Jill Biden - America's Best-Kept Secret
Thursday July 9, 2009
Jill Biden called community colleges America's best-kept secret this week while speaking in Paris to a Unesco conference on higher education.
In his article, Matthew Saltmarsh quotes Biden as having said, "Community colleges are the way of the future. Now with people losing their jobs, they’re a great place to go for new training.”
Saltmarsh also includes these statistics: There are almost 1,200 community colleges among the 4,100 public and private higher-education institutions in the United States, serving almost 12 million students.
The gist of Biden's speech was that America's community colleges are not only great places for Americans to get training for new jobs, but they're also a potential export to countries trying to develop institutions of higher education.
Do you attend a community college? Did you? Share your experience with us.
Comments
I am a 1983 graduate of Vance Granville Community College, North Carolina. I graduated with an associate degree in Business Administration. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and felt that it provided me with the tools needed to have a successful career. I currently hold the position of Manager II with a government agency. I have jurisdiction and responsibility for a parent office and two branch offices covering 3 rural counties and a staff of 18.
Hi Renee!
Thanks for sharing your story. It’s exactly what I was hoping to see here. Have you ever felt like you needed more school? Or are you satisfied?
I am pretty much satisfied with the schooling that I have from a career perspective as I have accomplished far beyond what I had even imagined. I am holding a position that is customarily held by individuals with a 4 year degree. However, I am a life time learner so I am thinking about taking some other courses, through my local community college of course.
Community colleges are such a value. Compared to universities they’re much more responsive to community needs.
Good point, Magali. Thanks for commenting. What kind of classes do you take?
Renee, when you sign up, come back and share with us what you decided to take. We have some fun conversations going in the forum about classes taken for the sake of lifelong learning. Join us!