Higher Education In Queens:
LaGuardia Is 'The World's Community College'
BY DIANA SANDERS

Yet another addition to the City University of New York (CUNY), LaGuardia Community College is named after Fiorello LaGuardia, New York City's 99th mayor (1934-45). The Community College Survey of Student Engagement in 2003 established LaGuardia as one of the top three community colleges in the United States.

Founded in 1971, the four-building, 1.5-million square-foot campus enrolls an estimated 13,000 students on a yearly basis. With a majority of Hispanic students, ranging from 17 to 22 years in age, LaGuardia has the largest graduating class of Latinos in all of New York City. Being located in one of the most culturally diverse areas in the city, it is not a surprise to discover that this school educates students speaking more than 100 native languages, a majority of whom reside in Queens.

Ethnic diversities are perhaps one of the reasons why LaGuardia was selected as one of the "best practice colleges" by the MetLife Foundation in 2004. The school provides education for students from around the world, who graduate able to attend a four-year college and obtain a bachelor's degree. In fact, more than 35 colleges around the United States accept credits from LaGuardia, benefiting many transfer students, who will not need to take courses over again.

Like Queensborough Community College, LaGuardia offers an associate degree program, equivalent to two years of study. Its approximately 235 full-time professors teach courses in more than 35 different majors, offering students an array of concentrations to choose among. Students majoring in Health Services make up the city's largest graduating class.

Although perhaps a "bridge" college, the campus still creates a collegiate atmosphere with its fitness center and gymnasium, an aquatic center, and the well-known LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, the largest theater of its kind in Western Queens. The higher education center also has its own student-run newspaper named "The Bridge," and a chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

Like Queensborough, one of the most appealing aspects of LaGuardia Community College is the exceptionally low tuition cost. The CUNY system works hard to create affordable education for the students of New York, and LaGuardia offers the lowest tuition in New York City. Students receiving financial aid further benefit from the low costs. The LaGuardia Community College foundation, raising private funds to assist students, is also a means of financial aid.

LaGuardia Community College, which serves mainly local Queens residents, welcomes students from around the world. In many ways, it is easily understood why LaGuardia calls itself "the world's community college."