Are Community College Teachers Professors? (Answered 2024)

Usually, after you finish your higher schooling, you will need to get into a higher educational institution. There are different types of higher educational institutions like colleges and universities where you can take up 2 year or four-year programs. Similarly, there are special colleges known as Community colleges which are well known for 2-year programs. However, if you do not know much about it, here we will help you to know about community colleges and also make you understand on are community college teachers professors.

Quick Takeaways

• Community colleges are undergraduate higher educational institutions where you can receive an associate degree or a diploma in a related subject.
• A community college is one where undergraduate students are taught special courses, thus all the community college teachers are known as professors.
• It is expected that the job outlook for community college professors is expected to grow by 11%.

However, you must read till the end so that you get to understand all the important facts related to the community college professors.

What are the community colleges?

Community colleges are undergraduate higher educational institutions where you can receive an associate degree or a diploma in a related subject. Usually, there are two-year programs in which you can get an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Science. There will be different technical and vocational courses available in this college. You will get a lot of campuses under these communities in various rural and urban areas.

All the institutions and colleges including the community colleges and four-year programs have a great agreement regarding the transferring of the credits earned. If you want to transfer from community college to other universities you can easily do that. 

Are community college teachers professors?

There is a great confusion about the title given to the community college teachers. However, before finding out if the community college teacher is a professor or not, let us know who is a professor. A professor is one who teaches students at a higher level of education. Thus, as a community college is one where undergraduate students are taught special courses at a higher level, the teachers over here are known as professors. 

What is the job outlook of the community college teachers?

Being a professor at a community college is a great opportunity to polish your skills in teaching. According to various research, the expected growth for jobs as a community college professor is around 11% by the year 2028. One of the common reasons for it can be to gain experience in teaching the students. 

What are the job requirements for becoming a community college professor?

If you are thinking of applying to the community college, you must at least get a master’s degree in the subject you want to teach. You will first need to get an undergraduate degree in the related subject and after that, you will need to have a master’s degree. However, most of the community colleges will look for a master’s degree college that would ask you to have a Ph.D. Also, there may be colleges that may need to have specific coursework in education or others may look for experience you are having.

Additionally, you may need to have some certificates. Therefore you must do proper research work so that you can know what are the job requirements in a particular community college. 

Do community college professors hire teaching assistants?

Community colleges usually hire professors to teach the students. It means that the professors do not have teaching assistants nor does the college allow them to hire them. However, there may be openings for supplemental instructors or tutors. You can check on their website to know the credentials for applying to the college.

How are community college teachers different from other university professors?

The following table shows the differences between community college professors and university professors-

Community College Teachers	University Professors
As discussed earlier most of the community colleges will want you to have at least a master’s degree to become a professor in it.	If you want to become a University professor then most universities will look for a Ph.D. program. In fact, there will be hardly any University that will ask you to have a master’s degree.
As a community college teacher, you will only be responsible for teaching the students. The main aim of you will be to make your students capital on getting employment. You will not be taking part in research works and publications.	As a University professor, you will have to teach the students along with taking part and various research. Universities are generally research hubs and want students to take part in different publications.
The salary of full-time community college professors is usually less than that of full-time University professors which is around $80,620 per year.	The salary of the full-time University professors is usually more than the full-time community college teachers which is around $98,301 per year.

What is the salary of a community college professor?

The salary of a community College Professor is generally low and depends upon various factors like the location, experience a professor has, the level at which a professor is, etc. It is usually lower than the other types of professors, especially Ph.D. professors. The average salary that you get as a community College Professor is around $80,620 per year. However, if you have more experience you may get a higher salary than it.

What are the skills that you should have as a community college professor?

Following are the skills that you must have as a community College Professor-

• Politeness: As you have to deal with a lot of students you must know that being polite will help the students to open up with you.
• Communication skills: The main role of you is to teach the students. Therefore you must have their communication so that you are students can easily understand what you are trying to teach them.
• Punctuality: Your first rule as a professor should be that you are on time in class. If you are not punctual then no student will come on time.
• Problem-solving skills: As you are not only responsible for teaching the students but also for clearing their doubts, you must have excellent problem-solving skills.
• Leadership: Of course, as a professor, you are leading a whole class of students. Therefore having good leadership skills is very important.

Conclusion

There has been great confusion among the students related to the different types of teachers especially about community college teachers. One of the most common that you will hear about them is “Are community college teachers professors or not? Community colleges are undergraduate higher educational institutions where you receive an associate degree in the subject you are studying. It is also said that the growth of the community college professor job is around 11%. You must also remember that community college professors do not hire teaching assistants.