The discussion on community colleges and traditional universities is an interesting one noting that there have been positive changes in community colleges making them close the quality gap that has existed for a long time. However, significant differences still exist between the two institutions.
Quality
The level of quality is still different despite the community colleges having significantly improved in academic standards over the past two decades. Community colleges are increasingly hiring seasoned professors as well as career professionals who are offering real-world perspective. However, the community colleges, unlike universities, do not benefit from research grants which are integral in building knowledge.
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Class size
Another point of comparison can be drawn with regard to class size. While universities are characterized by large crowded classes, community colleges have fewer students creating room for constructive discussion between learners as well as interactions. However, the universities, on the other hand, have diversity in their students which can be essential in boosting diversity tolerance among learners. A significant difference which makes community colleges edge universities is the ability of lecturers to provide more meaningful feedback to students while developing personal relationships with learners.
Cost of tuition
The cost of tuition in universities has skyrocketed with public universities in some cases becoming more expensive than private universities. On the other hand, the cost of tuition for community colleges is relatively affordable. Even though affordable tuition costs are advantageous in community colleges, they are acting to deprive the institutions the much-needed resources for expansion of infrastructure and extension of extra-curricular programs that are integral in building a suitable learning environment.
Flexibility
Lastly, there are varying levels of flexibility between universities and community colleges. Community colleges have been built to cater for learners who require maximum flexibility in their learning programs. Subsequently, community colleges are suitable for part-time learners with daytime engagements. Unlike, universities where class attendance is compulsory, community colleges do not have class attendance as a requirement. It can be concluded that community colleges are increasingly creating more utility in comparison to universities. In my opinion community colleges are better than universities.