The overbearing stigma around the College of DuPage
As high school students, the decision of a lifetime has to be made before graduating. Choosing a college or university to go to for the next two to eight years is a choice that can take months or even years. It is a lot of deep thinking and research in what works for you, however, many students are disregarding community colleges, such as the College of DuPage, as a place of study for a career.
The College of DuPage has been ridiculed amongst students at Metea for years, now known as the “College of Dreams” as a joke. There is a certain stigma around the school that displays it as a place for those who do not put any effort into their work and are only going because they have nothing else going for them. However, those who are saying this, most likely have no idea what a community college like the College of DuPage is and only ridicules it because others around them do it or to seem above those who are choosing to go there. Before jumping to any conclusions about the students who attend this school, proper research is needed.
A community college is similar to a university, however, it typically offers two years of general education college courses that you can then use to transfer to a university in order to finish a Bachelor’s Degree. Community colleges traditionally offer lower-priced tuition rates compared to a four-year university, which can be beneficial for anyone who does not want to be in debt or just cannot simply afford to go to a higher paying university for the first two years. Community colleges do not offer on-campus housing either. A lot of community colleges also have open admission policies, meaning the students do not have to fulfill any academic requirements or compete with other students for a spot. This aspect may be where the stigma falls into place.
For the majority of their lives, teenagers have been shown or told that working hard and applying to a university is the only path of greatness for a person. TV shows, schools, and even parents create this idea and build it up for students from such a young age that they know no better than this. When the eventual discussion of colleges comes up, the initial thought is a big campus with dorm life and awesome parties every night, never a community college such as the College of DuPage. But why is this? What is so wrong about wanting to learn in a setting that is different than that of what’s portrayed in media and expected of us?
To answer that question, there is nothing wrong with going to community college. In most cases, it is more beneficial. It is cheaper, helps to ease the way into learning by and for students, and can be a lot less stressful than a huge campus of anxious college students. This stigma around community colleges is only prevalent in situations with those who do not realize the value and worth of attending one. Being a student of a community college vs. the student of a university really is no different in terms of wanting to learn and focus on a career. To the student who believes they are not as valued because of their school of choice, do what is best for life down the road.
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College Student • Nov 5, 2019 at 11:06 am
I’m a metea alum who’s currently in college. I’ve taken a few courses at COD to earn additional credit during the summers. My experiences have revealed something clearly:
COD classes are an absolute joke compared to those at any semi-competitive, large university.
Learning was not required to get an A in the COD accounting class I took. All exams were online and not proctored, meaning that I could use Chegg or Quizlet if I wished to do so.
The only viable reason to attend a community college is to save money.
past mvhs student • Oct 28, 2019 at 8:09 pm
this is a great article and as it sheds light on a perspective, it has others who can agree. And very fondly due to the fact this is overlooked. whatever path that a student takes should not hold any shame as they will grow from it and COD offers programs of ivy caliber students, often having alumni who transfer to those prestigious schools and people from there coming to teach. thank you for this great article
!
Anonymous • Oct 25, 2019 at 5:20 pm
Great article, Cache. People who criticize community colleges are often unaware of the inaccurate stereotypes and class privilege they perpetuate without doing their own independent thinking. That’s unfortunate. Success in school and in life depends on what one puts into it as does the ability to see different perspectives regardless of school choice. Community college is a great stepping stone to a 4 year university or for an associate degree if your life goals don’t require a 4 year degree. Thanks for posting and I hope your classmates will keep an open mind about community college as they consider their post-high school plans.
Joe Cassidy • Oct 25, 2019 at 9:33 am
Hello,
Thanks for this article. I myself have studied at a state university, a private liberal arts masters granting university, a for-profit career college and now a religious doctoral granting university. I also took classes at College of DuPage many years ago over the summer while I was at university. When I did so, I found that the smaller class sizes at COD, the faculty’s focus (not teaching assistants) on teaching (not research) all resulted in classes on par or better than my classes at these other institutions.
In full disclosure, I am an employee of College of DuPage and I would ask that you visit our campus, meet our faculty and staff and decide for yourself. We have facilities and faculty second to none. Everyone has a different journey to take. If your journey takes you to College of DuPage to complete a degree, to take general education courses to transfer to university, summer school, career or technical education, enrichment or arts and culture – we welcome you here.
Best of luck to all the Metea students in your academic and professional journey.
Sincerely,
Joe Cassidy
Robert • Oct 23, 2019 at 1:48 pm
Great article. I’d like to respond to the comment that “community colleges lack the rigor associated with even the most accepting and basic regular colleges.” I’m a tenured professor at COD. I have bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from prestigious 4-year research universities. I’ve also taught at public and private 4-year research universities in the US and overseas. Before coming to COD, I used to think that teaching at a community college was a lesser job. Without thinking, I had bought into the biases of my university settings. But I was wrong.
The classes I teach at COD have the same academic rigor as the ones I taught at those 4-year universities. They have the same reading requirements, the same writing requirements, similar tests, and similar class discussions. In fact, our classes have to be equally rigorous, or else 4-year institutions won’t accept our class credits for transfer.
Also, the point that employers would prefer a degree from a “regular college” over a degree from a community college is comparing apples and oranges. “Regular colleges” offer bachelor’s degrees, while community colleges offer associate’s degrees. It would make sense that an employer would prefer a bachelor’s over an associate’s, just as they would prefer a master’s over a bachelor’s. You can earn your AA, AS, AAS, or many other degrees and certificates at COD and transfer to a 4-year university to complete your bachelor’s degree. There are many paths for many students.
Professors teach at community colleges because they love teaching. At COD I have had more conversations with other professors about teaching and helping students than I ever had at any of the other institutions where I’d worked. I’d never been around so many professors who love teaching, and that helps all of us as we share ideas and learn from each other.
Student debt is at an all-time high and people simply can’t afford the tuition at many universities. What if there were a local option, where classes are a fraction of the cost, and where you can learn from many of the same faculty from more expensive universities in rigorous classes? Welcome to College of DuPage.
Wendy Parks • Oct 23, 2019 at 11:03 am
Hello:
Thank you very much for such a thoughtful and insightful article. I am employed by College of DuPage and fully believe in the mission of not only our institution but community colleges nationwide. As the largest community college in the state with nearly 25,000 students, we believe COD is a smart choice. Students can receive a high-quality education at an affordable price. Additionally, many of our faculty members have Ph.Ds as well as real-world experiences and underscore the power of education. The College also has state-of-the-art facilities and students have the opportunity to participate in competitive internships during their freshman year. There are a wide of array of key benefits to selecting COD for your first two years and transfer to a four-year college or University and/or earn a certificate–and we hope to see you there!
My name Jeff • Oct 22, 2019 at 3:44 pm
The fact that COD is cheap is the only viable to even consider applying there. Otherwise, there is no reason to go to a community college. I find it a weak argument to say that going to community college will “ease the way into learning by and for students, and can be a lot less stressful than a huge campus of anxious college students”; one will never accomplish anything important if they don’t put themselves into uncomfortable situations that will eventually lead to success if they just persevere. The initial couple months of regular college will be understandably stressful and uncomfortable for some students, but it is likely they will get used to it eventually and will realize the worth of staying. After all, it only makes sense that a job will more likely hire someone with a degree from a regular college as opposed to a community college simply because community colleges lack the rigor associated with even the most accepting and basic regular colleges. I personally find it more fruitful to just work hard in your high school years and embrace the challenge of regular college, only applying to community college if you can’t afford regular college.
Emma K • Oct 22, 2019 at 2:07 pm
Nice article! I wish it could’ve been longer though.