<p>I’m a tutor at a community college (I’m also a community college alum), and I have to say that it’s time for community colleges to tighten up their admissions policies and academic standards. The “open admissions” policy is just another way for these institutions to make money. The sad part is, community colleges (such as the one I work at), tell student applicants what I call “The Great Lie”: that college is for everyone. As politically incorrect as this may sound, college is NOT for everyone, and just because someone wants to go to college doesn’t mean they belong there. The Great Lie is nothing more than a marketing tool for community colleges to get that federal aid from students, many of whom have little to no academic ability. </p>
<p>For example, at the community college I work at, the majority of students are over the age of 30, have never used a computer, so they lack basic technology skills (i.e. using Microsoft Word, e-mail, how to use a flash drive), they don’t understand the importance of Standard English as it relates to academic writing, and many are not fluent in English because English is their 3rd, 4th, 5th language. Many of the students who do speak English as their first language are academically deficient because they have been out of school for years - decades in some cases. </p>
<p>What’s even worse is that a lot of the students I tutor are academically lazy. They show no initiative to learn anything on their own, and they expect the tutors to do their work for them. When I was a community college student, I tried to figure things out on my own before seeking outside assistance. When I needed to learn MLA & APA formatting for scholarly papers, I took the initiative to learn the proper formats - I didn’t run to the tutoring center for help. If I needed help with my math, I tried to figure out the problem on my own and with help from my professors. If I needed additional help, only then would I seek tutoring. </p>
<p>Community colleges are great because they are economical, but they need to stop pandering to deficient students for the sake of the almighty dollar.</p>