The Times Union article notes: "Other community colleges have offered free admission and tuition to local high school students, including SUNY Schenectady, which recently did the same thing for graduating Schenectady High School students." Free tuition does not appear to be part of the deal for HCSD students. The Register-Star reports: "Matthew Green, assistant dean of enrollment management at Columbia-Greene Community College, said Tuesday that the news of admittance without going through the often dispiriting application process will give students more time to apply for scholarships to cover the college's in-state tuition of $2,284 per semester."
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This is a most bizarre announcement. Without any evidence that the entirety of the current slate of juniors is at all qualified -- and frankly in the face of a sea of evidence that many likely aren't -- the community college admits them en masse. And the HCSD declares, also without any explanation, that this is about "diversity, equity and inclusion." Really? How equitable and inclusive is it to simply move students who aren't ready for more advanced work into an environment that requires they accomplish such work? And won't putting students without the preparation in the position to have to work at a level they're not up to increase their level of dispiritedness (?) regardless of how uplifting it might be to avoid the pesky application process (which, one assumes, weeds out the unprepared).
ReplyDeleteFrom the cheap seats, this seems like someone in the PR departments at both institutions needed something to do. I'm at a loss to understand how this actually benefits students.
You could see it as a continuation of public education, if a student graduates high school they automatically advance to community college. I don't think that's such a bad idea, but to offer that without automatically eliminating tuition makes no sense to me. If we are going to extend public education through college the cost should be covered as it is with K-12. Many civilized countries already do this.
ReplyDeleteIs that what we are? Civilized?!
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