Student Issues / Attending College

Academics, extracurricular activities, housing and more: be savvy about all facets of attending community college. Get tips on making the Dean's list. Find ways to benefit from community college outside the classroom. Analyze the latest data on graduation and employment rates. Plus news from journals, blogs and more.

View the most popular articles in Student Issues / Attending College:

How a Community College Apprenticeship Improves Your Resume

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How a Community College Apprenticeship Improves Your Resume
Learn about the benefits of an apprenticeship during your time at community college and how it can benefit your resume and future career.

Students all understand the benefits of internships, but have you explored the advantages of an apprenticeship? In today’s competitive job market, apprenticeships are becoming more popular than ever. For example, at Guam Community College, the number of apprenticeship program participants has reached a historical high.

Similar to internships, apprenticeships provide excellent opportunities for students to work alongside industry professionals, gaining hands-on experience, mentorship, and real-life guidance. Most apprenticeships focus on vocational trades and crafts, providing an excellent way to strengthen your resume and skills before entering the workforce.

This video reports on apprenticeship programs in community colleges.

Apprenticeship Opportunities

Apprenticeships are generally reserved for skill-based careers and services, and community college students pursuing studies in the following categories may benefit most from apprenticeship experiences:

  • Boilermakers
  • Bricklayer masons
  • Building maintenance personnel
  • Carpenters
  • Drywall hangers
  • Ceramic tile setters
  • Cement finishers
  • HVAC technicians
  • Maintenance electricians
  • Fire sprinkler installers
  • Elevator constructors
  • Floor layers
  • Manufacturing plant electricians
  • Insulators
  • Ironworkers
  • Plumbers
  • Painters
  • Roofers
  • Sheet metal workers
  • Sheet metal workers
  • Telecommunication technicians

Offering apprenticeship opportunities in all of the aforementioned categories are schools such as Lane Community College, located in Eugene, Oregon, wherein students are encouraged to “Learn the aspects of a highly skilled occupation through on-the-job training and related instruction.” Better yet, students can simultaneously earn an income during their apprenticeship.

Additionally, with apprenticeship experiences, students can effectively apply information learned in the classroom to experiences in the “real world.” From an employer’s perspective, apprenticeships help the student bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical

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The Benefits of Community College Minority Mentoring Programs

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The Benefits of Community College Minority Mentoring Programs
Learn about how minority mentorship programs at community colleges are improving academic performance and graduation rates, as well as providing a medley of benefits.

While all mentoring programs help improve student performance and graduation rates, some community colleges are finding that minority mentorship programs are even more beneficial. Colleges across the country are celebrating the outstanding results achieved through the collaborative efforts of on-campus minority mentoring programs. As the Education Resources Services Center articulates, “Mentoring is a process that can increase the retention of minority students, with larger numbers graduated and hired for faculty positions.”

To discover the benefits of minority mentoring opportunities, consider what some of the top-performing organizations have been able to achieve with their local community college support.

In their paper, Institutionalizing Mentoring in Community Colleges, Dr. Robin Phelps-Ward and Dr. Amanda O. Latz make the point that "Opportunities for institutionalized mentoring in community colleges have the potential to manifest in the promotion and tenure process, faculty development seminars, student recruitment and admissions procedures, and throughout curriculum development. However, colleges must make a concerted effort to weave and explicitly communicate mentoring as a value through mission and vision statements, strategic goals and outcomes, and even course objectives."

This video reports on the minority mentoring initiative at Montgomery County Community College.

Examining the College Student Spectrum

According to the Community College Review-Journal, diversity among community college student populations is constantly shifting. In fact, recent US Census Bureau reports show that 42.3 percent of African Americans enrolled in college programs

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Want to Lose Weight? How Your Community College Can Help

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Want to Lose Weight? How Your Community College Can Help
If you are looking to shed extra weight, your best source of support may be your community college. Learn about dieting programs, support groups, and even classes to help you get healthy.

The "freshman 15" and "sophomore 10" are a phenomenon that seems to plague community college students on every campus. Gaining weight often arrives hand-in-hand with the start of the school year, especially during the first years of college.

To combat issues related to obesity, excess weight, and poor lifestyle habits, community colleges across the country are providing students with weight loss support. Through these programs, perhaps the freshman 15 may become a phenomenon of the yesteryears!

Free Community College Weight Loss Programs

To help students enjoy weight loss success, community colleges have implemented unique and diverse programs to cater to individual dieting needs. For example, as Chron News reveals, Alvin Community College (ACC), located in Texas, now provides students with an innovative online weight loss class. Titled "Lose Weight and Keep it Off," the ACC course has been designed in cooperation with the world's largest resource and provider of online classes for adult students, ed2go. Through the expert guidance of Donna Acosta, ACC's registered dietician and nutrition instructor, all participants will learn about weight loss strategies, including:

  • Sensible eating
  • Simple habits of weight loss
  • How to maintain weight loss results and keep the pounds off

Clark State Community College (CSCC), with campuses in Springfield and Beavercreek, Ohio, has created an event to stimulate even more weight loss motivation. To help students pursue the path to better health, CSCC leaders encourage students to participate in weight loss contests sponsored and conducted by the college's

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Run Towards the Finish Line with a Community College Marathon

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Run Towards the Finish Line with a Community College Marathon
This article probably discusses the concept of community college marathons as a way to promote fitness and student engagement. It may explore the benefits of such events, how they are organized, and their impact on campus life and student health.

Run Towards the Finish Line with a Community College Marathon

Are you willing to go the distance? Marathon enthusiasts can find fantastic races on their very own community college campuses. Through marathon clubs or teams, community college students not only race against their colleagues but against their professors, too!

If you're curious about what it takes to become a marathon runner, or if you're hoping to find fellow students to join for long-distance running, consider community college marathon groups available in your local area.

Benefits of Joining Community College Marathon Teams

Marathon teams are springing up at community college campuses across the country. For example, Highland Community College, located in Highland, Kansas, offers a highly competitive Highland Marathon Team for eligible students. In examining the Highland Women's team, runners were able to compete at the National Junior College Athletic Association Half Marathon Championships, where participants raced in a 13.1-mile event.

Hosted at a different community college campus each year, the 2008 race was held at Johnson County Community College. Setting a six-year record for the Athletic Association, 185 runners representing a total of 27 different colleges participated. Individual runners hoped to earn fast times, and each college team strove for a top prize and ranking. According to the Highland Women's Marathon Team records, several of the school's top runners completed the race in under 1 hour and 45 minutes!

If you're curious about how to join your community college marathon team, you

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Polish Your Job Candidacy with an Ethics Business Course

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Polish Your Job Candidacy with an Ethics Business Course
Learn about business ethics courses offered at community colleges and how the curriculum can enhance your job candidacy and resume.

With the scandals of Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom in the past, today's corporate world demands a mixture of business acumen and ethics. To combat corruption, many employers are looking to hire candidates with business ethics qualifications. If you are looking for ways to enhance your resume and candidacy, consider enrolling in an ethics business class at your community college.

What are Ethics Business Courses?

Courses in business ethics are relatively new options, but they are certainly growing in relevance. As the Business Network explains, "Business ethics consists of a set of moral principles and values that govern the organization's behavior with respect to what is right and what is wrong."

Specifically, business ethics courses outline any company's moral philosophies and obligations. Business ethics classes often explore topics such as:

  • Evaluation of prohibited actions in the workplace
  • Legal frameworks on which an organization may be governed
  • Evaluation of the most common pillars of ethics. For example, evaluation of ethical philosophies such as deontologism, relativism, egoism, and utilitarianism (although these pillars of focus may vary for each course)
  • Examination of ethical violations in various business organizations (often based on hypothetical cases, historical occurrences, etc.)

This video explains business ethics.

Benefits of an Ethics Business Course

While many community colleges offer business ethics courses, North Seattle Community College (NSCC), located in Washington, has been pioneering its curriculum with practical, hands-on applications of business ethics.

NSCC

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Student Issues / Attending College

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Community college can be fun and socially enriching, especially with the right extracurricular activities. Reasons to join the debate club, volunteer opportunities and wellness programs are just a few topics covered here. Explore the benefits of community college outside of the classroom, from holiday celebrations to athletic programs, schools are finding ways to keep students engaged on campus.
GRADUATION
Graduation rates, policies, and caps - oh my! This section covers all topics related to community college graduations. How does state spending impact graduation rates? Who are the oldest community college graduates? What initiatives are in place to stem the rate of dropouts? Find the answers to these questions and more.
COMMUNITY COLLEGE HOUSING
The number of community colleges offering on-campus housing is on the rise. Learn more about campus living options, compare the pros and cons of dorm life, and get help deciding what housing is best for you.
IMPROVING LEARNING
Get helpful tips and expert advice on boosting your GPA. This section will provide valuable tips on studying, mentor programs and how to avoid academic probation. Examine the latest trends in student motivation techniques, take a good look at online learning, and find resources to guide you on the path to success.
IMPROVING YOUR JOB SEARCH
Whether you have just enrolled in community college or you’re ready to graduate and enter the job market, our articles can help improve your opportunities of landing the perfect job. Internships and apprenticeships offer lots of benefits, find out how participation in these programs can move your resume to the top of the pile. Analyze employment data for community college graduates and determine who is getting hired. Get valuable tips on polishing your candidacy and making the most of job fairs.
CLASS SCHEDULES
- Do you need child care? Are you employed full-time? Community colleges offer a variety of scheduling options, allowing most students to easily integrate continued education into an already busy schedule. From weekend classes to courses at midnight, we cover the gamut of flexible class schedules at community college.