Community colleges in the United States

In the United States, community colleges (once commonly called junior colleges) are primarily two-year public institutions of higher education. Many community colleges also offer remedial education, GEDs, high school degrees, technical degrees and certificates, and a limited number of 4-year degrees.

After graduating from a community college, some students transfer to a university or liberal arts college for two to three years to complete a bachelor's degree, while others enter the workforce.

In 2012–2013, 7.7 million people attended U.S. community colleges, with about 3.1 million students enrolled full-time, and about 4.6 million students enrolled part-time.

During the Great Recession (2007-2009), community colleges faced state budget cuts amid increases in enrollment. As a result, community colleges raised student tuition. With enrollments decreasing, lower budgets at community colleges continues with increasing reliance on adjunct professors, who are generally paid significantly less, typically receive little-to-no employment benefits, and face much greater uncertainty of continued employment semester to semester.

Community colleges received attention in 2015 after President Barack Obama proposed to make community college tuition free to many residents of the US in his State of the Union Address. The plan is called "America’s College Promise." This attention has brought on both praise, scrutiny, and criticism of community colleges and the funding of higher education in general. This plan, however, would only pay tuition; non-tuition items such as textbooks, supplies, transportation, and room and board for those wishing to live on campus would not be covered in Obama's plan.

Before the 1970s, community colleges were more commonly referred to as junior colleges, and that term is still used at some institutions and for athletics, specifically the NJCAA. However, the term "junior college" is now usually used to characterize private two-year institutions. The term "community college" has evolved to describe publicly funded two-year institutions. The main governing body of community colleges changed its name in 1992 from the "American Association of Junior Colleges" to the "American Association of Community Colleges".

...
Wikipedia