‘College for all’ gets second look
The “college for all” idea is getting a second look, reports Ed Week.
“That whole space, between a high school diploma and a four-year college degree, has been overlooked,” says Anthony P. Carnevale, the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, whose labor-market research was cited in the “Pathways to Prosperity” report. “The reform trajectory we’ve been on since ‘A Nation at Risk’ was a noble goal, but along the way, we’ve set aside every pathway but one, and we’ve left a lot of people behind.”
Most young Americans do not complete a four-year degree. Only 56 percent of four-year college students will earn a bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s, points out Pathways to Prosperity.
Two thirds of the jobs created in the United States by 2018 will require some postsecondary education, but of those, nearly half will go to people with occupational certificates or associate degrees, according to data cited in the report. Many of those jobs carry decent wages, as well: One-quarter of those who hold such credentials earn more than the average bachelor’s-degree holder, the report says.
However, many educators and education reformers fear lowering expectations for disadvantaged and minority students. Steering students toward vocational certificates or associate degrees will form an “educational caste system,” according to Kati Haycock, the president of the Education Trust, which advocates for educational opportunities for low-income and minority students.
Only a third of young people complete a bachelor’s degree. Not surprisingly, the A students are the most likely to reach that goal. Making a four-year degree the universal goal means setting up most young people for failure.
The ‘four-year college myth’
The idea that everyone needs a four-year college degree is a “myth,” writes Jerry Ice, president of The Graduate School, in the Washington Post. Many careers require education or specialized training, but not a four-year degree.
“Well over half of all students attending four-year undergraduate institutions are dependent on loans and graduate having incurred enormous debt” Ice writes. Community college students can earn vocational certificates or associate degrees without taking on heavy debt.
Community colleges now represent over 50 percent of higher education enrollment. Their affordability and accessibility are a significant part of their appeal, as is their focus on essential skills and job-related training. While many who attend community colleges do so with the intention of transferring to a four-year school and earning a B.A., it appears that more than half are there to complete technical or vocational training, or just to upgrade their job skills.
Distance education is flexible and often more affordable than classroom-based training, Ice writes.
“Explore the possibilities for short-term professional training and determine what will work best for you,” he advises.
CC credential boosts earnings 31.5%
Completing a Colorado community college credential raised earnings by 31.5 percent, according to a recent survey by the Colorado Community College System (CCCS). The study (pdf) looked students who were 25 or older before beginning classes and did not transfer to a four-year school.
The most lucrative credential was an associate of applied science, which raised wages by 55.5 percent. Most AAS degrees prepare students to go directly to a career, such as nurse, radiology technician, firefighter, police officer, dental hygienist or paralegal. Other popular AAS degrees are management information systems, accounting technology, interior design and business administration and management.
AAS dental hygienist degree-earners increased their wages 230 percent after their education at Colorado community colleges and registered nurse AAS degree earners elevated their pay by 108 percent. In fact, the system’s entire cluster of health sciences AAS degree-earners showed an average wage increase of 97 percent (40 percent of the degrees awarded by CCCS are in health care).
Manufacturing graduates earned 84 percent more.
Students who earned a one-year vocational certificate earned only 1.8 percent more, but a two-year certificate raised earnings by 29 percent, the survey found. Students who didn’t earn a credential but completed 15 to 29 credit hours raised their pay by 11.9 percent, while those who earned 30 credits or more increased their earnings by 17.8 percent.
