Kudos to Governor Maura Healey for MassReconnect and Senate President Karen Spilka for supporting free community college. But I think it's wrong to use degree completion as a measure of success, as the Globe suggests in supporting MassReconnect (see “Massachusetts Community Colleges Reverse Enrollment Declines”). ”, Opinion, April 23).
Adult students return to college for a variety of reasons, but the primary motivation is usually financial advancement. While this is great for students looking to earn a degree, most adult learners are looking for the quickest and cheapest way to gain a qualification that will be valuable in their local labor market. It could be one or more industry certifications, vocational certifications, or an efficient learn-to-earn type of apprenticeship. States like Virginia and Ohio are investing heavily in popular fast-track programs for short periods of time, sometimes six to nine weeks, to address labor shortages in high-demand fields. .
For degree-seeking students, universities have an obligation to provide them with accurate labor market information early on about the economic benefits of different majors. With the majority of young women with four-year degrees (52%) being underemployed a year after graduation, meaning they are working in jobs that do not require a four-year degree, community college students are becoming increasingly underemployed. It is essential to guide them in such a direction. Fields with real labor market demand. Labor market outcomes, not academic degrees, should be the primary method when evaluating the return on federal mass reconnect investments.
robert schwartz
newton center
The author is professor emeritus at Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-editor of America's Hidden Economic Engine: How Community Colleges Can Drive Shared Prosperity.
The April 23 editorial makes a number of important points about the role of community colleges in educating people who believed that college was inaccessible. However, the editorial defined success as earning a degree and said, “If a student is paid but drops out before completing their degree, it is likely a waste of their time and taxpayers' money.” There is.
Students attend community colleges for two reasons. To obtain a degree and/or to obtain qualifications for employment in a profession of one's choice that does not require a degree. Both reasons are worthy of respect and have value in meeting employee needs. Community colleges should be supported and evaluated by the Department of Higher Education for student academic performance and by the Department of Labor for student workforce development outcomes.
At MassBay Community College, approximately 83 percent of students enroll to earn an associate's degree, and approximately 17 percent receive certifications that enable them to obtain employment in critical fields such as health care, emergency medicine, cybersecurity, and automotive technology. Are you enrolled in a book or just looking for coursework? and early childhood education. Both goals are important and we are proud to support our students, whatever their ambitions.
David Podell
President of Mass Bay Community College
Diane Schmalensee
MassBay Community College Board Chair
