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Building on the Bring Your Own Device Revolution
Coming Soon: Community College of the Future
on April 9, 2009
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Considering that a large number of students at community colleges are working full time jobs and attending college part-time, the proposed 12 hr minimum...
Considering that a large number of students at community colleges are working full time jobs and attending college part-time, the proposed 12 hr minimum is ludicrous. More and more adults are returning to college, but cannot attend full-time. Also, the degree limitations are absurd. The health-care industry cannot continue to grow unbounded -- at some point, this industry will crash. Are these people running a college, or a workforce retraining institute?
on Apr 21, 2009
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Because the old-school approach to community college has led to "dismally low graduation rates," the City University of New York (CUNY) aims to change course, the New York Times reports.
In a 120-page blueprint, CUNY officials have outlined a number of new ideas for the community college of the future:
- Students would be required to enroll full time, taking at least 12 credits a semester.
- Majors would be limited to about a dozen fields with robust job opportunities, including health care and environmental technology.
- Admission would still be open to anyone with a high school diploma or G.E.D., but face-to-face interviews would be required.
CUNY also has plans for a 5,000-student Manhattan campus, which would be the city's first new two-year institution of higher education in 37 years. Officials still have to secure financing for the school, but the pressure is on in this economic recession as students flock to community colleges in droves: Enrollment at the CUNY's six community colleges is already up 31 percent over the last decade. But the only way to boost graduation rates is to revamp the curriculum, according to education officials.
“We need bold and new approaches in the way we envisage initial engagement, support services and curriculum,” CUNY’s chancellor, Matthew Goldstein, told the State Assembly’s Committee on Higher Education during a hearing on budget cuts. “Our students will face increasingly competitive pressures in an unforgiving economy, and getting a degree matters. It is therefore in their interest to attend community colleges where the focus is on high standards and degree completion.”
For the complete story, visit the New York Times.
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on Apr 21, 2009
Considering that a large number of students at community colleges are working full time jobs and attending college part-time, the proposed 12 hr minimum is ludicrous. More and more adults are returning to college, but cannot attend full-time. Also, the degree limitations are absurd. The health-care industry cannot continue to grow unbounded -- at some point, this industry will crash. Are these people running a college, or a workforce retraining institute?
