One of the pitfalls for first year students in college is their perceptions that college is like high school, or just like “the 13th grade.” This is particularly the case in community colleges, since those institutions are open-access, meaning anyone with a high school diploma can attend. To be sure, this means the range of prior achievement for the students is broad, broader than for a flagship university. But that doesn’t mean a community college should ever be thought of as an extension of high school.
The Community College Classroom
Years ago, my assistant told me that a student came into our office absolutely ripping because of how challenging her Psychology course was. She complained that among other things, “this isn’t the University of Maryland,” and wondered why the course was so challenging. The student expected the course to be easier, since it was at a community college. My assistant, a graduate of the community college herself shut that down right way. “Oh, no, it is the same course,” she said. She went on to tell the student that if she transferred to the University of Maryland and took an upper level course in Psychology, she would need the same preparation for that course that students at Maryland have. In essence, she couldn’t afford to take a watered down course, or she wouldn’t pass. My assistant also mentioned that the learning objectives in the syllabus for our course are often the same as those for the University of Maryland. The student who was complaining had no idea this was the case.
Community college classrooms are the most diverse in America if not in the world. In a typical classroom are several students who struggled in high school barely, getting through. They’re sitting in a row with a student strong enough to attend an Ivy League institution and across from a student who hasn’t been in a formal classroom for twenty-five years, and is therefore not confident at all about her abilities. The faculty member for this course has to ensure that all of these students somehow meet the course objectives as best they can. Talk about a challenging role. And those students who see community colleges as an extension of high school won’t cut it, as this article featured in Psych Learning Curve from the American Psychological Association says.
What’s a Student To Do?
As Isa Adney notes, it’s important that students start every course at a community college assuming that they’re going to be challenged and that the only way they’re going to succeed is to work differently and often harder than they ever did in high school. While some courses at community colleges aren’t as rigorous as those at four-year institutions, most are—by design—and facing them with the same work ethic and commitment is essential to their success. Students who thrive in community colleges and transfer successfully to four-year institutions already know that. Your student should follow their example.