Why our community colleges are the ‘best decision ever’
North Carolina’s community college system is 58 colleges strong, and no longer are they the state’s best kept secret.
April is Community College Month, according to the Association of Community College Trustees, and this year EdNC is surfacing stories about why attending community college is the “best decision ever.”
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“Everywhere I go, I am told by current and former students that choosing to go to a community college is one of the best decisions they ever made,” says ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee.
In our travels, we see economic, academic, and employment advantages to attending community college.
For some, it is the opportunity to acquire a high-quality higher education with little or no debt.
For others, it is the opportunity to acquire skills that lead to a family-sustaining living wage or a change in careers.
Sometimes, it’s personal: for instance, when working parents need to attend college locally to be proximate to their children.
Our community colleges don’t just serve our students, they serve businesses across the state who need access to a diverse, well-trained workforce of the future.
And they serve their communities, training the state’s early child care workforce, training first responders, training the health care workforce, supporting small businesses, imagining the future of work, providing local leadership, and more.
“Public community colleges are a uniquely American educational model that was designed to guarantee access to affordable, high-quality higher education for all people. They are the primary educators of life-saving nursing and other healthcare professionals among many others. They also serve as an onramp to bachelor’s, master’s and higher-level degrees for many students, and particularly for the most demographically and socioeconomically diverse students. They guarantee fair admissions for all students. Many community colleges also provide supports for students who need them, including those who are food and housing insecure, who need childcare while attending classes, and more. And without community colleges, many American students would not be able to access higher education at all due solely to financial limitations and other inevitable barriers.”
Association of Community College Trustees
Read more about NC’s community colleges
More recently, our community colleges have played a key role in the Hurricane Helene recovery.
This month, I’d like to invite students, supporters, business partners, philanthropists, and policymakers to share with us why you think North Carolina’s community colleges are the best decision ever.
EdNC will share your stories to celebrate the value and importance of the 58 community colleges to their communities and to our state.
According to a survey by New America, “while a majority (58 percent) think community colleges are underfunded, half or less than half of Americans think other sectors of higher education are.”
Please send your story about why our community colleges are the best decision ever to mrash at ednc.org.