Education
Junior College Funding
Editorial
Issue date: 2/16/09 Section: Opinion
Affordable tuition, small class sizes and capable, caring professors make community college the biggest bargain in Texas education, but funding cuts loom threatening that bargain making the dream of a college education possible for many.
It is essential that we make our collective voices heard and remind our representatives in the Texas Legislature that community colleges are not just a bargain for the student-citizens, but for Texas as well.
The University of Texas-Austin and Texas A&M University have long received the lion's share of public funding allocated by a Longhorn and Aggie alumni laden legislature.
Both are outstanding research institutions and deserving of a great deal of support, but the face of education is changing.
Seventy percent of all first time college students in Texas begin their college dreams at community college.
Catering to an increasing minority, poor and non-traditional student base, community college makes post-secondary education possible for people who might otherwise be compelled to accept minimum wage jobs with no benefits and no security.
With most community colleges having an open admissions policy community college is a second chance for students who performed poorly academically or on standardized tests.
Students who can't initially meet the requirements of the four- year university of their choice can prepare themselves at one of the more than seventy community college campuses in Texas.
Even for those without aspirations of achieving a degree from a four-year university can reap huge benefits.
People with associate degrees earn 36 percent more than someone with a high school diploma. More income for the citizen is more income for the state in the form of sales taxes.
Perhaps equally important dollars spent on community college education can help to prevent spending more dollars on unemployment insurance, drug and alcohol treatment programs and prisons.
It is essential that we make our collective voices heard and remind our representatives in the Texas Legislature that community colleges are not just a bargain for the student-citizens, but for Texas as well.
The University of Texas-Austin and Texas A&M University have long received the lion's share of public funding allocated by a Longhorn and Aggie alumni laden legislature.
Both are outstanding research institutions and deserving of a great deal of support, but the face of education is changing.
Seventy percent of all first time college students in Texas begin their college dreams at community college.
Catering to an increasing minority, poor and non-traditional student base, community college makes post-secondary education possible for people who might otherwise be compelled to accept minimum wage jobs with no benefits and no security.
With most community colleges having an open admissions policy community college is a second chance for students who performed poorly academically or on standardized tests.
Students who can't initially meet the requirements of the four- year university of their choice can prepare themselves at one of the more than seventy community college campuses in Texas.
Even for those without aspirations of achieving a degree from a four-year university can reap huge benefits.
People with associate degrees earn 36 percent more than someone with a high school diploma. More income for the citizen is more income for the state in the form of sales taxes.
Perhaps equally important dollars spent on community college education can help to prevent spending more dollars on unemployment insurance, drug and alcohol treatment programs and prisons.
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