Community College Education

Types of Degrees Community College Education Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many community college education graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Doctor’s Degree	202
Master’s Degree	94
Graduate Certificate	58

What Community College Education Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to community college administration and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Community College Administration Majors

Community College Administration majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Skills for Community College Administration Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to community college administration:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Community College Administration Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a community college administration student include the following:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Community College Education Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with community college administration:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Postsecondary Education Administrators	10.1%	$94,340

How Much Do Community College Education Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to community college administration is $111,210. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Community College Education

Some degrees associated with community college administration may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to community college administration have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	7.6%
Master’s Degree	47.9%
Doctoral Degree	37.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.2%

Online Community College Education Programs

In 2020-2021, 42 schools offered a community college administration program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	19	8
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	9	4
Post-Master’s	5	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	8	4
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	9	0

Is a Degree in Community College Education Worth It?

The median salary for a community college administration grad is $111,210 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 179% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,426,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Community College Education

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to community college administration.

Major	Number of Grads
General Educational Leadership & Administration	32,837
Higher Education/Higher Education Administration	4,709
Other Educational Administration & Supervision	2,247
Educational, Instructional, & Curriculum Supervision	1,727
Elementary & Middle School Administration/Principalship	1,572
Superintendency & Educational System Administration	1,107
Urban Education & Leadership	736
Adult & Continuing Education Administration	462
Secondary School Administration/Principalship	452
Administration of Special Education	186
Early Childhood Program Administration	70
International School Administration/Leadership	10
Education Entrepreneurship	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Shai-WMIL under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.