American higher education can take many forms, from four-year universities to community colleges and even online learning platforms like Coursera. While completing a bachelor’s degree can be done at either of these, completing its first two years at a community college may also be possible. A community college serves primarily its local community and offers classes like math and history that may transfer over to university as well as community programs like resume help for job seekers or swimming lessons for children.
Students attending community colleges come from diverse backgrounds and ages, creating an extremely varied student body demographically. Community colleges typically provide evening and weekend classes so working adults can study while simultaneously raising families or managing careers; their flexible format also makes this form of education attractive to international students who might struggle to balance a full schedule at traditional universities.
US community colleges provide a range of degrees and certificates, with most open to anyone with a high school diploma or GED certificate and most having an open admission policy. Some programs have entrance exams for English classes while others require minimum grade point average requirements; some focus on technical courses while others aim to prepare their students for university study.
Many community colleges also have articulation agreements in place with four-year universities to make transfer easier for students, and it has become common for community colleges to offer certain bachelor’s degrees – often without dropping “community” from their name as they broaden their offerings.
Community colleges can be an ideal option for those who struggled in high school academically, as it gives them the chance to gain credentials necessary for university admissions. Some institutions even offer remedial education courses designed to get students up-to-speed for college-level classes.
Community colleges typically provide their students with an array of support services, from mentoring programs and study groups to community service initiatives and working with businesses to ensure students gain skills relevant to workplace demands – for instance, one may form an agreement with one such business to offer an in-house business planning workshop; these programs tend to be extremely popular among their participants who do exceptionally well academically.