Courses in College

President Obama wants to see more young Americans heading to college after high school, and he has started the wheels turning to make that happen. According to a report at DelawareOnline, Vice President Joe Biden recently announced President Obama's plan to boost community college completion to 50 percent by 2020. The president has also issued additional funding to community colleges to help them meet this goal. Some schools are taking a new approach to boost enrollment and completion in community colleges – by inspiring students to higher education before they even reach high school. This article will take a look at the way some community colleges across the country are sparking student interest in college earlier than ever before

Delaware Inspires Middle Schools

When President Obama increased national funding for the federal College Access Challenge Grant, it meant more money for the community colleges in Delaware. The schools in the state decided to use some of that extra money to fund a middle school program that brings eighth-grade students onto the community college campus for tours and information. The students learn about the various academic programs available, as well as financial aid options.

The program aims to get students interested in college at a younger age so they succeed in high school and move to a community college right after graduation. The program primarily targets areas of the state with high percentages of potential first-generation college students and single-parent homes.

Judi Coffield,

Two years ago, with a morbidly slumping economy and unemployment rates rising to the highest levels in decades, President Obama turned to community colleges as a means of bringing our country back to a state of robust economic health. According to a Washington Post report, Obama told the country that being unemployed is "no longer just a time to look for a new job." Instead, it's time to "prepare yourself for a better job."

To make it easier for displaced workers to get the training they needed to find employment once again, President Obama developed a plan that would allow unemployed workers to continue to receive unemployment benefits, as well as Pell Grants, to head back to school for retraining. Obama said, "I have asked every American to commit to at least one year of higher education. Every American will need more than a high school education."

Community Colleges Put it in Gear

To achieve Obama's end, community colleges across the country started kicking it into high gear, networking with employers in their area to provide job-specific training that would get the people in their communities back to work once again. However, it wasn't long before the economic crunch took its toll on higher education as well, and community colleges were forced to tighten their belts along with the rest of the country. With many budget cuts to grapple with, class sizes grew bigger and waitlists got longer.

Learn Homesteading Skills at Your Local Community College

Homesteading began in this country with the Homestead Act, signed into law by President Lincoln in 1862. According to this legislation, people could obtain free land in exchange for developing a homestead farm within a set time frame. If they successfully started their farm, the land it sat upon was theirs to keep.

Although homesteading laws are no longer in effect throughout most of Canada and the United States, homesteading appears to be catching on again. We will take a look at the new definition of homesteading and visit some community colleges that are teaching students how to adopt this way of life successfully.

This video explains homesteading.

Today's Homesteading

While homesteading in the 19^th century was about staking your claim to a piece of land, today's definition is more about finding self-sufficiency in a more straightforward way of life. According to Modern Homesteading Today, modern homesteaders grow their food, make their clothing, and even supply their electricity to their homes through solar or wind power. Homesteading allows individuals to abandon the break-neck speed lifestyles common today in favor of a simpler life, living off the land and growing together as a family.

Homesteading can be done in any country area, including the heart of big cities. Urban homesteading has become a popular concept as more city dwellers learn to live self-sufficiently

Community colleges have always been safe havens where struggling students can bring themselves up to academic par before transferring to a four-year university. In some cases, this might mean repeating a course a number of times before getting the required grade to advance to the next level. However, budget constrictions are impacting repeat classes for students across the country, with some left wondering how they will complete their community college program. We will take a look at both sides of this issue to find out how institutions are struggling to balance their commitment to student achievement with their bottom line.

This video explains what to do when you fail a class.

California Setting Limits

California is one of the first to look into setting limits on repeat courses at community colleges across the state. According to a report at Inside Higher Ed, the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office is looking into the feasibility of limiting the number of times students can repeat courses within their college system. Currently, a small number of California community college students may repeat a class as many as five times or more during their college career.

A spokesman for the chancellor's office, Terri Carbaugh, told Inside Higher Ed that the office was looking into the feasibility of a regulation limiting the number of times students can retake courses to save taxpayer dollars. The office would

It all started when Lane Community College in Oregon decided to offer a non-credit course titled "What is Islam?" The instructor of the course, Barry Sommer, had applied to teach a class in Islam for the community college, which the college accepted. However, before the course had a single sign-up, the college put the brakes on the offering. School officials learned some potentially disturbing facts about Sommer and decided it was best to nip the brewing controversy in the bud.

The Facts

Eugene resident Barry Sommer applied in October of this year to teach a class on Islam at Lane Community College. The school typically offers non-credit courses for interested students throughout the year, many of which are taught by qualified community residents rather than college professors. According to a report at World Net Daily, approval for the course came, and Sommer began preparations for teaching. When the course went online on the college website, Sommer also sent out a press release to alert others to his offering.

Once the details were announced, a local news station asked to interview Sommer. As the course became more public, so did Sommer's background. The Sommer may have been involved in organizations that were perceived as anti-Islamic. Once the news spread that Sommer was a potentially controversial figure in the Islamic community, Lane pulled the plug on the course.

This short video offers an overview of Islam.