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junior college


n.

An educational institution offering a two-year course that is generally the equivalent of the first two years of a four-year undergraduate course.


 
 

Educational institution that provides up to two years of college-level academic, technical, and vocational instruction with emphasis on career preparation. Roots of the junior college may be traced to the Chautauqua movement and other adult-education programs created after the American Civil War. The first junior college opened in Joliet, Ill., in 1901. The vast majority of junior colleges are publicly supported; called community colleges, they offer a variety of flexible programs that are often nontraditional in style and content. They have pioneered in offering part-time study, evening sessions, instruction by television, weekend workshops, and other services for members of their communities. Students rarely live on campus. Graduates of junior or community colleges ordinarily earn an associate's degree. They then transfer to a four-year college or enter the workforce. See also continuing education.

For more information on junior college, visit Britannica.com.

 
Architecture: junior college

A post-high school institution which offers a 2-year program of study of a terminal nature or in preparation for continued college studies.


 
WordNet: junior college
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a college that offers only the first two years terminating in an associate degree


 
Wikipedia: junior college


In the United States, a junior college (informally, a juco) is a two-year post-secondary school whose main purpose is to provide academic, vocational and professional education. The highest certificate offered by such schools is usually an associate's degree, although many junior college students continue their education at a university or college, transferring some or all of the credit earned at the junior college toward the degree requirements of the four-year school.

Junior colleges originated in the Chautauqua movement in late 19th century New York State. Around the turn of the century, groups from established colleges and universities would travel around the nation, visiting small towns that did not have access to upper-level schools, offering eight to ten-week courses on subjects such as the arts, science and literature.

The term junior college has historically referred to all non-bachelor's degree granting post-secondary schools, but over the last few decades many public junior colleges, which typically aim to serve a local community, have replaced "junior" with "community" in their names. This may give the impression that a junior college must be a private school, but only a small percentage of two-year institutions are private[1], many public community colleges continue to be called "junior college", and the two terms are used interchangeably in casual speech.

Cultural connotations

Junior colleges have long had to contend with a reputation — deserved or not — for low academic standards (as evidenced by the pejorative "high school with ashtrays"). The concept can be traced back 100 years to the original public junior college, in Joliet, Illinois, which was set up in a high school as the equivalent of grades 13 and 14 in order to prepare qualified students for the final two years of university.[2] To some extent this is inherent in the junior college mission of providing practical education to students who for various reasons fall outside the typical profile of a four-year college student (for example, someone who has graduated high school and spent several years working in a relatively unskilled job). Over the years, such colleges developed a reputation as the schools of last resort.[3] According to federal statistics, 42% of public community college freshmen take remedial courses.[4] However this does not necessarily affect their future transfer prospects: a junior college graduate with good grades can generally transfer to a four-year school and go on to obtain a full bachelor's degree; and there is a growing movement of students who are attending junior colleges to save significant sums of money in the first two years of a four year education.[5]

Athletics

Certain junior colleges also serve as incubators for college athletes, particularly in basketball and football; in sports parlance, they are often referred to as "Jucos".[6] A talented player who would not meet the academic or athletic standards of a major college program may be able to play for two years in junior college, establishing an academic record in the process, and then transfer to the major college.[6] This process has occasionally resulted in scandals, often involving the academics of the student athletes.[6]

Military junior college

In the United States, a Military junior college is a military-style junior college that allows cadets to become commissioned officers in the armed forces reserve in two years, instead of the usual four. The students must still to go on to complete a bachelor's degree before serving as regular officers on active duty.

There are currently five Military junior colleges:

References

  1. ^ http://www.thememoryhole.org/edu/eric/ed327222.html
  2. ^ John Merrow, Community Colleges: Dream Catchers, The New York Times, April 22, 2007.
  3. ^ Beth Frerking, Community Colleges: For Achievers, a New Destination, The New York Times, April 22, 2007.
  4. ^ John Merrow, Community Colleges: A Harsh Reality, The New York Times, April 22, 2007.
  5. ^ John Merrow, Community Colleges: The Smart Transfer, The New York Times, April 22, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c Robert Andrew Powell, Community College: Tennis in a Parking Lot, The New York Times, April 22, 2007

See also

External links


 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Junior college" Read more

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