This content was published: April 1, 2022. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC celebrates #CCMonth to highlight value of community colleges
Photos and story by James Hill
April is #CCMonth, which is a grassroots education and stigma-busting campaign coordinated by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). The primary goals of #CCmonth are to improve awareness of the economic, academic and equity advantages of attending community colleges, and to dismantle longtime stigmas wrongly associated with public two-year colleges.
Portland Community College and other public community colleges are a uniquely American educational model 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.
“Community colleges are engines of diversity, equity and inclusion,” said ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee. “They give opportunities to all students, and they support all students throughout their education, whether they attend to attain an associate degree or certificate, intend to transfer on for a bachelor’s or higher degree, or they take one or a few courses to learn a new skill or expand their horizons.”
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. They offer support for adult students who have to work to support their families. And without community colleges, many American students would not be able to access higher education at all.
In short, community colleges were created to serve the needs of their communities, and they do it exceptionally well.
“Whenever I go to a new state, I go to the community colleges, and I see the energy and the life that’s there,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin Walsh after touring PCC’s OMIC Training Center. “Community college gave me an educational foundation that I just didn’t get in high school. The way to invest in the future of labor is through community colleges.”
To take part and tell us how PCC changed your life, visit PCC’s social media accounts (use hashtag #CCMonth):
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »