tweekster: In my case they bent over backwards with course transfers and calling it an equivalent. Some weren't even in the same department but they asked me what we covered and they would say "close enough". But then again a lot of classes were specialized and would change in 4 years anyways. A class might fill a requirement that will only be offered for one semester.

Dammit! If it went that way with mine, I'd have a Psych degree by now.

...and probably be a seething cauldron of self-hate. Ah well

Arnold T Pants: Yea, keep on spending. It's not like this country is running the largest deficit in the history of the world. I think Obama needs to go to one of these colleges. It probably wouldn't hurt if freshened up on basic economics first. You know, the basics you learn in middle school.

How do you people type this without a ":;" after Bush's unprecedented spending and corporate bailouts?

Blowmonkey: Most of the people who bash community colleges got shiatty degrees from shiatty state schools. This helps to pump their ego by having someone to put down.

And I fully recognize those of us with good degrees who went to good schools shiat on those of you with shiatty degrees from shiatty state schools.

Hey it's the circle of life.

My parents were too poor to pay for a 4-year university when I was 18, so I did 2 years at a CC (Southwestern, in Chula Vista). I much later transferred to San Diego State University, which turned out to be an amazing experience. I highly recommend SDSU. I learned a great deal there, and the professors were fantastic.

That was a longwinded way to say that I think Obama made a good decision here.

atlanta_ufo: Courses like Principles of Mathematics usually have no equivalent at a 4-year, so you have to ensure the courses you take at CC transfer.

The other factor I have found is that age matters when it comes to transfer credits. They will work with a person coming in as a junior and calling it an equivalent course. A freshman that took one semester at a CC will get less consideration.

I meant " ;) ". I knew that didn't look right.

dlime16: I'm sure there are good ones but I'm not at one.

Do I have to tell you step 2?

dlime16: annoying liberal douchebags who think the classroom is a soap box

This is why I like engineering. It is hard to convey a liberal or conservative bias when teaching thermodynamics or finite element analysis.

IXI Jim IXI: Benjimin_Dover: The two years spent in CC and getting an Associates Degree is the same as spending 2 years at a 4 year school and getting an Associates Degree. English 101 is English 101 no matter where you get it if they follow the standard course curriculum. If they don't then they can't call it English 101. (or whatever course)

It depends on the course. For instance, they claimed that my history class was "too specialized"...and then offered me Asian History for my History credit.

It wasn't too specialized, it was too white. Diversity is all the rage nowadays.

Community Colleges are good for one thing: shafting the system back by not paying your own university for those bullshiat core classes. Almost everyone I know that went to community college went there because they couldn't hack it in a four-year school. The remaining few realized that credit hours were accepted by our university but cost half as much and were at least twice as easy.

Community Colleges are a festering boil on the higher education system. It's why I had to get a Masters to make sure I don't get some shiat job right out of school. It's why I have to get my Ph.D to keep competitive. Undergraduates are a dime-a-dozen and just as inept with a degree as they were stumbling out of high school. CC's cheapen the whole system. What's going to happen when we've all got at least one Ph.D in some menial task? Something's gotta break.

\Made the mistake of actually taking all my courses at my university
\\Paid out of state tuition -- assholes
\\\Engineer laughing at all these Philosophy and Business majors serving me lunch today. College is for higher education, not fark around 'till I find something I want to do. That's called high school.

(Cue the 'but I was the first to graduate in my family thanks to CC' whiners. Yeah? So was I. And you assholes are making me get a Ph.D sooner or later.)

I remember when Bush said during the debates with Kerry that people who lose their jobs due to outsourcing should go back and get some education.

Here you go...

Also, to the people that go on and on about ditch diggers: Yeah, my Dad is Cemeterian. He has been in the business for +30 years. He had to earn a degree at some point in what I don't know (a combination of business administration and horticulture, maybe.) But we have talked on the subject often and he had to get the degree to get earn more, to run the crematorium, and to run the cemetery.

/Working class roots, yo.
//I know it was a line from a movie, but it's wrong

I'm not sure we should be dumping billions of taxpayer dollars into them but why would anyone take such a dim view of community colleges/vocational schools?
CC's are a necessary part of the American education equation because our high schools suck so bad these days. Not to mention the continuing education programs many of them offer.

FTFA - President Barack Obama will unveil a $12 billion initiative on Tuesday to boost community colleges and propel the United States toward his goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, administration officials said.

Speaking as someone who went to an affordable community college for two years before transferring to AND graduating from a far more expensive private college, I'm all for this idea.

/Started out at "Tri-C" west, ended up at Baldwin-Wallace College.
//Think $30ish per credit hour versus $120ish (this was YEARS ago).
///FARK yeah, it's the way to go.

Howie Spankowitz: I have long believed community colleges to be one of the most underrated economic engines in the country. It's also one of our most democratic institutions. I wouldn't have been the first member of my entire family to graduate from college if it weren't for CC.

CC's are government services at their most cost-effective and best.

THIS I didn't go to one but recognize their value. Getting prerequisite cousres out of the way for a much lower cost is one. Why pay top dollar for Eng 101 or Art 101 when you can get comparable for far less cost then at a two year school. Especially true if you aren't an English major or art student.

Retraining workers for new jobs is another.

From a parental POV you can see if little Johny is applying himself before spending the big bucks.

Christ on Crutch the value of a good CC is almost endless. They are the military calls a force multiplier.

Looking at my MFA/IA I realize that I've been able to parley my CC education to great effect.
So yeah, Community College is worth it.
I have a heartwarming tale of failure and redemption to go along with my degrees but I'll spare everyone the details and leave it at " I might not have made it without Community Colleges". You haters just didn't want to get out of bed or leave the party so put a sock in it.

BlorfMaster: Rockdrummer: I teach a community college class. My first peer review said "Ease up on the requirements, after all this is a community college, not a university." Is it the mindset that community college is a dumbed down college education? Things like my experience don't help the reputation.

I took astronomy as a science requirement in both a community college and a major university.

Community college: learn the name of the planets, go to the planetarium and look at the pretty stars. Watch a few 'NOVA' episodes'.

University Level College: Learn Kepler's law and calculate the orbits of various planets. Learn Newtonian physics and calculate various things. Exams were almost all math.

HUGE difference.

If you took the exact same class twice, you're an idiot. If you neglected to point out they were different classes on the same subject, you're a dumbass. You pick.

Blowmonkey: dlime16: I'm sure there are good ones but I'm not at one.

Do I have to tell you step 2?

???

spcefrk: Community Colleges are good for one thing: shafting the system back by not paying your own university for those bullshiat core classes. Almost everyone I know that went to community college went there because they couldn't hack it in a four-year school. The remaining few realized that credit hours were accepted by our university but cost half as much and were at least twice as easy.

Community Colleges are a festering boil on the higher education system. It's why I had to get a Masters to make sure I don't get some shiat job right out of school. It's why I have to get my Ph.D to keep competitive. Undergraduates are a dime-a-dozen and just as inept with a degree as they were stumbling out of high school. CC's cheapen the whole system. What's going to happen when we've all got at least one Ph.D in some menial task? Something's gotta break.

\Made the mistake of actually taking all my courses at my university
\\Paid out of state tuition -- assholes
\\\Engineer laughing at all these Philosophy and Business majors serving me lunch today. College is for higher education, not fark around 'till I find something I want to do. That's called high school.

(Cue the 'but I was the first to graduate in my family thanks to CC' whiners. Yeah? So was I. And you assholes are making me get a Ph.D sooner or later.)


You are probably just trolling but I will disagree with you.

Even if a college degree doesn't lead you to the career you thought it would. You can learn alot about cultural diversity, opposing views, differant points of referance.

These are all things that may not come from a book but will serve you later in life.

When I first read "Obama pumps billions" I was just like "oh, shiat, this is bill clinton all over again"

rastjr: These are all things that may not come from a book but will serve you later in life.

Like, in his case, "moving out of Kansas"

dlime16: As someone going to a CC I have to say they are pretty hit or miss. I went on the advice that a lot of you are repeating here. However, I'm currently taking classes that are about HS level, most of the people are barely literate, and my professors range from barely competent to annoying liberal douchebags who think the classroom is a soap box (yeah, I know a 4 year has those too but they just feel so much less appropriate at a 2 year). I'm sure there are good ones but I'm not at one.

/Not sure if I can finish without kicking one of the unwed mothers in the stomach.

Remind them politely they are contracted to teach and you are a paying customer. Most CC teachers don not have tenure.

dlime16: Blowmonkey: dlime16: I'm sure there are good ones but I'm not at one.

Do I have to tell you step 2?

???

Go to a good one.

/maybe you should stay there actually.

MrSteve007:
By the time I left CC, I had an associates degree, pre-professional in radio broadcasting, certified MIG, TIG and Oxy Welder, and an ASE certified auto electrician.

I found that the quality of instruction was much higher in community college, since the class sizes were smaller, and most of the instructors are working professionals in their industry, vs. University professors who have been in purely academia for 15-20 years.

To be fair, the things you were trained in don't actually get any training at the university level, as you're expected to pick them up in about half an hour by reading the six-page manual and maybe some online supplementals. Except for pre-professional radio broadcasting, which doesn't even require that.

It seems kind of unfair to judge real college negatively on the grounds that they teach things you have to have some minimal intelligence to absorb. The entire world cannot be geared toward the dumbest individual possible, we'd get nowhere.

//Admittedly I do have a lot more welding knowledge than can be absorbed in 30 minutes, but somehow I'm doubting that your MIG/TIG class covered quantitative effects stemming from molecular adhesion and variable corrosion and expansion coefficients in welded zones.

//Also welding properly does takes some practice. Not training... just practice.

The CC down the road from me is graduated a record sized class this year. Still no businesses or industries to hire them and there hasn't been for over a decade. And because any industry created in America gets exported overseas in about 2-4 years, there's still no hope for any kind future except burger flipper and cashier at wal-mart

America, it really sucks

Going to a community college was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my young life! I saved thousands of dollars in loans and rent by living with a friend and getting an associates degree. I always encourage everyone I know who is graduating high school to think about it! It's the exact same education as you would get your first two years as it is, just a lot cheaper! I love community college!

Blowmonkey: dlime16: Blowmonkey: dlime16: I'm sure there are good ones but I'm not at one.

Do I have to tell you step 2?

???

Go to a good one.

/maybe you should stay there actually.

Is he perhaps part of why that CC isn't very good? He couldn't figure out step 2 (but step 3 is always PROFIT), after all.

Blowmonkey: dlime16: Blowmonkey: dlime16: I'm sure there are good ones but I'm not at one.

Do I have to tell you step 2?

???

Go to a good one.

/maybe you should stay there actually.

I think you missed the joke. That is my plan, I just have no need to blab about my life plans on fark.

IXI Jim IXI: BTW, not only are there a lot of girls with self-esteem issues, there's usually a decent amount of turnover, so there's always a fresh face.

You ain't lyin'! Twenty years ago I went through the Hotel and Restaurant Management Dept. at Gwinnett Tech like Sherman went through Georgia.

/them was the days

When I graduated HS I could of gone to the local CC for free or the local University for free, all at the expense of the State. I choose the University.

It is nice seeing so many people going onto higher education, but a BA is becoming worthless. Nice to know that my (future) degree in Psychology, which would of allowed for more opportunities 50 years ago, is now seen today as a bullshiat degree today. I can only assume it is the same for other majors (history, polysci, communication).

Oh well. I'm thinking about becoming a double major in Physics. Right now I'm taking the Calculus classes and have been getting A's in them so far. Start the actual Physics class this fall. I still got two years to figure this out.

Went to a 4-year school, 3 years of it were out of state.

The lessons i learned being 1,000 miles from home and doing things on my own far outweigh the few grand I could have saved by living at home for 2 years and transferring. The life/business skills that I picked up from being anonomyous at a 4-year school are worth far more, IMO.

IXI Jim IXI: rastjr: These are all things that may not come from a book but will serve you later in life.

Like, in his case, "moving out of Kansas"


Yeah, that would be a start.

Putting degrees in gumball machines across the country would be cheaper.

GAT_00: Could you dump that into the real colleges first Obama? Thanks. Two straight years of 20% increases as I finish up isn't nice.

Well, you see, the difference is this...

"Real" colleges, as you so eloquently put it, have sports teams, alumni, and legacies, so chances are pretty good that the money is getting pooled (or pulled?) from SOMEWHERE, be it from sporting event ticket sales, alumni boards, who are no more than VERY rich people with VERY deep pockets and don't know how to distribute the money, and usually give most of it to the President of the University, who basically does nothing more than sits on his ass and twiddles his thumbs.

/I might've pulled that out of MY ass, but I still think it's true.
//Aren't run-in sentences GREAT!?

Marcintosh: Looking at my MFA/IA I realize that I've been able to parley my CC education to great effect.
So yeah, Community College is worth it.
I have a heartwarming tale of failure and redemption to go along with my degrees but I'll spare everyone the details and leave it at " I might not have made it without Community Colleges". You haters just didn't want to get out of bed or leave the party so put a sock in it.

They don't like the competition from smart farm kids, smart poor working class with fire in their bellies and smart former grunts.

Former grunt ;o) Went to college after I got my degree, have yet to regret that decision. Best kind of worker: smart farm kids hands down. Motivated, hardworking, boat loads of common sense.

BlorfMaster: If your college education was not expensive, then it is worthless.

"Yes, I received my degree in GhettoCity Community College"

"Thank you for coming, NEXT"

The only thing worse than shelling out cash for a degree is shelling out even more for a pedigree.

If a potential employer is not interested in what you know and what you can accomplish with that knowledge, then they don't know what they want or need. If they start hiring employees, then, based on their opinion of what school they have been to, they are bound to find themselves surrounded by those who probably have never had to apply the concepts of scarcity, opportunity cost, or efficiency to their lives.

I have a B.S. from a public school that is very well thought of in the industry the degree applies to. It is the biggest waste of time and money I have ever pursued.

Major Universities are quickly becoming, if not already, outside of the average Americans ability to go to them.

I was almost exactly the midpoint of my high school class's standings. My high school GPA was about a 2.4. To say that I was not going to receive enough scholarship to attend College was an understatement.

We need good community colleges in place for those that wish to better themselves. As Americans I believe we all have a healthy respect for people's potential, and don't want anyone to lose that potential.

/Story ends well for me at least. I worked a couple jobs during school and put myself through community college with a 3.9 GPA.

o5iiawah: The lessons i learned being 1,000 miles from home and doing things on my own far outweigh the few grand I could have saved by living at home for 2 years and transferring. The life/business skills that I picked up from being anonomyous at a 4-year school are worth far more, IMO.

In other words, the drinking.

Obama just wants to brainwash the youth in leftist propaganda.

Major Universities are quickly becoming, if not already, outside of the average Americans ability to go to them.



You hit the nail on the head - average isn't their ideal candidate.

IXI Jim IXI: o5iiawah: The lessons i learned being 1,000 miles from home and doing things on my own far outweigh the few grand I could have saved by living at home for 2 years and transferring. The life/business skills that I picked up from being anonomyous at a 4-year school are worth far more, IMO.

In other words, the drinking.

Budgeting, responsibility, networking, ethic.

Yes, drinking too

I knew too many snowflakes, unwed mothers, or kids with helicopter parents who are 25 and dont act a day over 17 because they went to CC or a school a stones' throw from where they live.

AR55: When I graduated HS I could of HAVE gone to the local CC for free or the local University for free, all at the expense of the State. I choose the University.

It is nice seeing so many people going onto higher education, but a BA is becoming worthless. It's nNice to know that my (future) degree in Psychology, which would of HAVE allowed for more opportunities 50 years ago, is now seen today as a bullshiat degree today. I can only assume it is the same for other majors (history, polysci, communication).

Oh, well. I'm thinking about becoming a double major in Physics. Right now I'm taking the Calculus classes and have been getting A's in them so far. Start the actual Physics class this fall. I still gotHAVE two years to figure this out.

FTFY.

You probably should HAVE used your college education to further your grammar skills.

/What? I'm just saying!
//I only had ONE year of college...and that's just because the college kept having technical "problems" getting my high school transcripts through...yeah, right.
///If it makes you feel any better, I've long forgotten how to use punctuation! :D

o5iiawah: I knew too many snowflakes, unwed mothers, or kids with helicopter parents who are 25 and dont act a day over 17 because they went to CC or a school a stones' throw from where they live.

Some people have to be forced to grow up.

Not me, though. I'm a Toys R Us kid. :D

Howie Spankowitz:
All of you denigrating CC's as "degree mills" or somehow not being "real" college are beyond ignorant. Look at the transfer stats to four year colleges from CC's in California. Most of these students might not have had an opportunity to go to college if not for CC's.

THIS

I suppose it depends on the community college, though.

I'll point out, though, that I probably count as one of those people who wouldn't have made the cut if I'd gone straight to uni, though...'twas a big help.

Some days I wish I'd just said "screw it" and went the vocational route, though. The guys who went for heating/AC are doing a lot better than I am.

fenianfark: U of Phoenix is a joke. Anyone that is hiring will not so much as look at a U of Phoenix graduate. Try getting an engineering degree there and then telling other engineers that you are also an engineer. You will be laughed at.

That's funny. I was talking with a friend about this the other day. Can you give an example what engineering degree that would be?

autopsybeverage: BlorfMaster: If your college education was not expensive, then it is worthless.

"Yes, I received my degree in GhettoCity Community College"

"Thank you for coming, NEXT"

The only thing worse than shelling out cash for a degree is shelling out even more for a pedigree.

If a potential employer is not interested in what you know and what you can accomplish with that knowledge, then they don't know what they want or need. If they start hiring employees, then, based on their opinion of what school they have been to, they are bound to find themselves surrounded by those who probably have never had to apply the concepts of scarcity, opportunity cost, or efficiency to their lives.

I have a B.S. from a public school that is very well thought of in the industry the degree applies to. It is the biggest waste of time and money I have ever pursued.

THIS

Many companies/government agencies hire skill sets and ability to fit into their organizational culture. School pedigree was more important about 25 years ago, to day not so much.

Even searches done on monster are done through key word searches based on what they are hiring for. They only do that if the unadvertised job market is exhausted first or they are required to by law.

I don't get the hate for CC's.

I currently attend one. In fact, tonight I have an interview for the RN program there.

I attended a private college back in 97-99 and I hated it. I love it at the CC I go to now. The teachers there actually work during the day in the field they teach, and come teach class at night. You get small classes and lots of one on one time. Free tutors too, if needed.

Aside from the great education I am getting, this school has an 95% post grad work placement rate as well. The nearest U is 3.5 hours away. Going there isn't an option to those of us with families and jobs.

When I do graduate, I have no doubt I will be just as qualified as someone who went to a university.

I got my associate's degree RN from a community college that cost me about $900 total per semester and started making good money straight out of college, so I'm getting a kick out of this thread.

o5iiawah: IXI Jim IXI: o5iiawah: The lessons i learned being 1,000 miles from home and doing things on my own far outweigh the few grand I could have saved by living at home for 2 years and transferring. The life/business skills that I picked up from being anonomyous at a 4-year school are worth far more, IMO.

In other words, the drinking.

Budgeting, responsibility, networking, ethic.

Yes, drinking too

I knew too many snowflakes, unwed mothers, or kids with helicopter parents who are 25 and dont act a day over 17 because they went to CC or a school a stones' throw from where they live.

Right, it's the community college's fault, not the douche parents' or the douche kid's.

/Might I suggest an English Grammar class next semester? Or heck, summer school?
//I really don't think unwed mothers don't act a day over 17. And if they are at your college, you should applaud them and kiss their feet because they are working hard to improve their lives.

I think the biggest problem with my generation's education is that so many people get a degree from wherever and then continue living in their parent's house. I am not talking about people who do it for 6 months to a year I am talking about people who are 28-29. Move out.

I thought we have enough college grads now,that don't know their dumpster from a hole in the ground,leeching off the working man.

Of course the longer able bodies are loitering around in the halls of academia,the better our unemployment numbers look.

Another welfare program for the privatized "education"racket,producing barely functional illiterates at outrageous taxpayer expense.