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Community colleges are the cornerstone of
health-care education
Commentary
By Lou Oberndorf
Published March 30, 2011
When President Barack Obama recently described community colleges as an
“under-appreciated asset in the country” and announced his goal to
increase the total number of community college graduates by five
million by 2020, he turned the spotlight on a sector of higher
education that has often been viewed as the stepchild of the
higher-education system.
Of course, the opposite is true. The American community college system
is, in fact, the envy of the world and a shining example of getting
education right by intuitively adapting to the demands of the growing
workforce of today and beyond.
America’s 1,200 community colleges serve almost 12 million students and
are blazing a trail when it comes to preparing workers of all ages and
experience levels across a staggering array of industries. Community
colleges train more than 80 percent of police, fire and EMS workers and
more than half of nurses and health-care workers.
Two-year colleges are the education solution of choice for many
immigrants, people already in the workplace and those returning to work
in a second career as way of dealing with the challenges of an economic
downturn. With the average public four-year college tuition costing
$7,605 annually, community colleges also offer a practical and viable
financial alternative for learners.
Serving a need in health
care
Nowhere is the power of the American community college more apparent
than in the field of health-care education. The health-care industry as
a whole is facing some of its greatest challenges in recent memory, and
it’s the community colleges that are best positioned to adequately meet
the labor demands of this rapidly expanding industry.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, the
nation’s population is expected to increase by 18 percent by 2020, due
in part to people living longer, resulting in an additional 50 million
people requiring health care. As we know, this changing demographic
reality is going to have a dramatic effect on the demand for registered
nurses (RNs).
Furthermore, the health-care industry itself continues to grow at a
staggering rate. By 2019, the health-care industry is expected to grow
from a $2.5 trillion industry to $4.6 trillion. Community colleges
currently educate about 60 percent of new RNs. What other sector of
higher education is as well-equipped to meet these growing demands?
The community college system is ideally suited to rise to these
challenges because of its collective desire to embrace the latest
educational tools and technology. Public two-year colleges are the
early adopters and often the most willing to ensure students have
access to the best learning technology.
As chairman of METI, a leading developer of healthcare simulation and
education solutions, I have seen this commitment to excellence first
hand. When it comes to health sciences education, it’s the community
colleges that are often the best equipped. It’s that drive and passion
to invest in the future that makes the community college such a viable
environment for training the workers of tomorrow.
Providing opportunities
The true value of the community college system isn’t found just in the
data and statistics. It’s in the way the colleges affect people’s lives
in important and meaningful ways, opening doors to people who might not
otherwise have been exposed to real opportunity and providing robust
and real-world training for the modern world, based on the latest best
practices and learning technologies.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that between 2004 and
2014, 2.7 million new jobs will be created that require a community
college credential and another 1.7 million will require a bachelor’s
degree. A higher education is becoming an expectation more so than a
privilege for today’s workforce.
I believe America can achieve the goal of again having the highest
college graduate attainment in the world, and it’s the community
colleges that we need to support to get there.
Oberndorf is founder of Medical Education Technologies Inc. (METI) and
serves as its board chairman.
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