For years, community colleges have been stigmatized as being inferior than traditional four-year universities. Many people, particularly students at those four-year universities, feel that their two-year counterparts lack the resources to stand on equal footing. Students who attend community colleges are perceived as slackers.
Outside the popular consciousness, enrollment rates at community college have increased dramatically. Columbus State Community College, not far from Ohio State, recently expanded its campus to Delaware County. Since 1995, the traditionally two-year college has grown by more than 40 percent.
This summer, I decided to take classes at Columbus State. The cost was inexpensive — less than $80 a credit hour. The student population was far more diverse than at OSU; older students filled the hallways along with single parents. The college was also far more ethnically diverse, from my observation.
Initially, my expectations of Columbus State were rather low. I expected most of the slackers to be regular students at the community college.
When I arrived on campus, however, I was shocked to find that many of the slackers were students who came from OSU.
I concluded that community colleges aren’t inferior to four-year universities. Like many community colleges, Columbus State is like a mini-sized version of a four-year university. It had many of the same characteristics as OSU.
Contrary to popular belief, the resources at some community colleges are plentiful. At Columbus State, there were free tutoring rooms, writing centers and a large computer room with free printing. Although there were fewer tutors, smaller libraries and computer rooms, the quality of the resources was enough for any student willing to take advantage of them.
In short, community colleges provide a great opportunity for many students. At an average of $2,000 a year, community college is affordable. Students from many backgrounds can afford to study whatever their hearts desire. With all the resources, low tuition costs and skyrocketing enrollment rates, it is safe to say community colleges are the future of higher education.
