When students are entering their final years of high school, the decision about their future becomes a very serious topic. While some parents do not push their child to investigate college education as an important next step, most parents spend a great deal of time trying to encourage their children to define their future a little better. The importance of making the proper choices in the later years of high school cannot be understated. Deprived of proper guidance many teens shift and vacillate their goals on a continuous basis. That is because without proper time to look into the options, many teens end up aimlessly drifting throughout much of their young adulthood. This can prove problematic for both teens and their parents. The good news is there is an increasing trend to try to help teens realize there does not have to be an all or nothing decision.
In many cases, the students who think they want to take a few years off without continuing their education in college are the ones that may never go. This can lead to a life of marginalized work and a lack of a career. Statistics show that without any type of continuing education, the prospects for a career and middle-class income are much less favorable than for those people who jump into some extended education platforms in any American universities.
Positive Changes in Post High School Education
The good news, is there are a few wonderful changes that have occurred in continuing education platforms in the last two decades. These changes are meant to draw in more students to get some type of college or professional advanced education. Since statistics are clear that in doing so, they may have a better chance at a career, the push in many high schools is to offer more choices and options to do so.
Some of the new programs that have changed for students include:
• Vast Array of Professional Certificate Program Offerings
• Online College Degree and Certificate Programs
• More Community College and Two-Year Degree Programs
Each of these changes allows teens the chance to get some additional professional education without constraining them to standard college education degrees or platforms. These changes have significantly increased the number of students that are now in post high school educational programs.
Two of the popular trends have been through an increasing number of students attending certificate and two-year programs. This has allowed a student to not feel overwhelmed by committing to a four-year college degree. In many cases, once a student finishes a two-year program, they are more likely to seek a four-year degree since they are already half-way there.
Additionally, the vast array of online education platforms has significantly expanded the amount of college students taking classes. Part of this is because of ease of access. However, one of the other reasons is the freedom to complete classwork on a much more flexible schedule. Many educators believe these changes are responsible for the spike in enrollment. For many, these changes have offered them of the best chance of achieving a continuing education to advance their career potentials.
