By the Numbers
1,823 Sinclair students have a bachelor's degree or higher
451 Sinclair students have a master's degree
105 Sinclair students have a doctorate degree
$99.03 per credit hour at Sinclair
Finding a good-paying job today often means additional schooling — and that’s true even for those who already have advanced degrees.
Nearly 2,000 students who attend Sinclair Community College received a bachelor’s degree or higher prior to enrolling. That’s about 6 percent of the 31,000 students who studied at the college during the most recent academic year.
Even more striking is that 105 of Sinclair’s students have earned a doctorate degree — a credential that many of the college’s lecturers do not hold.
Historically, it’s not uncommon for college graduates to enroll at a community college. But the practice picked up at the onset of the Great Recession, as 6.5 percent of 2008-09 college graduates with a bachelor’s degree enrolled in a two-year institution within two years, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
“Somebody with a bachelor’s degree that is out of a job, which is happening more often now, has to retool on the fly and wants a cheap option,” said Adam Murka, spokesman for Sinclair.
However, Murka says students enroll for varying reasons: from students who are looking for a career change to those whose employers pay for their classes.
Some students are just taking a course or two, such as Javascript, but many students are pursuing an additional postsecondary credential. In fact, 58 percent of those students that already have a bachelor’s degree or higher at Sinclair are enrolled in either an associate degree or certificate program.
Educational attainment has increased in recent years, but the biggest uptick has occurred with associate degrees and certificate programs. From 2008 to 2013, associate degrees conferred jumped 39 percent and certificates surged by 59 percent, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Meanwhile, bachelor’s degrees rose 19 percent.
Changing careers
Edward John, 31, of Riverside will attend Sinclair in the fall with the hope of changing career fields.
John graduated from North Carolina-based Fayetteville State University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in business management, and 10 days later went on active duty, where his last assignment was at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He left the base as a captain in 2013 and accepted a management job at the city of Dayton’s water department, but left soon after.
Recently, John enrolled in an engineering associate degree program at Sinclair. He plans to pursue a career in health care with a goal of attending medical school.
That’s not an uncommon decision, says Mark Schneider, president at College Measures, a research partnership that investigates higher education outcomes. He said college graduates looking for greener pastures, or higher pay, often turn to computer and health-care programs.
It's not out of the ordinary for two-year graduates to out-earn their four-year peers. In 2013, nearly 30 percent of associate degree graduates earned more than those with bachelor's degrees, according to a report by the Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce.
“My joke is that if you know how to fix things, or to fix people, you are going to be OK,” Schneider said.
As the cost of higher education continues to soar, graduates often opt for community colleges instead of four-year universities or graduate programs, according to several researchers.
Kevin Jones, a higher education policy researcher at the University of South Florida, said cost is important, especially since students who have completed a bachelor’s degree cannot receive Pell Grants for an additional undergraduate program.
Skills gap
Sinclair officials say their $99.03 cost per credit hour is a huge selling point.
“Bottom line is if you just lost your job, a $10,000 tuition bill is not an option,” Murka said.
But for John, it came down to more than cost, given that he is receiving support from the GI Bill.
While pursuing his undergraduate degree in North Carolina, John took courses at a community college during the summer, something that made him appreciate the benefits of small classes.
“Good community colleges can give more attention to a lot of students. At the university I felt like a number,” he said.
An improving economy has generated more jobs, though many of these new positions require additional skills. Meanwhile, these skills are often not taught during the course of a typical four-year degree, Schneider says.
“Employers need people with technical skills,” said Jack Hershey, president of the Ohio Community College Association. “A lot of people realize too late that their degree in English or communications was not the right fit.”
Hershey said even though the average MBA graduate earns more than the average electrician, a good electrician can out-earn managers at the bottom of the pay scale.
“People do not figure out what they are good at until later in life,” he said.
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