<P> Lower status institutions include community colleges . These are primarily two - year public institutions, which individual states usually require to accept all local residents who seek admission, and offer associate's degrees or vocational certificate programs . Many community colleges have relationships with four - year state universities and colleges or even private universities that enable their students to transfer to these universities for a four - year degree after completing a two - year program at the community college . </P> <P> Regardless of perceived prestige, many institutions feature at least one distinguished academic department, and most post-secondary American students attend one of the 2,400 four - year colleges and universities or 1,700 two - year colleges not included among the twenty - five or so' top - tier' institutions . </P> <P> Economics professor Alan Zagier blames credential inflation for the admission of so many unqualified students into college . He reports that the number of new jobs requiring college degrees is less than the number of college graduates . He states that the more money that a state spends on higher education, the slower the economy grows, the opposite of long held notions . Other studies have shown that the level of cognitive achievement attained by students in a country (as measured by academic testing) is closely correlated with the country's economic growth, but that "increasing the average number of years of schooling attained by the labor force boosts the economy only when increased levels of school attainment also boost cognitive skills . In other words, it is not enough simply to spend more time in school; something has to be learned there ." </P> <P> At the college and university level student loan funding is split in half; half is managed by the Department of Education directly, called the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP). The other half is managed by commercial entities such as banks, credit unions, and financial services firms such as Sallie Mae, under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Some schools accept only FFELP loans; others accept only FDSLP . Still others accept both, and a few schools will not accept either, in which case students must seek out private alternatives for student loans . </P>

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