April designated as community college month
Montgomery, Alabama - The State Board of Education passed a resolution on March
23 recognizing April as "Community College Month," to highlight the opportunities
Alabama's two-year colleges provide and the critical role they play in workforce
development.
There are more than 1,100 community colleges in the United States, and the majority
of higher education students in the nation are educated in community colleges. Last
year 316,090 people were served with academic and technical courses, workforce
training and adult education in the Alabama College System. The majority of
undergraduate students in public higher education in Alabama are enrolled in twoyear colleges.
Community colleges serve a unique higher education mission - to provide affordable
access to college to increase the educational opportunities of the population and to
provide workforce training in partnership with business and industry to ensure a
highly-skilled, competitive workforce.
President Truman's Commission on Higher Education brought the idea of
community-centered, publicly-supported two-year colleges to a national level, when
it became clear after World War II that veterans needed local opportunities to enter
higher education and prepare for increasingly technical jobs.
During the month of April watch for events at local colleges and further press
releases highlighting the roles of two-year colleges in Alabama:
a.. Access to higher education in Alabama - affordability, schedule
flexibility, geography and developmental education
a.. Workforce training geared to industry needs exemplified in the auto
industry, aviation and shipbuilding
a.. Health education programs that produce the majority of nurses, first
responders and allied health professionals in Alabama
a.. STARS-Alabama's articulation agreement that guarantees transfer of
two-year college courses to four-year institutions, one of the top
comprehensive articulation systems in the nation
a.. Arts and culture - community colleges' role in bringing the arts to
rural communities
a.. Distance learning and technology in two-year colleges
a.. Bridging secondary and postsecondary education to prepare students for
the workforce
The text of the State Board of Education's resolution is available at
www.acs.cc.al.us. The mission of the Alabama College System is to provide
accessible quality educational opportunities, promote economic growth, and
enhance the quality of life for people in Alabama.
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