Pennsylvanians head back to school to get new skills, report shows

Pennsylvanians head back to school to get new skills, report shows

Next to online education, community colleges have been recommended as a good option for adults seeking to enhance their skills, and a recent report has found enrollment in the latter has surged this fall.

According to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, the number of students currently registered at the state's 14 institutions increased by 10 percent over last fall's figures.

This has also prompted education advocates to call for increased government funding of community colleges to keep pace with the demand.

"If Pennsylvania wants to be at the front of an economic recovery …the state's support of training and education in high priority and emerging industries … must be a strategic investment today," says Jerry Parker, president of Delaware County Community College.

Associates degrees are a great way to prepare to enter bachelors programs, which many adults may conveniently pursue at an online college.

Studies have shown that salaries of those with college degrees consistently surpass the earnings of those who do not have them. In fact, estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest those with bachelors degrees earn about twice as much as those with only high school education.