American Colleges Offer Equal Opportunities in Access to Education - Essay Example

American colleges offer equal opportunities in access to education Introduction American colleges offer equalopportunities in admission and strive to meet the workplace needs in labor (Boggs p 1). American colleges are the fastest growing segment of the entire US economy, since community colleges account for 43 percent of U.S graduates. Nearly 1,200 colleges in the US serve diverse need of the communities such as technical colleges, junior colleges, and nonprofit higher institutions. The colleges offer diversified programs that culminate in associate degrees and certificates in subjects such as nursing and teacher education. The colleges are cheaper and high school pay an average of $ 2,544 per year. The colleges attain high enrollment despite the harsh economic conditions in the society (Boggs p 3). Thesis: American colleges are democratic, diverse and offer equal opportunities in access of quality education American colleges are democratic since citizens have equal access regardless of age, gender, race or ethnic background. The education is accessible, quality and ensures a learning lifeline for the rural communities. The community colleges offer critical workforce for the nation since a majority of the first responders including firefighters, police officers and paramedics have postsecondary credentials (Boggs p 3). The education provide local economies with required skills such as the Alabama Southern Community College that offers paper technology programs to the pulp industries and Gulf Coast colleges that offer petrochemical technical programs. The colleges are inclusive and diverse in terms of nationality, ethnicity, social economic status and disability composition of the student population (Boggs 4). All American politicians and educationists agree that education guarantees American competitiveness and productivity (Delbanco p 1). American colleges keep pace with knowledge economy through providing the required skills and expertise in the industries. Although education has existed since Ancient Greece and Rome, American colleges have gone further to formalize the education system by grant of the teaching license and modern colleges with library facilities. American colleges have specialized education and strive to reach many people as possible including women. Inclusion of need-based policies ensures equal access of education among social classes without any regard to social status or birth status of the individual. Interestingly, students from affluent families have chances of gaining admission to nonprofit colleges and gain knowledge on American and international cultures (Delbanco 3). Unlike other college systems that aim at attaining higher employment rates like Chinese, American college system aim at enabling the multi-cultural student population to learn from each other. Indeed, a landmark case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) demonstrated that inter-racial student population enables interchange of ideas and interaction of consciences. American colleges have utilized technology to ensure higher access and reduce costs associated with small classes per faculty. The hybrid model allow for electronic instruction and assessment. However, the standardized testing system of other countries such as China and Belgium is slowly gaining inroads in US decentralized system with the No Child Left behind Program assessment program proposed by President Barrack Obama. The standardized system will undermine liberal education ideologies, but will cater for the cost, use of technology and increase the transition from the school to college. However, some qualities such as creativity, humility and insight in to ethical behaviors are immeasurable using standardized testing. American college system is under revolution due to increase in the use of information technology, globalization, inadequacy of secondary education and high debate on skills needed in the economy. Accordingly, older students are faced with challenges such as family demands, job demands and already formed attitudes towards life (Delbanco 5). General education in degree programs will facilitate logical and quantitative reasoning. The education caters for cultural values that shape the society and arts that inspire values. For instance, Penn State’s general education combines skills on critical information gathering in terms of reading, scientific experiments and observations (Penn State 2). An ideal Penn State academic program on general education requires students to undertake first-year engagement programs that expose them to different cultures and writing skills (Penn State 4). The integrated curriculum combines communication skills, studies in broad overview of the world and cultural studies. The knowledge domains include health and physical activity that offer life span wellness and skills needed to live healthy. The critical fields in this category include sexual health awareness, drug abuse prevention, stress management and sporting activities that include traditional dance and exercises (Penn State 5). The natural sciences include biological sciences, earth sciences, physical sciences and applied natural sciences that enable students understand different scientific reasoning. The arts include architectural expressions, literature, history and attitudes that provide an understanding of humankind. The social and behavioral sciences components develops students understanding of societal forces, diverse personal ad interpersonal strengths of the students and understanding of economic analysis, dynamics of behavior and interrelationships of various social institutions. The programs allow students to learn different United States cultural identities like religions, races and ethnicities that form the entire US society including the customs, beliefs and values. Accordingly, students have an opportunity to understand international cultures and nations information (Penn State 8). Last year, President Obama initiated the H.R 4872 and Education Affordability reconciliation Act that provides career training grants and new trade adjustment assistance program in order to increase access by 50 percent. The new initiatives aim at ensuring American has the highest number of skilled workforce in the world. Policymakers must work together to increase college transfers, enroll more students from poor social economic backgrounds and increase the graduation rates. American college model has gained increased global recognition and interest in countries like New Zealand, China and Qatar. Colleges have cooperated with countries like Canada, Australia and Denmark in improving lifelong learning in their countries (Boggs p 5). Conclusion The colleges offer diversified programs that culminate in to associate degrees and certificates in subjects such as nursing and teacher education. American colleges have specialized education and strives to reach many people as possible including women. Indeed, liberal ideologies of free will and pleasure dictate that minorities and women should be granted equal opportunities in the college education. Inclusion of need-based policies ensures equal access of education among social classes without any regard to social status or birth status of the individual. Students can analyze and evaluate acquired knowledge while at the same time integrating knowledge from different academic fields. Interestingly, students benefit from communication skills and an understanding of the cultural diversity thus fostering creativity in their activities. Works cited: Boggs, George. “Democracy’s colleges: the evolution of the community college in America”, Association of Community colleges. August 19, 2010: p 1-6. Delbanco, Andrew. “College at risk”, Chronicle review. Web. (http://chronicle.com/article/College-at-Risk/130893/. Huxley, T.H. “A liberal education”, English 1A. Penn State. (2013). “What is general education”, Penn State University Bulletin. Web. http://bulletins.psu.edu/undergrad/generaleducation/. Read More