Viewpoint: Mississippi Excels in Two-Year Colleges

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At last, some national kudos for Mississippi in the area of education, according to the newly released Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government report on the state of Community-Junior Colleges in the nation, Mississippi’s two-year colleges rank fourth in the country.

You heard right, number four nation-wide. Why? For one thing the cost is much less than four-year colleges. In an economically challenged state like ours, that is significant. Another reason according to the Rockefeller Report is,"community colleges also produce graduates with the skills to handle a wide range of jobs that need more than a high school education, but don’t necessarily require a four-year degree—nurses, police officers, and EMT’s…They operate thousands of job-training programs that don’t point to a degree, but that help employers meet their staffing needs and help workers adapt to a rapidly changing job market.” The report goes on to say, “They are the primary way most states deliver post-secondary education.”

In fact, The Rockefeller report concluded, “that states with strong community college systems offer a cost-effective way to help more of their citizens eventually earn four-year degrees, will enable more of their citizens to move up from low-wage jobs and find high-skill, well-paid careers; will bolster economic development by meeting employer needs for qualified workers; and will help high-school graduates with weak skills catch up.

The bottom line, according to the report is that “community-Junior Colleges are increasingly important to the education and career prospects of the people they serve.

And again, Mississippi is ranking fourth best in the nation. I’m Jim Cameron….let us hear from you.

Email Jim Cameron at jcameron@wdam.com

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