Staff Dual Columns:

When I started at this institution of higher learning over two years ago, I was a mere bright-eyed and ambitious “first-year,” so to say.

I thought I had my entire two years at MHCC planned out. My plan of action was to take 16 to 18 credits each term, work on the newspaper as a staff writer to help build my skills and work 30 hours a week.

My plan quickly unraveled as I realized there was no way in hell I would be out of Gresham and working on my last two years at U of O after two years at MHCC.

Now in my third year and a slightly more cynical student, I have almost come to terms with the fact that I wanted to have my associate’s degree by last spring and here I am two weeks into my third year and guess what? The sad truth is I’m most likely going to be here next fall as well. I never thought I would be a community college student this long. By my personal standards, I should be a junior at a four-year university.

When I made my two-year plan for community college, I also made a two-year plan for when I entered a university. I had every single class I would take at MHCC planned out. No joke. But then something really unfortunate happened. I failed a class, and then I failed another class, and then I dropped a few classes here and there and then I started being a part- time student, and then I was a full-time student again but some really crappy stuff happened and I dropped some classes. All of this contributed to delay my degree progress.

I am noticing through a lot of friends and acquaintances that many people are no longer finishing their associate degrees in a mere two years. Because let’s face it, life happens. Family tragedies, bills and general living expenses make it hard to keep up as a full-time student. Most people are making their way through college as full-time students, but students who work part-time and are involved in a school activity or have a family to take care of have an even harder time keeping up with all the demands of life as well as being a student.

When I entered MHCC I had to take prerequisite courses in order to qualify for some of my math and writing courses because I placed lower than I should have. So I’m not really sure who MHCC is trying to fool because most people I know do not place directly into Math 111. Most people’s proficiencies are much lower than that, considering many community college students are starting school for the first time in 10, 20 or 30 years or after being laid off from their jobs or needing to provide for a family or maybe go to school for the first time so that they may get a promotion or a higher paying job.

Colleges are no longer just for fresh-out-of-high school students and, as a community college student myself, I feel that we are very different than university students. For starters, I live at home and although I don’t pay rent I also don’t ask my parents for anything. I mainly provide for myself and my expenses for right now, as well as saving money so that moving out and attending a university can be possible.

I often wonder what my life would be like if I had gotten good grades in high school. Would I have gone off to college and finished my bachelor’s in four years? Or would I have taken the same path I am on now? I’m not disappointed with my life as a community college student. I’m disappointed that I will have spent four years at a two-year school and I will still only be halfway done with my degree.

The point in all of this is figuring out if MHCC is really a two-year school.
According to the 2011 MHCC fact book, in the fall of 2011 18 percent of MHCC students were employed full time, which is a lower percentage than during 2007-2010. During those years, the percentage of students who were employed full-time dropped slowly each year.

A similar pattern with part-time working students happened during the years of 2007-2010. At the same time, the numbers of students who were employed part-time also dropped. Right now the percentages of employed part time students are at 30 percent, which is down from previous years.

The average associate’s degree or transfer degree is lined out as two years or six terms, possibly eight terms if that student takes summer courses and each term is 16 to 18 credits on average. But if you think about your personal plan, whether you are a beginning college student or you know your way around campus like me, I want everyone reading this to think about your plan to get an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree or beyond.

Did you start here thinking you’d be done in two years? Did you or are you finishing in two years? How many years have you been a student and what is holding you back from that degree? We want your feedback on our website www.advocate-online.net.

Column Two: http://wp.advocate-online.net/opinion/column-opinion/staff-dual-columns-2116/