For Mitchem Boles, community college classes started out as a cost-effective way to get ahead on his required courses for Texas A&M University. Two summers and a wintermester later, he realized that he’d gained more than just transfer credits; he had completely rehauled his whole set of study skills.
“Initially, going to Richland was a decision about price,” he says. “The difference in tuition for the credits I needed was absolutely amazing. Then I also realized that that there were a certain number of hours required for me to take upper-level classes at A&M. My community college credits helped push me over the edge so that I could take those upper-level classes during my regular fall and spring semesters.”
An electronics engineering technology senior at Texas A&M University scheduled to graduate in December 2008, Mitchem took technical writing, speech and second-year calculus and physics at Richland College. Somewhere along the way, his — and his parents’ — concepts changed as to the real value of community college.
“We already loved the accessibility of the campus, multiple class times and the huge number of courses offered,” says his mom, Becky. “But then we also found that our college kid had some very experienced and caring instructors who really enjoyed their subject matter. When your child comes home to tell you about a community college course and instructor, you realize that serious learning is taking place.”
For Mitchem, it was also about honing successful study skills that he could take back to the university setting. “Community college helped me develop a better school work ethic,” he says. “All of my instructors at Richland were interested in helping us learn. The best thing was the teachers’ interactions with the students.
“Not having to be in class with 200 people, I could get more attention and help with problems. It made me realize that when I got back to A&M, I wanted to look for smaller classes and more individualized attention because I’d had such a good learning experience at Richland.”
Learning how to learn is no small thing. For Mitchem Boles, it all began here.