learning that offer 2 year courses. Graduates from Community College can transfer to bachelor courses in Universities as well as other types of course. Community Colleges thus serve an important role in the American education system as a means of helping students from less well-off backgrounds achieve academic qualifications, and thus a chance at a good career. Community Colleges in America have also been at the center of adult education, helping many people to gain first-time higher qualifications, as well as to help people change career.

Community Colleges were called ‘Junior Colleges’ as they prepared students for their senior years at 4 year university courses. In some places in the USA they are called ‘City Colleges’.

The Community College system developed in the late part of the Nineteenth Century. Originally they were institutions offering 2 year courses to people who wanted to be teachers. It was later that matriculation from a ‘junior college’ was allowed as an entrance requirement for 4 year courses at universities. This was seen as an important development at the time as it gave a wider group of people access to higher education.

In the 1920s and 1930s the emphasis of Junior Colleges changed in response to the Great Depression. It was felt at the time that more educational opportunities were needed to be made available to make the work force more skilled and better prepared to meet the challenges of the Twentieth Century, and to haul the country out of depression.

In the 1960s the network of Junior Colleges exploded to 457. This was due to the increased demand for higher education created by the baby boomers generation.

In the 1970s enrollment numbers went up as many young people looked to escape the draft for the Vietnam War. During this era Junior Colleges changed their names to Community Colleges.

In the 1980s many Community Colleges broke away from their high school affiliations and built up their own faculties and campuses. By the late 1980s over 50% of freshmen enrolled in 2 year courses. This period saw the legitimization of the 2 year mechanism to access higher education programs in other institutions of learning. At this time, Community Colleges started offering vocational and other types of courses.

In the Twenty-first Century the debate rages whether City Colleges help to make society more equal or whether they unwittingly make the distinction between the privileged elite and everyone else more acute. Also the issue of public funding for Community Colleges is a hot debate in the USA.

Despite their critics, Community Colleges have been an important stepping stone for the advancement of many people’s employment career. They are regarded by many as being at the heart of the community, and no doubt they will continue to change and adopt as society itself changes.

The articles presented on www.communitycollegecentral.org should be regarded as a resource for a diverse range of topics. It is a virtual center for excellence in prose and communication. The articles seek to promote debate and to suggest further areas of fruitful research. We believe the new frontier of education is the World Wide Web. It is the largest library ever amassed in the history of mankind. In its humble way www.communitycollegecentral.org seeks to add to the growing wealth of information to be found on the internet. This is part of our mission to bring education to the people regardless of social or ethnic background.

Entrepreneurship after college

26-Feb-12

In a down economy, will there be enough jobs for those graduating from community college? The outlook is pretty grim as companies are trying to reduce staff and cut costs in many ways possible and this looks like a trend that will continue for quite a while. With that being said, many fresh graduates are looking to start their own business’s as asset prices across industries are plummeting. Which is perfect for a start up trying to gain a foothold while reducing costs.

There is no doubt that the internet has really gone a long way. I know that for a fact since I am a blogger. Now, it has become one of the most useful tools in various aspects of man’s life. Whether it is in the field of communication, information, entertainment or business and commerce, the fact that the internet is of great help to man still stands.

And if you are a fresh graduate (and I assume you are since you are reading this blog entry), let me give you an advice: build an online presence and offer something of value to your visitors. The internet while growing at an unprecedented pace is still at its infancy and there is much room for ambitious entrepreneurs looking to setup an online business.

The fact is, internet marketing is among the many helpful applications of the internet in the field of commerce and business. This can be seen in the growth of seo and internet marketing agencies across the globe. Basically, an seo consultancy, as its name suggests, markets or sells your business, products and services through the internet through marketing campaigns. One of which is the use of social media. This process is then called as social media marketing. This is then where internet marketing companies come in. They link your business to social media and social networking sites. This way, you will have more and better exposure to your potential customers. Perhaps you already know about the power and influence of social media and social networking sites in today’s world. A lot of people are getting into these sites; and the circle just keeps on growing. In fact, these websites hold a large pool of potential clientele. Thus, if you are able to tap into this pool of consumers, you will have a better chance of boosting your sales and profits. And you can do this knowing that you have secured an online presence so that your business will more likely than not, be a sustainable business that you are in complete control of.

 

Filed in Career, Student Finances

The Community College System Is New To Me

07-Feb-12

I find the school system in the USA very interesting. This is the first time I have heard of Community Colleges, public schools and universities yes, but not Community Colleges. Here in the UK we have different schools, and these generally depend on the political history of the county or local area. Some counties have grammar schools, entry to which is dependent on passing an examination. Those who fail or who don’t take the exam go to other state schools. Or, if the parents can afford it, their children attend public schools – these are fee paying and not at all like the public schools in the USA.

Once in college hard work is essential. It helps of course if the course is interesting. My favourite subject at school was history. We studied the medieval period when knights went into battle attired in suits of armour. I had a big picture on my wall of a knight in armour with his shield decorated with a coat of arms. The weight of carrying all that armour, the shield, and his weapons must have taken a lot of his strength and not left much over to actually fight!

Whichever system you attend: a Community College or university; work hard. The effort you devote to your studies then will pay dividends later in life.

Filed in Career

Use A Community College To Save Money The First Two Years

07-Feb-12

Most everyone agrees that if you want to give yourself the best chance of getting a good job, a college degree is a must. The problem in 2012 though, is how to pay for those four years without putting yourself too far behind in the debt department? College age kids today have a real dilemma!

One way to reduce costs is to go to a community college for the first two years and then transfer to a bigger name college for the final two. In this case, a student’s final degree would be from the big name college and no one will ever know they didn’t go there the whole time! Yet they will have saved a ton of money because those first two years will be at a school that costs significantly less.

Community colleges sometimes get a bad name because people think that they are for students that can’t get into “real” colleges. But this isn’t true in an economy where many very smart students are opting for community colleges to save money. After all, is it really worth going in debt $50,000 or more for a degree in Communications, English, or something else? By limiting their costs for the first two years, many students are doing the financially smart thing.

Jobs for college students and college graduates aren’t available in the numbers they once were. This makes getting a pricey degree a risk rather than “must” in many cases. Students are scrambling for alternatives in financing and anything else they can come up with to find a way to get a higher education. Luckily, community colleges are there to help out for some of them who can’t afford the full price of four years at a major university.

Filed in Student Finances

My Time at a Community College Was Brief, But Nice

07-Feb-12

I graduated high school with a 3.96 GPA. Pretty much through my entire school career, I was on the “college prepatory” track which meant I was destined for a 4-year university. So that’s where I went.

I put my time in at my state’s university and graduated with a BA in Communication. What do you do with a degree like that? Well, I’m still trying to figure that out but when I first graduated, it was quite a struggle. I had more of a liberal arts degree and not a tangible skill set. Finding a job wasn’t too hard but the first job I had out of college was all wrong for me; I hated it. I became frustrated while trying to find another job and decided that I was going to go in a different direction. I was going to attend a community college to become a radiologic technician.

Since the only science I had taken in my undergraduate curriculum was oceanography because someone told me it was easy, I had to get a bunch of core requirements out of the way before I could start the 2-year radiologic degree program. Hello, Anatomy & Physiology I and II (with labs)! I went to every class, took detailed notes, studied hard and got an A in both of those classes. I met a lot of nice people at the community college and the instructor I had for A & P was awesome. It was a great experience.

But somewhere in between memorizing all of the bones in the body and trying to come to terms with the fact that I would have to live with my parents while I was back in school, I decided that healthcare was not the field for me. Boy, was that a wise decision! I realized that I had a real passion for marketing and I am now happily part of the marketing department at a large merchant account company.

I definitely changed my mind quite a few times about what career path I wanted to be on, but I blame that on the confusing time of my life that I like to call my 20s.

Filed in College Life

US V Scotland It’s a Draw!

14-Feb-12

I met a guy from the States who I became quite friendly with at Uni and we spoke a lot about the comparative merits and failures of our educational systems. I have, like many others , seen a great deal of American TV and they talk about college and grade point averages, things that we hear but do not understand. So he put me onto a site that gives people like me the low down on their system and made it easier for me to understand he differences.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on the subject but I think I could hold my own in conversation now. So I asked him to drop by my flat for a beer and I would set him on the path to understanding the offside rule in the true game of Rugby. Horror, I managed to spill my curry all over the carpet, and it was stinking the place out.

In came my American pal and he was all sort of ‘bummer’ and ‘you’re over man’ really big help. But I got out the laptop and found carpet cleaning Glasgow who would fix this in jig time. If the landlord saw this I was out on my ear. So while we’re waiting for the arrival of the carpet angels we get back to talking about college in the states, and especially community colleges.

Once again he referred me to the site to answer my questions and told me that when he was at community college his grades were so good that he was a shoe in for a full university place in the States, but that the ones he really wanted to get into held some kind of prejudice against community collegiate and so he came here to get away from the elitism within their system.

I told him it was the same here and he laughed, try getting into Harvard or Yale from a community college, same here I replied try getting into Oxford or Cambridge from Drumchapel Secondary I said.

Filed in College Life

Community College and Engineering

03-May-12

Community colleges in America were designed as a way to level the playing field by allowing people from lower income social groups to enter tertiary education. Community college tuition fees are less than half of State Universities in America. The idea is that two years in a community college entitles a student to enroll on a bachelor degree course. This is more expensive but the rewards of finding a job with a good salary make the risk worth taking.

It is thus a shame that over half of people who enroll in community college don’t go on to graduate from another educational establishment with a bachelor degree. Instead they are settling for finding lower paid work instead.

State and Federal governments have to do something to address this failing in the system. At present it is perpetuating and reinforcing the class differences in America that are based in socio-economic backgrounds.

One important field that is growing at a fast rate is design and engineering. America needs more qualified engineers to keep up with the ever involving technological landscape. It is predicted that in 20 years there will be a grave shortage of computer scientists and computer engineers. The IT sector is booming and presents a great employment opportunity for young people. Engineering offers good remuneration packages and often the chance to participate on projects that are of great importance.

Rather than settling on being a car mechanic after a year or two in community college we must find a way to incentivize education to make that hypothetical young person become a mechanical engineer instead. It is right for the person and it is right for the country.

Finally, we must make engineering and design interesting. This is what websites such as www.designandengineering.info are attempting to do.

Filed in Career

Enrollment Soars but not all Good News for Community Colleges

25-Apr-12

There has been a sharp increase in enrollment at America’s 1,200 community colleges. Numbers have shot up of people signing up for courses at community colleges up and down the country. In 2000 5.5 million people were doing 2 year courses. In the 2010 to 2011 school year that figure jumped to 8 million.

Analysts put the sharp increase in enrollment numbers down to the recession in the US economy since the 2008 financial crisis. Rather than look for work young people have sought to give themselves a competitive edge in the jobs market by gaining qualifications. This is sound reasoning.

Sadly, the graduation rates for students going to community colleges has fallen sharply. According to Reclaiming the American Dream: Community Colleges and the Nation’s Future, less than half of students who enter a community college graduate or transfer to a four-year college within six years.

The reason behind this low graduation statistic is not due to institutional incompetence or bad teaching. Rather, it is the reverse. Modern community colleges have become strongly orientated to preparing students for entering various fields of work. What colleges are finding is that students are successfully finding work during their 2 years at community college or shortly after.

The average cost of tuition at a community college is $3,000 a year. This is cheap compared to the average of $8,000 a year at in-state 4 year colleges. While students can find the money for a community college education they are no doubt deterred from enrolling on bachelor degree courses by the high tuition costs involved.

Perhaps the next step is for community colleges to maintain their tuition fee levels but also offer to let students extend their studies for another 2 years so that they can attain bachelor degrees. This might a long term beneficial effect for the American economy which is going to have be more knowledge based if it is going to keep up with China.

Filed in Community College News

Careers in Wine

25-Apr-12

I don’t think many things would excite college students more than the opportunity to sell alcohol for a living.

Wine isn’t quite as easy it sounds though.

To start, the industry has long been dominated by the uber wealthy.  Those folks are often pretty out of touch with the average American who is making about 40k next year.  As an example, I recently visited a winery which offered a series of wine gift baskets.  While all the gift baskets were certainly beautifully put together, they started at about $300.  As nice as that sounds as a gift for my mother in law, I can’t imagine spending that kind of cash on one single Christmas or Birthday gift.  Last year I think my wife and I had budgeted about $600 total for all of our gifts.

The wine industry is also slow to change.  Most of the kids I talk to spend an inordinate amount of time using the internet, their phones and social media sites.  Wineries simply don’t get it as of yet and if you think you might be able to change the industry when you first enter it….I’ve got some disapointing news for you!

Filed in Career

Team Assignment Investment Analysis

20-Apr-12

 

Dataset

 

Our dataset consists of the stock prices of 10 companies, of which 5 are Dutch, and 5 are German. The Dutch companies are Aegon, Koninklijke Ahold, Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever and Wolters Kluwer. The German companies are Allianz, Basf, BMW, Man and Siemens. For each company, we collected monthly data from Datastream, starting September 18 1986 and ending September 18 2006.

 

 

 

Assumptions

 

 

 

  • Expected return is based on the monthly returns of the past 20 years. This means no other information (e.g. future industry information) influences the expected return, and the past is representative for future expectations.

  • In additional, we do not take into account the dividends paid, but only look at the returns that is realized by stock price movements

  • The monthly log returns are normally distributed.

  • Homoskedasticity applies to our dataset. This means that variances are constant over time.

  • The stock markets are perfect markets. This for example means:

    • Securities are perfectly divisible

    • There are no transaction costs

    • Markets are big enough to buy all desired shares.

  • Short sales are possible.

 

 

 

Question 1 and 2

We assume to be a European investor in a market portfolio containing all ten assets. In our market portfolio, we have chosen not to invest into risky bad credit loans of corporations with junk bond status, but instead we invest an equal amount of money in each stock of our stock portfolio. This means that we invest € 15,000 in every stock. When calculating the expected returns, we take into account the choice for using log returns or normal returns. When returns are close to 1, these are almost identical. An advantage of using log returns is that returns can be added up. Therefore we will work with log returns instead of normal returns.

After having explained why we use log returns, we now answer question 1 and 2. See table 1.

 

 

All 10 stocks

Dutch stocks

German stocks

investment

€ 150.000

€ 75.000

€ 75.000

expected monthly return

0,00639

0,00699

0,00569

standard deviation

0,05462

0,05638

0,06569

95% VaR

€ 12.518,008

€ 6.431,754

€ 7.677,054

99%VaR

€ 18.101,519

€ 9.313,692

€ 11.034,596

Table 1: Answers to question 1 and 2

 

The one month 95% Value at Risk (VaR) for the portfolio with all 10 stocks implies that, with 95% confidence, and with an investment of € 150.000, the maximum loss during a period of one month on this portfolio will be € 12.518,008. For the formula and the assumptions of VaR, and an overview of the other formulas we used, we refer to appendix 2. As can be seen in table 1, the 95% (and 99%) VaR for the portfolio with 10 stocks is smaller than the sum of the 95% (and 99%) VaR of the individual country portfolios. This implies that the returns of these individual portfolios are not perfectly correlated, and thus, that diversification benefits are obtained.

 

Question 3

The probabilities of losing or gaining a particular amount after a certain period and for a particular portfolio can be calculated with the help of the VaR formula. In appendix 3 this method is shown. Below we have presented our answers to this question in table 2.

 

 

Dutch stocks

German stocks

Probability of losing more than € 10,000 after 1 year

13.31%

18.78%

Probability of gaining more than € 15,000 after 6 months

12.62%

15.13%

Table 2: Answers to question 3

As can be seen in the results, the probability of losing more than € 10,000 after one year is smaller if you had invested in Dutch stock than in the German stock. The difference is about 5 percent. In the contrary, the probability in gaining more than 15,000 is 2,5 percent higher if you had invested in German Stock. So we can say that investing in Dutch stock is less risky, but the chance of high returns is higher with German stock.

 

Filed in College Life

Community College Holidays

19-Apr-12

There are a number of holidays in the term calendar of the typical community college. There is the long summer holiday usually from the start of July to Mid August. There is often two weeks off in Spring term, and there is a break for Christmas. During these times there are a number of useful things that students can do.

Firstly, there is studying. It is always good to do extra studying and background reading while you have the chance during the vacations. The holidays before major exams are crucial times to revise for tests. Although many students like to boast about how little they have studied during the break, they are often lying to appear cool to their peers.

Secondly, there is paid work. Many students are from less well off backgrounds and use the vacation time to put in extra hours at their part time jobs. This money is used for books, accommodation and tuition fees.

For those lucky enough to have the time and the money, the most fun thing to do during the long holidays is to take a trip abroad. When you are young it is the best time to go backpacking. The experience helps young people to find out about the world and learn about foreign culture. During one of my summer breaks I went with a friend to the Thai coastal region of Khao Lak. We stayed in a cheap bungalow on Pilai beach. It was a friendly place with cheap shops. We met lots of the locals and ended up teaching English at a nearby middle school.  I also had the time while lying on the beach to catch up on my reading list for college.

It wasn’t cheap flying to Thailand, but it was one of the most memorable things I did during my community college days. Make your time at community college memorable too.

Filed in College Life

Why get a College Education?

18-Apr-12

Abraham Lincoln
This is a question that many young people (and perhaps a few adults) have asked themselves. They look at the cost of college, the commitment in terms of time, and they consider the debt to the bank that they will have after graduating. And then they think of all those famous people who didn’t go to college or who dropped out. John D. Rockefeller, Simon Cowell, Abraham Lincoln, Michael J. Fox, Sean Connery and Walt Disney all have in common that they never went to college, and yet they all became incredibly successful in what they did. So why bother with college or community college?

One of the simplest answers is that I am certain that all the above people mentioned advised their children to go to college. Just because a person triumphed against the odds without a college education doesn’t mean that they are anti the idea of college. They are more than likely smart enough to realize the importance of education and the advantages that it brings.

Learning more than a subject

When you go to college or community college you learn far more than information about a particular subject; you learn mental skills that employers will value. You learn to gist ideas, to understand the principles of an argument, you learn to debate, you learn to analyze. With these skills you are equipped to deal with information. That is vital in the present age of information that we now live in.

Going to college you also learn to get on with people. For those who live away from home it is a time to learn how to be independent. You learn to manage your own finances, to do your own grocery shopping and to cook your own food. If you share accommodation with others you learn how to cooperate and to be diplomatic at times.

Entering the right circles

Those who go to college get to meet other people in higher education. Some of these people will go on to hold important positions in society. Innumerable people who attended college have benefitted from the friendships they have made at college. These contacts serve them well later on.

In Britain the Bullingdon Club and in America the Skull and Bones Club have been elite clubs for college students that have produced many Prime Ministers and Presidents. I’m not saying that if you go to Yale or Oxford you will end up leading your country but it is no accident that these leaders got where they did. They had the help of the contacts they made at college.

College is fun

This last point is important. For those who think studying is a drag, it should be remembered that most college students remember the great times they had college. They remember the parties, the foolish pranks, the love affairs, the politics, the way that life seemed fuller, richer and full of possibility.

Compare that to how many young and unemployed people feel who don’t get a college education.

Really, you should enroll. Community college is a good way to get on the educational ladder if money and/or academic ability is an issue.

Filed in Career

Frat House Blues

21-Mar-12

Fraternity housing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve been living on campus for the past seven months and I can safely say I’ve contracted at least three diseases. I didn’t expect to be this disgusted with the place but I didn’t understand how gross boys living together could get. My roommate leaves cups of milky coffee sitting for weeks at a time waiting to be discovered under a pile of laundry. I have touched something growing on a sock at least twice. I’m certainly reacting to mould in at least one place, but I’m told lung function isn’t necessary for math majors. I don’t really have much of an argument there if I say so myself.
So I’m now looking for somewhere better for myself to grow and learn by myself. There are many houses to rent near campus and I think I might be able to split one with another math major, Max Meijer from the front who’s tired of the constant trips to the ER for extreme asthma remedies. I am very excited at the prospect of living alone for once. Having my own room, this community college is going to be the kind of place where I can just take the pressure. I know the curriculum backwards and forwards, and it will allow me flex.
I’ll Show them. They have never seen the likes of me, and shan’t again. When my Campaign for world domination was defeated last spring, no one suspected that it would begin again at a small accreted community college,  The FBI have nothing on me, and the CIA wish they had my skills at their disposal. The final step will be the unveiling of my Algebraic Algorithmic  Atrocity Aquation. Remember math major, not English. Soon you all will quake at the name Haley Joel Osmitt.

Filed in College Life

College Years Are The Best Time Of Your Life

20-Mar-12
student books

To me, there is no better time in life then when you are a student.  It doesn’t matter if go to college or university in your home town or if you decide you want to experience the whole lot and so you up sticks and move away from every thing you know. Moving away to college can sometimes be the first time you have had any extended period away from the family home, it might be the first time you have not had your mum cook for you.  This is a great thing,  embrace the freedom that comes with being a student, doing your own thing, setting your own time table for learning, meeting new people and socialising.

Whilst you will find you do a lot of socialising at the local student union bar, especially in your first year away, don’t let that impact on your life to much.  Make sure you do the study that is required of you, stay healthy by learning to cook properly rather than the usual student diet of takeaway pizza and kebab, and make an effort to remain active by getting involved with team sports and joining the university gym.  if you want to put your student loan money to good use, and save money on gym membership, then you could even think about buying some home exercise equipment like an exercise bike or even an indoor rowing machine.  Making use of your money properly, without drinking it away through continuous partying will keep you fit and motivated – vital for self learning at college or university.

Filed in College Life, Student Finances

Mental Focus at Community College

27-Feb-12

It’s easy to get carried away with student life. Indeed for many of us, this is what student life is all about. Late nights, parties and alcohol certainly make for an enjoyable time. However, is this really the best use of our time? In many ways this is part of our transition to adulthood – learning about ourselves and our limits.

To get the most out of the chances which we are afforded at college, it is important that we look after our health. The simplest of which is to make sure we get enough sleep – at night time! Drink plenty of water – dehydration kills concentration. Thirdly, eating right (lots of fruits, vegetables and high energy foods like brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc.) will give us the power to take care of our studies during the day.

As a student, looking at some juicers under $100 might give you some inspiration to live a healthier life. Becoming a student doesn’t mean we have to go out partying every night. In actual fact, college was designed as a place of learning – not of partying!

Enjoying student life is important. Finding the right balance will help you to get the most out of your college experience.

Filed in College Life