Choosing where to go for post secondary education has gotten harder in the last few years. Even though there are more choices and options available, there are also more people going to college and entering the workforce. Future graduates have always had to think about a college’s location, price, curriculum and reputation, and nowadays they also have to think about what their school will look like on their resume.
A lot of students have the bad habit of changing their minds about what career they would like to have, and unfortunately, this comes with changing majors. Some changes are small, but there are students that completely change direction and have to alter their course load, and this would be more difficult at a private college. Private colleges are much more expensive, and it would cost a student an awful lot of money to change his or her mind!
These days, a student has to make extra sure that they know exactly what they want to do for a living before they decide what kind of school to go to. This way, they will know which school will look the best on their resume. Whether or not an employer will care about which type of college an applicant lists on their resume all depends what career choice someone makes. Some employers barely look at the education part of a resume, caring more about skill and experience, while others scrutinize the education section.
If you are looking to make a career out of a job that is more skill based, it would probably be a better idea to choose a good community college. These types of colleges tend to offer much more hands on experience and learning than private colleges. Employers will be more likely to hire a student right out of college if they have had this type of learning. If your goal is to make a career out of a job that is more knowledge based, a private college may be a good choice. These fields can be more competitive, and employers are more likely to look at the education part of your resume.
There is a middle ground between the two career types discussed above, and for this broad span of career choices, students need not worry about which school to choose. These employers will probably mostly care about the fact that you have the education and experience for the job and will not be concerned about whether you went to a community college or a private college.
If you fall into that “middle ground”, you can feel free to make your choice based on what the school offers you, as opposed to choosing between community and private. If you have the money to spend, a private college might be a good choice, and if a community college has just what you are looking for, then it would be just as good a choice for you.
By: Amy Nutt
Posts Tagged ‘Curriculum’
Do Employers View Private College Education As Equivalent To Community College Education?
February 5th, 2010Controversial Education Issues – Declining Standards in Public Schools
November 24th, 2009
One of the most controversial education issues today is the continuing decline in student learning standards at state schools throughout Australia, which is an issue of concern to both the public and the government. Hardly an election, be it State or Federal, goes past without the education band wagon being wheeled out, with promises of reform and greater spending to cure the problem.
Yet the problem persists despite a myriad of “solutions” being applied ranging from increased spending, shifting the focus onto e-learning and various curriculum and assessment frameworks.
Why is this problem so persistent? Despite intermittent efforts by the media to make teachers the scapegoat for the drop in standards, the blame lies neither with them nor with the students involved. At present, students can only be kept from progressing to the next year level if the parents of the student give permission. This sounds fine in theory, but in reality this permission is rarely if ever given. In the ten years I have worked as a teacher in Australian government schools, I have only seen one case of this.
This means that students are promoted to the next year level regardless of their skill level. The students are aware of this and as a result the completion of set work in the classroom has become optional. It is worth noting that private schools are not subject to this ridiculous situation.
Since there are no standards for moving up to the next year there are many students at any given year level that are well below the expected standard. This not only increases the workload of the teacher taking the class, but also diminishes the learning opportunities of those students who are interested in the work.
Behavioural issues go hand in hand with a poor skill level in a subject, as the student who is behind the expected level is frustrated by work they do not understand due to not having a good grounding in the subject from previous years.
Various solutions to these problems have been put forward including individual learning plans, open classrooms, task based learning and assessment, the list goes on and on. Most of these so-called solutions mean endless work for the teacher while producing no noticeable improvement in student outcomes. But the fact remains that none of these reforms address the basic problem of students not being required to pass to a specified standard. There will be no significant improvement in student academic achievement in core subjects such as English, Math and Science until minimum pass standards are re-introduced. Everything else is simply rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
By: Roger Vanderlely
