Community Colleges Held Rally Day at State Capitol

Published: 02/29/2012

“Rally Day” provided an opportunity to meet with legislators and state officials and to urge support of Missouri’s community colleges.

There were 12 representatives and supporters from St. Charles Community College participating, including faculty, staff and students. They met with Representatives Kurt Bahr (R-19), Kathie Conway (R-14), Doug Funderburk (R-12), Chuck Gatschenberger (R-13), Vicki Schneider (R-17), Chrissy Sommer (R-15), Anne Zerr (R-18), and Senators Tom Dempsey (S-23) and Scott Rupp (S-2).

“It’s important for our legislators to hear from our faculty, students and staff about the value of a community college education and the impact that has on individual lives, families, and our communities,” said Ron Chesbrough, president of St. Charles Community College.

Legislative priorities for community colleges this year include maintaining funding for operations, continuing to fund the A+ scholarship program, identifying sources of funding for capital projects, enhancing workforce competitiveness through training programs, and maintaining a strong nursing workforce.

Over the past 10 years, enrollment in Missouri’s community colleges has increased by more than 50 percent, growing twice as fast as public university enrollment between 2001 and 2010, according to MCCA.

Missouri has 12 community college districts serving more than 152,000 students taking classes for college credit and 126,000 non-credit students. Nationally, community colleges enroll nearly half of all undergraduates.

Students attending community colleges overwhelmingly tend to stay in the state to live and work. MCCA estimates that 93 percent of community college students in the state will stay in Missouri.

A community college education pays strong dividends to the state and to individual students. Taxpayers see a rate of return of 6.7 percent on their investment in Missouri’s community colleges.

Students who obtain an associate degree earn an average of $11,000 more each year than those who hold only a high school diploma.

The added income generated by Missouri’s community colleges contributes approximately $330 million in income to the state’s economy each year, according to MCCA.

Taking a longer view, over the past 30 years it is estimated that the contributions of a community college educated workforce have translated into $4.7 billion in added state income, due primarily to higher earnings and increased business output.

In addition to programs of study intended to allow a student to transfer to a four-year institution or go directly into a career or technical field, community colleges provide a wealth of training for the state’s businesses and industries.