Archive for the 'Colleges' Category

An Overview of U.S. Accreditation

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on February 27, 2008
in Colleges and Universities
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Accreditation is a process of external quality review used by higher education to scrutinize colleges, universities, and higher education programs for quality assurance and quality improvement. Accreditation in the United States is more than 100 years old, emerging from concerns to protect public health and safety and to serve the public interest.
 
In the United States, accreditation is carried out by private, nonprofit organizations designed for this specific purpose.  External quality review of higher education is a non-governmental enterprise. In other countries, accreditation and quality assurance activities are typically carried out by government.

Accreditors review colleges and universities in 50 states and a number of other countries. They review many thousands of programs in a range of professions and specialties including:

  • law,
  • medicine,
  • business,
  • nursing,
  • social work and pharmacy,
  • arts and journalism.

 There are three types of accreditors:

  1. Regional.
  2. National.
  3. Those serving a specialized profession. 

Accreditation serves the following purposes: 

  • Assuring quality.
  • Determining qualification for access to federal funds
  • Easing transfer from one school to another.
  • Engendering employer confidence in the degree or license granted by an institution.

Benefits of Community Colleges

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on January 30, 2008
in Colleges
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Among the benefits of community colleges are:

Lower Cost

Tuition costs are significantly lower than four-year colleges and universities (about $5,000 per year as compared to $12,000 to $20,000 or more for a four-year institution).

Easy Transfer to a University

A “2+2″ system in the United States refers to an efficient system of “articulation” between a two-year college and a four-year college or university. Most community colleges have articulation agreements with four-year colleges and universities, ensuring that credits earned at the community college will count toward the four-year degree program.

Accredited Institutions

American community colleges, four-year colleges, and major universities are all accredited by the same agencies. That is why universities accept course credits obtained at community colleges.

Wide Variety of Programs

Community colleges have hundreds of majors from which to choose, including popular areas such as business management, computer science, engineering, and health sciences-related programs.

English as a Second Language

Most community colleges offer a wide range of English course offerings at multiple levels and an array of support services to ensure that students with different language proficiencies succeed.

A Supportive Learning Environment

Community colleges offer small class sizes, averaging fewer than 30 students, allowing personal attention and ongoing support from professors. The focus is on individual student success within an environment designed to support students’ learning patterns and needs. Support services for students include tutoring, advising, writing labs, international student clubs, and international student service centers.

Diversity

U.S. community college students come from diverse cultural heritages and ethnicities. The colleges offer a wide spectrum of clubs and activities that celebrate and support the diversity that describes society in the United States.

Access to U.S. Culture

Because they are reflective of and responsive to their communities, community colleges tend to have strong local ties. This relationship provides international students with extensive opportunities to interact with Americans and to experience American culture.

Variety of Locations and Campus Sizes

Community colleges, like other educational institutions in the United States, differ widely. Some are large, multicampus institutions located in big cities, while others are much smaller schools located in rural settings and serving small student populations. There is a community college conveniently located within commuting distance of 90 percent of the U.S. population.

Distinguished Alumni

Alumni of U.S. community colleges include California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, NASA space shuttle commander Eileen Collins, Star Wars movie series producer/director George Lucas, film actors Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood, fashion designer Calvin Klein, human genome scientist Craig Venter, and U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.

Written by Martina Schulze.

Community Colleges - the Gateway to Higher Education

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on January 29, 2008
in Colleges
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Community colleges are the gateway to higher education in the United States for a growing number of students. These colleges provide students with an opportunity to earn credits for the first two years of a four-year bachelor’s degree at high-quality, accredited institutions. With their lower tuition costs, community colleges give students a way to save money while learning in a supportive environment. They also allow students to access training for associate-degree or nondegree careers, and they offer continuing education and personal development classes for the broad spectrum of adult learners.

Community colleges are the largest and fastest-growing sector of higher education in the United States. There are now nearly 1,200 regionally accredited community colleges located throughout the country, serving more than 11 million students (approximately 46% of all U.S. undergraduates).

U.S. community colleges offer international students numerous benefits, including opportunities to improve English language skills and to build an understanding of American culture in a U.S. community.

Written by George R. Boggs.