The COVID-19 pandemic is driving many universities to contemplate delaying the start of their academic year or conducting the fall semester entirely online. Students are reconsidering the return on their investment of a traditional four-year college experience in light of these new learning conditions.

As the Inquirer has reported, some are taking a gap year, pursing online learning, or delaying the start of college altogether. But students have another option that remains critically overlooked–community colleges.

Annual tuition for a full-time student at Montgomery County Community College is nearly half the national average of tuition at a public four-year institution. Countless high-earning careers are available to community college graduates, and first-year graduates at Montco can expect a return on their education investment of 100 to 300 percent. Community colleges also offer a chance to study closer to home, with greater flexibility over schedules and course load, and transferrable credits.

As COVID-19 changes the higher ed landscape for students and parents, the value of community colleges is higher than ever.

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/3/2020