As Obama is calling for an additional five million community college graduates by 2020, the pressure is on. As some states are showing a decreasing number of college-bound students, there is an overwhelming number of prospective non-traditional adult students across the country. Sounds simple -- get these individuals enrolled in community colleges and Obama's goal will be met by 2020. Legislation that is in Congress now will provide $12 million in the next ten years. But the supply of students and that money will not make it happen without an incredible amount of effort. Research is being conducted on the community college system right now in order to reach this five million graduates. The Community College Resource Center, the Ford Foundation and the National Cener for Postsecondary Research are conducting various studies that will yield information to increase the rate at which students complete community college. This rate affects the ability to produce graduates. Therefore, getting students to complete classes more quickly will help reach that 5 million graduate head count. Another issue is that currently too many students are not prepared to successfully complete community college. If there are to be one-third more community college students in the system in the coming years, there will be more students who are not prepared unless some systemic changes are made. Secondary schools must increase their focus on post-secondary school preparation. Study skills, test taking skills and time management are just some of the issues to be stressed to these students headed for community college. Early testing will also flag students in high school that may need assistance in preparing for college. For those non-traditional adult students, community college will have to provide the extra support to keep students from dropping out. Policies in the coming years will be created on a state by state basis. The state holds the key to the effective use of these funds as the pressure is on to produce community college graduates. To read more visit.
The Pressure on Community Colleges
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This page contains a single entry by Dana Edwards published on October 14, 2009 3:44 PM .
Is This Really Necessary? was the previous entry in this blog.
Influence of High School Guidance Counselors is the next entry in this blog.
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