April is Community College Month

Together with more than 1,000 other community colleges across the country, Kalamazoo Valley celebrates Community College Month during April. This monthlong campaign is an opportunity to share with the community not only that Kalamazoo Valley is the first choice of many college-bound students, but also that community colleges are first-class institutions that are vital to our local and state economies.

Community colleges are respected collaborators, leaders and partners, creating innovative and equitable opportunities to prepare learners for existing and emerging careers. They are a uniquely American educational model that was designed to guarantee access to affordable, high-quality education for all. They serve as an on-ramp to careers and to higher-level degrees for many students, particularly for the most demographically and socioeconomically diverse students.

"The credentials earned by our students prepare them to fill in-demand careers in healthcare, skilled and professional trades, technology and new media or for transfer to four-year institutions," Kalamazoo Valley President L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D. said. "Community College Month is our opportunity to remind people about the huge impact the college makes on the vitality of Southwest Michigan."

In Michigan, more than 280,000 students attend community college each year and more than half of all bachelor's degree holders in the state have completed a portion of their coursework at a community college. Michigan is home to 28 public community colleges and three tribal colleges with an average tuition rate of $4,966, compared to $16,280 for a public in-state university