Introduction
There are many community universities in the world which mostly carry on the tradition of adult education. Most of these were established in the 19th century to deal with adults who needed to dust up their knowledge levels. With time the community universities have evolved offer personal development programs to students who need marketable skills for the job market. Educational programs offered in community universities cover a variety of topics such as business, languages and sciences. Most of the community universities have evening classes which are aimed at assisting community members who have full time jobs yet they want to study. Funding for most of these institutions is likely to come from the federal government while others are funded by not-for-profit organizations.
History
Community universities offer tertiary education, granting certificates, associates degrees diplomas and bachelor’s degrees. In some countries community universities are perceived as established by the community, for the community and in the community. While most of them began as community colleges or high schools as the need for education and more specialized workforce emerges they are turned in to community universities.
In most countries community universities are institutions that are funded by the public. In the US the term is used together with community colleges as most of these institutions take a good portion of their students from the community around and in turn its supported by the local tax revenue.
Features
Most community universities have the following programs:
- ELearning-These are long distance programs which conduct online studies and proctored exams.
- Continuos education-This is usually a non-credit course offered by the community universities for personal development to individuals.
- Career education-This is the normal programs offered by any other university mostly running for four years and the graduate enters the workforce when they are through.
In the 1970s most of the community universities had begun as junior colleges especially in the US, some find it quite hard to shake off the term even when they have upgraded to institutions of higher learning. Today what most people refer to as junior colleges are privately funded colleges offering two-year programs for post high school students.
Tips and Comments
Most students who join community universities are likely to have graduated from community mid-level colleges which have an agreement with the community universities to train the students for the four year program. Some of the institutions of higher learning get in to a contract with the community colleges to continue training the graduates with the students leaving the initial mid-level colleges.Other students transfer to other universities where they undertake four year college education in liberal arts or 2-3 years in a community university for bachelor’s degree.
In other countries community universities not only provide the educational programs but other additional services as well. Some offer programs on lifestyle, life skills and adult literacy as well in an effort to create more awareness in the community. Other community universities offer bridging courses for students who wish to study A levels after which they choose which university they wish to join for their degree courses.
