There was a time when ‘higher education’ and ‘debt’ were mutually exclusive terms. Currently, college tuition is rising higher than the inflation rate, but there still remains one affordable option — community colleges.
The Center on Education and the Workforce projects that by 2018 there will be a demand for 22 million college-educated workers and at the current rate, we will be unable to meet that demand of college graduates. This calls for innovative solutions, such as the ones proposed by Texas lawmakers who have filed several bills to allow some or all community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees. This offers a practical solution to marry the debate between the accessibility and affordability of a higher education, while also addressing the demand for an educated workforce.
