>The California community colleges rank as one of the great educational achievements in the
>country. Many are seriously underfunded. Even so, for a very small cost, poor people get
>a chance, even a second chance. The benefit-cost ratio must be higher than any other form
>of higher education in the country.
>
>On Fri, Jan 20, 2006 at 10:50:41AM -0500, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
>
>
>>...the California Community College System "integrated" with
>>U of California and Cal State U before it came under the Repug assault in
>>the 1990s - which offered truly excellent and very affordable education to
>>_everyone_ not just those within a narrow age range - European education
>>systems pale in comparison. Believe me, been there done that.
>>
>>
>>
I've been teaching in community colleges for about 15 years now; I have to agree with Michael on this. Community colleges are definitely big bang for the buck, compared to large universities. --It's a strange paradox: given the pattern of graduate students teaching entry level courses at many large universities, a student in the first two years of their college career is far more likely to take a course from a experienced and knowledgeable teacher if they go to a community college.
Miles