Community colleges often offer smaller class sizes than most courses for underclassmen at four-year colleges and universities, especially in general liberal arts classes offered in AA programs. The smaller class size can allow more teacher contact, giving students who struggle with academics the chance to better succeed at college-level work.
Community colleges attract a diverse student body. Students are often in classes with a wide range of age groups and income levels. The diverse student body is looking for a college-level degree for a variety of reasons; many younger students are there for an entry into post-secondary work and many older students are looking for a career change. AA-degree students will be in class with all of these kinds of students since AS-degree candidates also need to take humanities classes for core course requirements.
Many community college students are older students who may have already had other careers and started families. People with children who are headed off to college themselves often use the community college Associate of Arts degree experience for starting, changing or contemplating career paths. Because of this, the student body is often highly motivated. This makes for a positive and dedicated atmosphere for all students.
The Associate of Arts degree at a community college can be obtained with a very flexible schedule. Individual colleges have different outside time frames for completion, but all community colleges allow students to attend part time and take more than the two years that it would take to obtain the degree if the student attended on a full-time basis. Students can take classes around a work or child care schedule with relative ease.
Community colleges across the country have different curricula for their Associate of Arts programs. However, most are liberal arts programs and require coursework in English, composition, history, philosophy and the arts. They also require some science coursework in order to give the student a well-rounded liberal arts education.
Many community colleges have agreements with four-year colleges for accepting the AA coursework toward a BA. This can also make a four-year degree less expensive since community colleges typically charge less per credit hour than four-year colleges and universities.