Monaca, PA – Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) has joined #CCMonth, a monthlong  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 bust longtime stigmas  wrongly associated with public two-year colleges. 

“The past year has proved beyond any doubt that our college is vital to our community and our state,”  said Roger W. Davis, president of CCBC. “We’ve expanded program offerings, through the Build Back  Better grant and other initiatives, broadened our horizons with a new site in Washington County  through our aviation and College Here and Now programs, and reinstated our well-respected  community events and resources. #CCMonth is an opportunity to celebrate the importance and value of  our college to our community and to demonstrate how we are cultivating students for the future.” 

Public community colleges are a uniquely American educational model designed to guarantee access to  affordable, high-quality higher education for all. They serve as an onramp to bachelor, master, and  higher-level degrees for many, particularly for the most demographically and socioeconomically diverse  students. They guarantee fair admissions for all students and offer support for adult learners who must  work to support their families. Without community colleges, many American students would not be able  to access higher education at all. 

In short, community colleges like CCBC were created to serve the needs of their communities, and they  do it exceptionally well. 

CCBC is the region’s most affordable higher education institution allowing students to gain transferable credits and career focused training to join the workforce. Students can begin the process in high school  through the College Here and Now program and then choose from ten program pathways to continue  

their education as a college student. The college’s programs are designed to give students practical,  hands-on experience to prepare them to enter the workforce quickly. The new mechatronics program,  funded by the Build Back Better grant, is an example of this learning model where students combine  robotics and AI in the classroom and implement it in the manufacturing industry.

“Before I worked at a community college, I learned at a community college,” Dr. Katie Thomas, Dean,  School of Professions and Transfer Studies said. “Today, I am a doctor, a dean, and a person with a voice  at the table because of the transformational power of community colleges. #CCMonth is an opportunity  to celebrate these awesome organizations.” 

Despite some ongoing stigma about community colleges, research from New America’s annual Varying  Degrees study and other sources reveals that most Americans hold community colleges in the highest  regard concerning the cost of attendance, tax dollar support, and efficient operations. 

More Americans also believe community colleges are more underfunded than other institutions, and “a  majority believe that students need career-related support (88%), financial aid (87%), and academic  support (85%). They also strongly believe that colleges and universities must provide housing (82%) and  food (76%) support and on-campus childcare (70%),” according to the survey report. Community  colleges throughout PA and the United States provide these services so that the most disadvantaged  students can succeed in their higher education careers.  

“Community Colleges provide opportunities and support, but they also form personal relationships with  their students and help them create a vision for their future,” said Kim Turcola, academic advisor. “CCBC offers many resources to students including academic advising, financial aid assistance, career coaching,  mental health counseling, and wellness support such as food security.” 

Each year, the #CCMonth campaign makes millions of impressions across social media platforms, and  organizers encourage students and others to share the importance of community colleges in cultivating  skills and their affordability for financially challenged generations.