Wyoming’s Community Colleges have partnered with CCsmart, a student-led initiative to support community college education, to tackle head-on the issue of declining enrollment at two- and four-year colleges by introducing a new web resource for students and parents.
Those facing decisions about college now have access to CCsmart.org, a website and information portal launched to provide the tools people need to make the best and most informed choices about college. It delivers seamless navigation to help students find the information they need to achieve their higher education goals, and access to the site is free with no registration required.
CCsmart is an evidence-based and data driven website designed to make it easier to find reliable information about higher education pathways, from workforce training to associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and transfer options. It also provides easy to understand information about financial options for various credential and degree options and aid alternatives beyond just Pell Grants and FAFSA.
CCsmart was created in response to an idea championed by a group of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) students who wanted to share the success and pride they had in being community college students. They developed CCsmart, or Community College Smart, as an awareness campaign of national scope, with the goal of changing the conversation about community colleges, promoting student-led advocacy of community colleges, and providing reliable information to the public about community college opportunities, particularly to first-generation college students and underserved populations. It is a new subsidiary of PTK, the 104-year-old nonprofit organization recognized as the official honor society of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).
The nation is facing an increased need for a highly skilled and trained workforce while simultaneously facing decreased student participation in college. Community college participation has declined by 19%, or 1.33 million students, in the last decade, with 8% of the loss resulting directly from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Community colleges remain the most affordable choice in higher education with an average cost of tuition and fees $3,800 a year, 40% of the average tuition cost at a four-year public institution. They offer many different avenues to employment and career development with workforce and transfer pathways designed to maximize quality education in flexible, affordable ways that work for students and families.