KCC joins #CCmonth campaign to improve awareness of value, need to support community colleges

KCC's Binda Performing Arts Center with the #CCMonth logo

Kellogg Community College announced today it will join #CCMonth, a monthlong grassroots education and stigma-busting campaign coordinated by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT).

The primary goals of #CCmonth (Community College Month) are to improve awareness through social media of the economic, academic and equity advantages of attending community colleges, and to dispel longtime stigmas wrongly associated with public two-year colleges.

“The past year has proved beyond any doubt that KCC is absolutely vital to our community and our state,” said Dr. Adrien Bennings, president of KCC. “Community College Month is an opportunity to demonstrate not only that community colleges should be the first choice of many college-goers, but why community colleges are first-class institutions that are crucial to our local and state economies.”

Kellogg Community College, founded in 1956, serves approximately 9,000 students annually via five campuses, customized training and online coursework. The College offers 60 pre-professional transfer curricula; 37 associate degree programs; 25 certificate programs; seven categories of professional certifications; and a variety of short-term, non-credit courses.

KCC strives daily to fulfill its mission, which states, “We are dedicated to providing accessible, high-quality education to enrich our community and the lives of individual learners.”

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 health care professionals, among many others. They also serve as an on-ramp to bachelor’s, master’s and higher-level degrees for many students, and particularly for the most demographically and socioeconomically diverse students.

Community colleges guarantee fair admissions for all students. They offer supports 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. KCC is consistently ranked as one of the most affordable colleges in Michigan, with a current resident tuition rate of $121.75 per credit hour.

Despite all this, many American people wrongly believe that community colleges are inferior institutions, and in most states, universities receive significantly more per-student state support than community colleges do. These negative attitudes and disparities support and encourage ongoing socioeconomic and demographic disadvantages and inequities in the United States.

“Community colleges are engines of diversity, equity and inclusion,” said ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown. “They give opportunities to all students, and they support all students throughout their educations, 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.”

The campaign is expected to have strong participation from community colleges and their supporters throughout the country.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at https://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.