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FirstDegree exists to publicize and promote
the value of the Associate degree to students, employers, and the
community.
Currently there are over three hundred
thousand community college students in the San Francisco Bay Area.
However, over the next two years, fewer than thirty thousand Associate
degrees will be awarded--an unnecessarily low graduation rate.
Our culture in California has encouraged
many high school graduates to further their education at community
colleges by providing public funding, plentiful campuses and promotional
(but far too general) information. This creates a large pool of students
entering the colleges, but a great many lose focus and drop out
due to a lack of specific information to keep them on their educational
track.
We gather, from major employers in the
region, job descriptions for positions that prefer candidates with a
two-year degree. These are published on our website and we license access to participating Bay Area colleges. Hundreds of thousands
of Bay Area community college students and educators will have access
to the program at participating schools.
FirstDegree provides specific employment
information that encourages and assists students who are on the verge of
dropping out or have vague intentions in focusing on the Associate
degree as their primary goal. This will lead to a higher graduation rate
and more qualified applicants for entry level and intermediate positions
in some of the most important and dynamic industries in the region.
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