- This spring, enrollment at community colleges increased for the first time in a decade.
- One reason students choose local schools over four-year colleges is financial pressure.
- Leading companies partner with community colleges to provide additional opportunities for students.
Generation Z is known to question the norms and successes set for them. Some are turning their high school hobbies into full-time entrepreneurial ventures, while others are pursuing non-traditional areas of study at school.
Another route that’s becoming more popular with my generation is choosing community college instead of a four-year bachelor’s degree.
Overall, post-secondary education has yet to recover from its pandemic-era doldrums. Enrollments for bachelor’s programs fell 1.4% this spring. Reported by Axios.
but According to a report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research CenterCommunity college enrollment increased by 0.5% in Spring 2023.
Community college enrollments rose for the first time in more than a decade this spring (-10.1% and -8.2% in 2021 and 2022, respectively), despite a second straight year of sharp declines.
Financial pressure is fueling the community college boom
Financial stress is one of the main reasons students choose a two-year community school over a four-year degree.
For the 2022-2023 academic year, the average four-year tuition for statewide public colleges was $10,950. The out-of-state public college tuition for four years was $28,240. Private college tuition for four years was $39,400. According to the University Commissiona non-profit college admissions support company.
Meanwhile, the annual tuition for a two-year college in the district was $3,860.
Many people tend to pursue a two-year community college degree because of the wide difference in costs.
London-based tech startup Multiverse recently conducted a survey of 1,008 US parents with children ages 12-19. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they would support their children skipping college altogether and getting a job straight out of high school, many citing the high cost of college as a primary reason. increase. Similarly, only 47% of respondents said student loans were comparable to the debt their children would get.
Students are looking for shortcuts to the workforce
With today’s booming job market, students who want to earn money rather than spend it on their studies are getting jobs sooner. This also makes her two-year degree more attractive, as it can be completed in a shorter period of time.
Doug Shapiro, research and executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse, said, “I think students are increasingly looking to programs and majors that allow them to see a visible and easy direct connection to the workforce. ‘, he told a reporter for Axios.
Two-year majors in computer and information science and support services saw a 9.7% increase in enrollment this spring, an 8.2% increase in maintenance and repair technicians and a 9.7% increase in personal and culinary services, according to the NSC while transportation and material movements increased by 9.7%. increased by 11.8%.
Additionally, some leading companies are partnering with community colleges to provide additional opportunities to prepare future workers.
Global advertising company PMG offers a partnership with local community college, Tarrant County College. The program is called “Digital Career Accelerator,” an insider previously reported, as his eight-week free course aimed at teaching practical and introductory skills for a digital media career.
“Eventually, we want to hire from those schools,” said Stacey Martin, head of human resources and culture at PMG. “In all on-campus recruitment, a large part of what we do is really focused on getting involved in programs and community groups and building relationships with professors and alumni, so In addition to giving opportunities to those in the middle age group, past students also have the opportunity to consider careers within the digital media.”