Why Congress Has Eliminated Community College Support for Convicted Criminals

Historically, when the economy sputters, community college enrollment rates rise. In facing today’s growing student population, some campuses are struggling under the increased demand. As a result, some community college students have been forced to halt their academic pursuits, finding themselves placed on waiting lists.

Are Community College Leaders Entitled to Pay Raises Amidst the Recession?

The pandemic of 2020-21 has wreaked havoc on higher education budgets worldwide. Here in the United States, while each state faces its specific economic setbacks, all community colleges have endured significant spending reductions and employee lay-offs.

According to financial experts, community colleges are the most susceptible to these budget cuts, as community college enrollment tends to soar when the economy falters. Wake Technical Community College, one of many North Carolina institutions experienced a 14 percent increase in student enrollment from just last year alone! Considering that public educational institutions subsidize the cost of teaching students, the increased enrollment puts greater financial demands on the campus when their budgets are being slashed.

With soaring enrollment rates, college leaders fear that they will not be able to provide students with the ideal resources, smaller class sizes, and one-on-one time with instructors. Yet, despite these national concerns, some leaders are still raking in higher salaries—regardless of their school’s budgetary shortfalls.

Ron Polaneczky, writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer,r notes that "according to a recent survey conducted by his organization, the compensation of public community-college presidents range from $81,000 to $390,000, not including extra benefits for housing and car expenses. The salary size is influenced by the size of the school, its location, and the number of its students and employees."

Community College Pay Raises: Justified or Unfair?

While several community college leaders have accepted

Careers

With the convenience and efficiency of EHRs, patient information can be recorded and sent to approved medical providers and treatment centers with less hassle for both patients and medical providers. EHRs typically include information such as, “Patient demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data, and radiology reports.”

EHRs are gaining steam in medicine and healthcare, and subsequently, students can take advantage of a growing and lucrative healthcare career in EHRs starting at their local community colleges.

This video explains what an EHR or Electronic Health Record is.

The Rising Demand for EHRs

EHRs essentially serve to streamline communication and informational systems among clinicians. By generating complete records of a patient’s medical and treatment history, an EHR offers an array of benefits, including reducing a clinician’s workflow, as well as providing patients with improved healthcare services. Elaborating on this, as the Health Information Management Systems Society explains, EHRs offer direct or indirect interface features, providing health care workers with details “Including evidence-based decision support, quality management, and outcomes reporting.”

Investigating EHRs’ applications in the professional setting, studies prove that EHRs are significantly boosting patient health and recovery. As PR News Wire reveals, a randomized study of EHRs conducted by Kaiser Permanente found that the use of EHRs helped to reduce the risk of cardiac-related deaths by 73 percent! Specifically, by using EHRs to streamline communication, “Patients

High School Students in North Carolina's Community Colleges

According to “Diverse Issues in Higher Education,” students in select areas of North Carolina, such as in the city of Sanford, may be eligible to earn free college credits while still in high school.

Created in 2007, eligible students can apply for the “Lee Early College” program (LEC). By engaging in LEC, high school students attend courses at the nearby Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) campus. Inspired in part by former Governor Easley’s educational agenda, “It’s part of Gov. Mike Easley’s Learn and Earn Early College High School educational initiative in which students graduate in five years with both a diploma and an associate degree, with all credits transferable if they choose to enroll at a four-year institution as a junior post-graduation.”

This video describes the Lee Early College program.

In the first year of its inception, 73 students were able to take advantage of completely free college courses while earning valuable credits. Growing in popularity, the LEC participation numbers nearly doubled after just one year, resulting in 156 LEC students by 2008. Partially funded by a $1.5 million grant from the state of North Carolina (with private donations additionally provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), eligible LEC students will be able to engage in this opportunity until 2011, at which