It is discouraging to realize that in today’s progressive culture there are still many who consider an open-access institution of higher education, and with relatively lower tuition costs, as inferior and incapable of providing quality academic programs for students. In addition, students who may not have chosen a linear path to a degree are sometimes judged to be “at-risk.” And yet, to quote U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez: “Community colleges are the ‘secret sauce’ for economic recovery and vitality.”
Make no mistake about it: Higher education is a jobs issue. It is about job creation and job retention, and the comprehensive community college is well-positioned to respond to current economic conditions in an affordable (not “cheap”) manner. A study conducted by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce projects that 14 million job openings during the next 10 years will be filled by people who have an associate’s degree or occupational certificate. It adds that jobs requiring an associate degree are in some of the fastest-growing occupations in the nation. These include nurses, dental hygienists, police officers, and first responders, all of which include skills that can be acquired through academic programs at PCC.
The nation is currently touting unemployment rates that are hovering around 5.5 percent. However, if the part-time employed (those still seeking full-time employment) were to be factored in, the national unemployment rate would be closer to 10 percent.
Consequently, higher education must be more innovative, more forward-thinking and more accountable for narrowing the blatant skills gap that exists. Pueblo Community College has responded to this call for action by offering students a path for either transfer opportunities or direct employment in career and technical jobs while remaining sensitive to the unique, diverse community it serves.
In comparing us with our peer institutions, the 2015 Community College Survey of Student Engagement indicates that PCC students appreciate a learning environment (by six percentage points above the national average), small class sizes, respectful relationships with faculty and academic advisers, and experiential learning opportunities. It’s more than likely that those qualities are the result of PCC putting student success at the heart of all of its strategic imperatives.
The Brookings Institute recently issued an economic impact report that ranked PCC fourth in the nation for “added value” to a student’s investment in education at college, with the average PCC student’s lifetime income increasing by $3.20 for every dollar invested as well as an 11.5 percent rate of return. This amounts to more than $143 million each year in added income, and they also generate more than $2 million annually in additional tax revenue.
A PCC student who graduates highly skilled, highly educated and well-prepared to contribute to a global economy would seem to have made a courageous choice in an environment that would suggest that a community college education is inferior. A return on investment that ranks fourth in the nation for “added value” seems like a pretty good deal for not just a community college but for PCC!
Patty Erjavec is president of Pueblo Community College. Reach her at patty.erjavec@pueblocc.edu.
