2004

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What do you know about two-year rolleges? Two-year colleges have now been a part of this country's institutions of higher learning for almost a hundred years. In fact, community col– leges have been a part of Mississippi's system of higher education since the 1920s, and of the nation's 992 state-supported colleges. Mississip– PI has 15. East Central Community College. founded in 1928 and supported by the counties of Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott and Winston, is one of the oldest two-year colleges in Missis~ip­ pi and also in the nation. OVID VICKERS The Second lime Around cent. Two-year colleges grant approxtmatcly 450,000 associate degrees each year. In addtttoll to the associate degrees granted, 200,000 two year certificates are also awarded annuall} Approximately 60.4 percent of applicants taking the national registered nurse examination to hccome licensed professiOnal registered nurs<– arc grJduates of associate degree programs.

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tit\. Support comes, in the main, from thn ltlllt.:\. State funds amount to 42 percent; tuitic i i Ices amount to 23 percent while feder 111h ,\lllount to 33 percent. ( 'ummunity colleges are governed by Boarc I Tnt~tcc~. The number of trustees may vru mltvc to 30. Nationally, there are 6.000 boru rnhcrs;29 states with local boards, 16 stab l!h ' tate boards, and 4 states with locaVsta 'lml,. Some two-year colleges are not co1 lkd locally but are goveme()_ by their state 11111J of Trustees of Institutions of High• .umng. Some community colleges, like tho: 11 Ucorgia, arc considered units of their state rtiH·r:.ity System. the Southeast, which pioneered in the estal hn1cnt of community colleges, ranks secor tl~ to the Midwest, a larger region, in the nun 1 \tl degree-granting two-year colleges. Tl \H'\1 number of two-year schools is located See VICKERS, page 14

Almost all community colleges are inteml~l connected. and courses offered by one collcg' can now be taken on the internet by studcnL'> i11 other colleges. Courses taught through the "d1, tance learning" options at community collegl range from basic core courses such as history and biology to technical courses. Community coJlcgl workforce education and training programs flu nish well over 90 percent of the employees lo1 business and other organizations seeking th~M graduates. Community college tuition is (and always ha· been) les!> than that required by four-year inslttu

The average person does not reahze the impact that two-year schools have on education in America. There are a total of 1,171 communi– ty colleges in the nation. Of these colleges, 992 are state supported, 148 arc private institutions, and 3I are tribal colleges. Today, there are 10.4 million students attend– ing community colleges in the United States. Students who are attending for either terminal or transfer credit number 5.4 million, while an addi-

tional 5 million are matriculating m non-credit courses in order to improve their skills in an effort to re-train themselves for different occupa– tions or to upgrade their present positions. And who attends community colleges? Of all undergraduates attending college, 45 percent attend a two-year college..Women students make up 58 percent of that number and men 42 per-

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