Parkland College Celebrates Community College Month
Parkland College Joins Community College Month Campaign
Parkland College joins the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) in celebrating Community College Month.
Community College Month is a month-long grassroots education and stigma-busting campaign coordinated by the ACCT to improve awareness of the economic, academic, and equity advantages of attending community colleges, and to fight inaccurate, harmful stigmas associated with junior colleges.
"Recent events have proven that community colleges are vital to our community and our state," said Parkland Board of Trustees Chair Bianca Green. "Community College Month is a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate Parkland College's mission to cultivate inquiry, practical application of knowledge, and broad enrichment across the community to better serve the intellectual, cultural, and economic development of the district."
Public community colleges are designed to guarantee access to affordable, high-quality higher education for all members of the community. As institutions, they aim to help demographically and socioeconomically diverse students bypass barriers of entry to higher-level degrees or vocational and professional career skills.
"The proof is in the numbers," said Trustee and Board Secretary James Ayers. "We know that Parkland makes a significant economic impact on our local, regional, and statewide economies; provides jobs; and supplies life-changing resources to our community. Our students graduate with a clear path forward to a higher quality of life. We are proud to dedicate ourselves to and serve our community through Parkland College."
In fiscal year 2020, Parkland College provided a total economic output of $85.7 million on the statewide economy and serves the needs of District 505, Illinois' third largest community college district. The fully accredited public college offers over 130+ degree and certificate options for career placement or academic transfer. Parkland has provided vocational-technical skills training and traditional academic instruction to more than 350,000 people since 1967.
Parkland College's mission is to engage the community in learning.
Follow Parkland College's social media pages for more #CCMonth.