Community Colleges and Diverse Populations
Diversity is increasing in this country, and many colleges are working to accommodate individuals that are 'different' in some way. This can include race and religion, but also addresses ethnicity, various handicaps, and primary language spoken. There are more and more individuals today that are coming to this country legally but yet do not speak English well. When these individuals attempt to attend a community college to learn job skills, they often struggle because of the language barrier. Because of this and other diversity issues, it is important to examine what community colleges are doing in order to help individuals succeed in their academic career. Distance learning, cultural diversity, specialization, professionalization, and self-serving faculty interests have made developing college curricula an increasingly difficult and somewhat arduous task. Even a medium-sized college or community college
One of the ways that community colleges are addressing this issue is to come up with multicultural ideas for learning (Pothering, 1998). Some of these students might then be required to take additional courses or attend various seminars so that they can learn what they need to learn and catch up with their peers (Pothering, 1998). Another area of diversity that must be addressed, especially when it comes to community colleges, is that the student population is older than what it used to be. will currently list, on average, over 2400 courses (Gaff, 1997) and experience a four to five percent annual net growth (Hefferlin, 1969). A college degree is still difficult to attain, and those that graduate from community colleges should be proud of their accomplishments. This is especially true if these graduates have dealt with diversity issues such as being non-native English speakers, having a physical disability, or returning to college after many years in the workforce. Community colleges are also working toward making sure that their campuses are accessible to those that have limited knowledge of English and those that have physical handicaps and therefore have trouble getting around as well as the 'normal' college student. Because of this age difference, these people bring many skills and diverse ideas to the community college that a strictly younger crowd might not be able to bring (Pothering, 1998). This gives them a lot of advantage, but also makes it difficult for them in other ways, because they are not used to the pace of attending classes and studying. In general, community colleges are not as strict and difficult with their requirements as universities, but this does not mean that they are easy. This growth rate may not seem like that much, but it is really very strong when one considers how many people are attending community colleges now and attempting to make a better life for themselves and their families. Many people go back to college after they have worked for some time, or after their children are in school, or sometimes after their children are grown up and on their own. Some of these ideas include classes for those that do not speak English well, classes that teach about different religions, and classes that handle other areas of diversity. The classes that many community colleges offer today allow for these kinds of issues, and they work to help students get through the problems that they might have.
Common topics in this essay:
,
community colleges,
community college,
pothering 1998,
diversity issues,
help students,
speak english,
|
Acceptance Essays
