It isn’t always a matter of making the grade in high school and moving on to college. Sometimes a student qualifies scholastically but can’t accommodate cost and time because of family commitments or a need to enter the workforce immediate after high school.
This student’s options are limited.
His/her opportunities are not as guaranteed as those who enroll in universities and who don’t face economic hardship and time constraints.
Herein lies the inherent value of two-year colleges.
In the Cleveland and Bradley County area, we are privileged to have access to one of the finest — Cleveland State Community College, a continuing education option that proudly serves a wide range of age groups.
Some of the students are fresh out of high school and are still weighing their academic options and potential career selections.
Some of the students are recent high school graduates who could not enroll at a college or university immediately because of financial constraints, family needs or indecision regarding the need to launch a career versus remaining in school.
Some of the students are working adults whose desire to advance in their current jobs requires additional schooling, further training or an associate’s degree.
Some of the students are primary income earners in their households but who over the years have developed a unique personal interest that can be further developed through college enrollment.
Some of the students are longtime workers who lost their jobs in the economic downturn of The Great Recession and who are moving on to learn new skills to improve their future employment marketability.
Some of the students are existing workers whose employers are paying for their two-year education in exchange for entering a field of study that can benefit the company’s operations.
Some of the students are retirees who seek to follow through on academic interests they have long held but with little free time to pursue them during their working years.
Some of the students are young adults who are still looking for direction and are using the two-year college experience as a combination steppingstone and springboard.
All are categories of students enrolled at Cleveland State Community College.
Their enrollment isn’t only about interest.
It is about opportunity.
Cleveland State provides a rare opportunity that many — young, old and somewhere in the middle — do not have because of variables unique to their lives.
Why is this important?
Because Cleveland State has just made yet another accomplishment that might have escaped the attention of our community. The local school has received official notification from the Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering that the associate of applied science degree programs offered by the Technology Department have been re-accredited through Nov. 1, 2015.
This deserving recognition comes after a lengthy process in which the Technology Department initiated a self-study assessment in 2009, submitted it to ATMAE for review, hosted a site visit team in March 2010, and completed this detailed process by participating in a re-accreditation hearing at the annual ATMAE national conference in late October.
Why is this significant?
Because re-accreditation creates, and expands, opportunity.
Opportunity for its students who are ...
Young minds.
Experienced workers.
Family heads.
A town that embraces a community college is blessed.
It is a blessing of higher education.
And education is our future.
We congratulate CSCC President Dr. Carl Hite and the entire college staff and administration for this landmark achievement.
And we thank you.
For all that you do for our community.
