By Tom Brown

My last column suggested some of the reasons why two-year community and technical colleges are "America's best education value." While college costs continue to spiral upward in public and private four-year colleges and universities, fees in community colleges recently declined, from $26 to $20 per unit. 

As a result, a full-time student at Napa Valley College could actually pay less for eight classes in one year than for one semester class at a four-year institution!

Community college faculty and staff also have a specific commitment to supporting students to learn, develop, and succeed, as opposed to focusing on research.

So, you might reasonably ask, if community colleges are such great values, why aren't more students enrolling?

St. Helena High School Counselor Bruce Frank ventures that some status-seeking students — and their equally status-conscious parents — sometimes look down on community colleges.

Another reality, however, is that students enrolling in two-year colleges must often assume greater responsibility in order to achieve their personal, educational, and career goals. Nonetheless, if students are willing to reach out for support and assistance, they will find that community colleges offer many programs intended to help them succeed.

Rene Lopez, a Cameo Cinema staffer, who earned a Presidential Scholarship to enroll at San Francisco Art Institute this fall, attended Napa Valley College (NVC) for three semesters. Rene says, "NVC gave me the chance to figure out what the next step was that I wanted to take, because I never really had any plans after graduating from St. Helena High." Rene added, "I was only taking some classes so I'd have something to do during the day." However, he recalls many personal interactions with his teachers. "My teachers pushed me to apply to art school; most of them really care and want to help."

Dr. Mario Rivas, Vice President for Student Services at Berkeley City College advises, "Staying in contact with faculty members is critical to the success of students in two- and four-year institutions." Dr. Rivas remembers enrolling at a community college after having been told that he was not college material. He encountered challenges early in his college career, even ending up on academic probation; however, Rivas persisted, transferred to a California State University, and eventually earned a doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

In addition to connecting with faculty, Dr. Rivas says that students should make an effort to use the many campus services and programs available to help them succeed. Like Rene Lopez, some students enroll in college without being sure about what their goals are, where their real strengths lie, or what programs they might pursue.

Career Centers offer a variety of assessments that can help students clarify their interests, goals, and values. Center staff are also available to help students learn more about various careers and how to prepare for them. When students encounter academic difficulties, as did Dr. Rivas and many other students, community colleges offer free tutoring, academic advising and counseling to develop appropriate skills and attitudes.

Many students enroll in community colleges to pursue vocational and technical programs that immediately lead to careers in areas such as law enforcement, cosmetology, automobile mechanics, or computer fields. Others plan to transfer to four-year campuses.

Transfer centers provide guidance so students take the classes that will enable them to transfer to University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), or to private colleges and universities across the nation. Students should visit transfer centers early to ensure that their classes will satisfy requirements for general education (GE) and for their intended majors and minors where they would like to transfer. Visit www.assist.org for further information about transferring.

The first stop at many community colleges is the Assessment and Orientation Office, where students have the opportunity to identify areas where they need to strengthen their preparation. Students can obtain information about what the assessments involve, and, if they don't perform as well as well as they think they could, they often can repeat the assessments. Dr. Rivas adds that students need to learn to think positively and how to support themselves. He recalls his own struggles in education and advises, "If you keep trying and learning, no matter how many mistakes you make, you'll continually get better and better!"

College is usually the first educational choice for many students, as high school was a choice made by their parents or the state. Students entering college should ask themselves what it is they want to do in life and determine how college can help them reach their goals.

Doug Ernst, editor of The Star, recalls his own days as a student at Canada College in Redwood City. "Canada prepared me well for transferring to San Jose State," Ernst said. "In many ways, Canada is where I really started to become a journalist."

The Napa Valley College website says it all-community colleges are, "A place so near that can take you so far!"

(Tom Brown is a St. Helena resident who was a dean at St. Mary's College of California for 27 years. He currently serves as a consultant and speaker at colleges and universities seeking to graduate more of the students they enroll.)

This article is re-printed courtesy of Tom Brown and the St. Helena Star of St. Helena, California. http://www.sthelenastar.com/