Community,Colleges,Now,Offerin education Community Colleges Now Offering Four-Year Degrees

Translation jobs are undertaken by professional translators who are well versed with at least two languages.Translation can work at two levels: inter-state or regional language translation and inter-national or foreign language translation. Some forms of parent involvement with the school such as communications with school, volunteering, attending school events and parent--parent connections appeared to have little effect on student achievement, especially in high school. Helpi

In this still-uncertain economy that remains rife withunemployment, hundreds of thousands of out-of-work blue- and white-collarprofessionals, competing for scarce available jobs, find themselves faced withthe need to further their training, expand their skill sets, or in some caseschange career paths altogether. Many are going back to school, some to obtaintheir first college degree, others to get an additional or more advanced degreethat could give their résumé a much-needed competitive edge in a crowdedmarketplace.  Demand for theConvenience of Online College Degrees … In recent years, many “non-traditional” students who aren’table to attend classes on the conventional resident college student’s full-timeschedule — working parents, returning older students, students holdingdown a part-time or full-time job — have gravitated toward online degreeprograms that allow students to work toward their college degrees from home (oranywhere with a computer and an Internet connection) and at their own hours. Asaccredited online colleges and programs have proliferated, so have the numberof students pursuing online collegedegrees. These online college degrees, however, can often be pricey,requiring many students to take out a significant amount of money in studentloans and private student loans. And some online universities have continued tooffer only associate degrees and certificate programs, no bachelor’s oradvanced degrees. As competition for jobs has intensified in a shrinkingeconomy, many job-seeking professionals have found that their two-year collegedegree is going up against four-year and professional college degrees.   … and Demandfor the Lower Costs of Community College Programs Community colleges have traditionally offered lower-incomeand non-traditional students a lower-priced, commuter-friendly, and part-timealternative to pricier online college degrees and full-time four-year collegesand universities. But the two-year community college degree has posed the samedrawbacks as two-year online college degrees: When going up against four-yeardegrees in a job search, two-year degrees simply aren’t as competitive.  Four-Year CommunityColleges Offer a Cost-Convenience Solution Now, however, students are finding a growing number offour-year degree options at community colleges. As more community collegesrespond to increased student demand for affordable higher education, expandingtheir programs to include four-year bachelor’s degrees and appliedbaccalaureate degrees, new and returning students are increasingly able toobtain the academic pedigree of a four-year degree with much of the flexibilityoffered by online college degree programs but at the lower cost of a communitycollege education.  Bachelor’s DegreePrograms at Community Colleges Expanding Florida currently leads the nation with 14 communitycolleges authorized to award bachelor’s degrees, reports The New York Times, with 12 schools already having done so, infields including fire safety management and veterinary technology (“CommunityColleges Challenge Hierarchy With 4-Year Degrees May 2, 2009). Nationwide,17 states, including Nevada, Texas,and Washington,have granted community colleges the authority to award associate and bachelor’sdegrees.  In some states, community colleges have even becomefour-year institutions in order to facilitate their new longer programs. At Miami Dade College in Florida —formerly known as Miami Dade Community College — more than 1,000 students arecurrently enrolled in the school’s bachelor degree programs. The average age ofthese students is 33. LaKisha Coleman, a Miami Dade student who will graduate witha college degree in public safety management this spring, recommends the schoolto family members for its advantages over a traditional four-year degreeprogram at a state or private university.   “It’s much cheaper, the teachers are good, you can do it inthe evening while you work, and everyone’s very helpful,” Coleman told The New York Times.  Applied BaccalaureateDegrees Another Burgeoning Community College Offering In the current economy, at a time when students have fewerfinancial resources to cover their college costs and job prospects areuncertain, the applied baccalaureate degree is becoming a popular option forstudents, says Debra Bragg, the director of the Forum on the Future of PublicEducation at the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign. Usually focusing on applied academics or applied sciencesand technologies, an applied baccalaureate degree is a four-year bachelor’sdegree that may be earned at both two- and four-year institutions, includingtechnical colleges and community colleges. Unlike bachelor’s degrees at someconventional four-year universities, however, the applied baccalaureate degreecounts technical and associate degree–level courses as degree credits, allowingcommunity college students to keep their course costs low and minimize theirneed for studentloans or other financial aid. “Applied baccalaureate degree programs at community collegescan be used by students looking for a career that is emerging, or for adultswho have earned college credits in the past and are looking to re-entercollege, often to advance their careers to a supervisory level,” Bragg explains. Since 2000, the number of states offering an appliedbaccalaureate degree has doubled, reports the University of Illinois.Currently, 39 states offer the degree. The applied “real-world” focus of applied baccalaureateprograms and coursework is aimed at grooming students to fill projectedworkforce needs in areas of the country where large concentrations of jobs havebeen lost due to outsourcing, a shrinking manufacturing base, or a shift inlocal industry. “An applied baccalaureate degree represents a viablepathway for someone who previously hadn’t thought about earning a bachelor’sdegree,” says Bragg, “but now sees it as a necessary step to getting andkeeping a good job with benefits.”