News

Exploring the world beyond our borders creates unparalleled learning opportunities. Travel exposes you to different cultures, languages and perspectives. Dedicating a summer, a semester or a month to studying abroad deepens the benefit, forging lifelong skills. Not just an option for juniors and seniors at four-year institutions, community college students also enjoy this valuable experience through many study abroad destinations. 

It wasn’t long ago that we were suspicious of purchasing products and services from a business without a national brand. We would hesitate to enter our credit card information for an Internet purchase. 

For the past decade, labor experts have outlined the need for education beyond high school to compete in nearly every industry. Some careers require years of higher education to earn the advanced degrees needed to work in the field. More typically, other careers rely on workers with associate or bachelor’s degrees. However, job seekers often forget that many careers can be effectively launched with the first step in higher education — the certificate.

You love your smartphone, always have the latest device and check Twitter before you grab your coffee in the morning. Or perhaps you recently purchased your first smartphone and are getting used to all the computing power you’re carrying around. 

Welcome to Waubonsee Community College’s new monthly column in the Kane County Chronicle. Each month, a member of our faculty, staff or student body will author a column highlighting the work of the college and its impact on our community. 

The Institute for College Access and Success’ Project on Student Debt reports that in 2011 four-year college graduates averaged more than $26,000 in student debt. Educational and financial experts are deeply concerned about the amount of debt students are incurring to complete bachelor’s degrees. While unemployment rates for those who complete a degree beyond high school are considerably lower, this debt can still have a long-term effect on these graduates’ success for years to come. Major life decisions such as getting married, having children and buying a home are often delayed due to remaining student debt. 

Have you ever traveled to a foreign country where you don’t speak the language? The entire experience can be disorienting. Figuring out how to navigate the environment, order food at a restaurant or even use an automated teller machine can be frustrating. For some students, going to college is equally foreign. 

Across the country this fall, many colleges and universities reported a decline in student enrollment. Pundits and analysts are rushing to explain this new trend, often focusing on the decreasing number of high school graduates, the economy and, perhaps the largest factor, the increasing cost to attend higher education. For years now, declining state and federal support has been a major factor in causing the average college tuition to grow at a much higher rate than overall inflation. However, textbook prices, which have also been on an upward track, are another key part of college affordability.

Community colleges offer a wide variety of courses and programs that help students learn new skills, earn degrees and certificates, and enter the workforce or transfer on to a four-year institution. Traditionally, this work has been supported through state and local support and increasingly, tuition. The pursuit of grants provides colleges with a way to increase their impact on the local economy through immediate and long-term benefits as even more community members are given an opportunity to realize their full potential.

College students across the country are transitioning from high school to higher education, learning how to navigate their college schedule and taking tentative first steps toward future success. Many others are returning to the classroom after an extended absence. While these fresh experiences are exciting, they are also remarkably important. Research now shows that a college student’s first year largely determines whether or not that student earns a degree.