Community for Success
Community for Success
A look at community college and it’s benefits
Rebecca Richardson
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, “community colleges serve close to half of the undergraduate students in the United States.” In 1967 IL Central College became a reality serving ten Central IL counties. Throughout it’s almost 50-year history, ICC has impacted and been a part of over 450,000 students’ lives. There are many benefits to attending a community college, including smaller class sizes, opportunities for deeper exploration of career choice and cost effectiveness.
When looking at the classroom size versus a larger university, Dr. Tracy Morris, Vice President of Student Services states: “At the community college level, the faculty’s primary focus is on teaching. With smaller class sizes, our professors get the opportunity to really know their students.” For many students, the smaller classroom is a setting that facilitates deeper group discussions and more personalized learning.
Another benefit is the opportunity to explore. Morris states, “One of the really nice things about community college is you get the chance to try out different majors. Many students start out confident of one particular major then realize it’s not the fit they thought it would be. At a community college, a student can explore various academic programs and career pathways while completing their general education coursework.”
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits to attending community college first is the ability to reduce the amount of debt that a student incurs while earning a college degree. The National Center for Education Statistics showed a table comparison of average rates between 4-year and 2-year public institutions. In some instances, the difference is $10,000 and higher per year. Morris said, “Enrolling at a community college offers a student the opportunity to earn a degree or certificate to enter the workforce or complete the first two years of a transfer degree, while keeping that amount of student debt in check.”
In looking at current enrollment at ICC, it seems that students understand that quality and value first hand. ICC, as of this writing, is at 99.25% of its enrollment goal with an increase in the over 50 age demographic. “People find themselves going back to school by taking advantage of the ‘empty nest’, or pursuing other career options later in life. Our current student demographic represents a diverse range of ages and experiences” stated Morris.
There is, however, one pervasive myth regarding community college that is told to students young and old alike. “You have to attend a major university in order to have a degree that ‘counts’.” “It’s simply not true” says Morris. “Many of our professors have doctoral degrees and have come back to ICC because they can interact with their students on a different level. We hear from alumni that our courses prepared them well for transfer and for the workplace.” Combine that with the smaller classes and more personalized attention and the students of ICC receive a quality education that provides them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed.
The variety of classes offered at ICC is vast. In any given semester over 1,900 options are available for students to choose from. This is where the advisement center can come into play. This free service is offered to all ICC students and is designed to help a student look at and pursue options that are right for their career goals. Karhmen Feurtado, Director of Advisement, stated, “A student can make an appointment to meet with our advisors, meet with advisors during walk-in Wednesdays, and during walk-in hours a few weeks prior to the semester starting. Our department assists students who are General Education majors, Undecided, and Nursing transfer students. Advisors assist students with completing their course schedules and aid with course selection, scheduling, etc. Our goal is to help students stay on the right track for degree completion or transferring to a four-year institution. Many times when students are undecided, we can refer them to our Career Center where students can participate in additional career exploration or we invite students to enroll in Orientation111: Career Choice.” “Our primary goal and focus”, says Feurtado, “is to help students feel confident in their chosen path. College can be overwhelming without proper support. We are very proud of the resources we have available to our students. In a community college, the key word is community. We are all part of a large extended family here. When one of us succeeds we all succeed”.
Whether a student is undecided, knows exactly what they want or is somewhere in between, what is absolute is obtaining a degree increases lifetime earnings.
A person with an associates degree vs. a high school diploma has an almost $10,000 per year earnings potential difference and that increases to an almost $30,000 year difference after obtaining a bachelor’s according to data released in 2015 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
With over 600 scholarship opportunities awarded each year, roughly 180 full-time faculty members, along with over 430 adjunct faculty, ICC is a more than a college. It is a community of staff, students, and professors who work together to ensure that students have the best possible chance for success once they obtain their degree. As the mission statement of ICC states: “Through learning minds change. We believe by changing minds we can change the world”.