There Are Many Solutions To Students Non Completing Their Associates Degrees
Tuition costs are lower and the time it takes to obtain a degree is shorter. Even still, many community college students quit their associate degree program studies before obtaining their degrees.
In doing so, these students could be shortchanging themselves in terms of career and income potential. They might otherwise also serve as positive influences for family members who would follow their lead in the pursuit of an associate degree.
Not all students succeed in obtaining their associate degrees, however. Students in a report for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation cited a number of reasons for not completing their degrees. Following are a few of the reasons that students give for not completing their degree programs - and some proposed solutions that might help them overcome these challenges.
Problem: Financial aid. The students who quit college and university studies early were less likely to have received scholarships or loans or to have gotten pointers as to how to go about applying for tuition assistance, according to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation report. The report also suggested a need for scholarships available in instances where students participate in part-time studies.
Solution: Community colleges particularly tend to "discount" their published tuition rates for associate degree programs by an average of about 10 percent through offerings such as scholarships, according to a September report from the non-profit College Board.
Students can speak with the financial aid offices of community colleges to find out about scholarships and loans that might be available to them. Students should also complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which many schools require, and carry out free scholarship searches through online searches from the US Departments of Education and Labor, the College Board and web sites such as scholarships.com and fastweb.com.
Problem: Fitting studies in to schedules where full-time employment is involved. Students who work full-time are more likely to leave community colleges before obtaining their associate degrees.
Solution: Look for community colleges offering associate degree programs with flexible schedules. Many community colleges offer evening and weekend courses as well as online degree programs that allow students to schedule course work between work and family responsibilities and to participate in studies from wherever they have Internet access.
Many colleges, universities and organizations are working to help students to complete associate degree programs and to make it easier and more affordable for them to continue studies at the bachelor's level.
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund, for one, recently announced a new initiative known as "Generation 1st Degree." Through this initiative, college-educated Americans would essentially invest in Hispanic students with plans to become the first in their families to obtain a college or university degree.
Community colleges and four-year institutions are also teaming up in efforts to make for an easier transition between associate degree and bachelor's degree studies. Students in some instances might find their online college and university studies more affordable, or more convenient, as a result. The biggest beneficiary in making it easier, and more affordable, for students to successfully obtain associate degrees and bachelor degrees, after all, are the students and their families.
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