I think community colleges are great, but they also are used to reframe the issues away from the real problems and solutions:
First, employers are only interested in what you can do for them, immediately. They are not interested in you or the rest of your life either 'horizontally' (the very many other aspects of your life, from individual to parent to citizen to homeowner to intellectual to whatever) or vertically (the rest of your life after you work for them, after you retire, if you get sick, have kids, go to grad school, etc.). For example, many employers will repeat the trendy mantra that all you need is community college skills, but they won't hire you for management without an MBA.
Second, the distribution of education is not based on capability and need, but on the wealth of parents. Wealthy kids without academic talent or effort get 4 year degrees or more; poor kids who are smart and work hard get community college or less. It's just as good, the wealthy people say, but somehow not good enough for their kids or to hire or pay well.
Finally, the demand for 4 year college is overwhelming, which we can see based on the ability to raise tuition without impacting attendance. The demand in the labor market is overwhelming, based on salary differences. Let's meet the demand and stop finding second rate substitutions.
I don't understand your argument. You can get an MBA after community college. MBA programs are for people who already have work experience.
College tuition increases astronomically due to bad govt subsidies and poorly--financially-educated teenagers making purchasing decisions.
Community colleges aren't "second-rate" compared to the plethora of for-profit and low-quality private universities.
2-year Community colleges are a stepping stone to 4-year degrees.
Do poor kids deserve better K-12 education so they can succeed in the same 4-year programs that rich kids do? Sure, but colleges can't fix that. It's crazy to also deny college education to kids just because they already got screwed over in K-12.
I wonder if you can get an MBA that's worth anything. I doubt any top tier program accepts many CC students.
> College tuition increases astronomically due to bad govt subsidies and poorly--financially-educated teenagers making purchasing decisions.
They are due to making tuition more market-priced, and according to research I've read, due to a reduction in public funding. It's also due to colleges raising tuition rather than focusing on their mission of educating people; nobody is forcing them.
> It's crazy to also deny college education to kids just because they already got screwed over in K-12.
Nobody suggested that. I said quality college education availability should be expanded.
First, employers are only interested in what you can do for them, immediately. They are not interested in you or the rest of your life either 'horizontally' (the very many other aspects of your life, from individual to parent to citizen to homeowner to intellectual to whatever) or vertically (the rest of your life after you work for them, after you retire, if you get sick, have kids, go to grad school, etc.). For example, many employers will repeat the trendy mantra that all you need is community college skills, but they won't hire you for management without an MBA.
Second, the distribution of education is not based on capability and need, but on the wealth of parents. Wealthy kids without academic talent or effort get 4 year degrees or more; poor kids who are smart and work hard get community college or less. It's just as good, the wealthy people say, but somehow not good enough for their kids or to hire or pay well.
Finally, the demand for 4 year college is overwhelming, which we can see based on the ability to raise tuition without impacting attendance. The demand in the labor market is overwhelming, based on salary differences. Let's meet the demand and stop finding second rate substitutions.