Whenever an issue that involves UH presents itself, students rally to support the cause, as in the push for flagship status and the advancement of our academic standing.
However, spikes in community college enrollment could pose a problem. Ralph K.M. Haurwitz of The Austin American-Statesman reports that higher education enrollment reached an unprecedented 1.4 million students, with 75 percent of that growth at community colleges.
‘It’s the highest increase we’ve ever had in higher education enrollment and people are changing careers --not just jobs, but careers,’ Haurwitz said in the article.
More people are enrolling in college due to an increasingly barren job market. Students who do it for that reason are strengthening their credentials or shielding themselves from troubled times.
Does this necessitate advocating against community colleges? Absolutely not.
Such a position would contradict what we, as a community, believe in, which is an aspiration to perform well in spite of circumstances. It is important to remember that not everyone can afford a university education.
There is no contention that UH should not be a leader, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with sharing at least a similar status with other small colleges. In fact, having it that way would almost certainly spark healthy competition.
We should be happy for our fellow college students, who don’t enjoy the many perks of a large campus, such as spending valuable time to find parking. There is no harm in increased community college enrollment; many community college students transfer to universities, such as the University of Texas, Texas A&M and UH.
As the main university in the Houston area, we should always strive for greatness beyond our past achievements. The rise’ in enrollment at community colleges should pose no threat to UH’s success.
We should measure ourselves by quality, not quantity. After all, it is practically impossible to dent Cougar pride.
Patrick Levy is a public relations freshman and may be reached at [email protected]
