Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles: Value & Opportunity
August 2, 2019
Colleagues,
As students and families grapple with the cost of college, community colleges offer tremendous value and opportunity to all students seeking high-quality academic pathways. With relevant programs, dynamic workforce training, and many of the same student experiences available at four-year colleges and universities, the perception of community colleges continues to evolve. Maybe that’s part of the reason why community college students make up 41% of all U.S. undergraduates1. Many of our alumni enthusiastically commend our curricular and co-curricular programs and their experiences with our faculty and staff. We regularly hear how well their Westchester Community College education prepared them for the institutions to which they transferred – including NYU, Columbia, and Yale.
Your commitment to our students and to your work transcends the day-to-day operations of the college and is evident in the impact we have on the people whose lives change because of sharing their precious time with us. Our value is so much more than the programs and services we provide, it is manifest in our community impact.
At today’s Strategic Administrative Leadership Team (S.A.L.T.) meeting, we heard summaries of some of the areas where we’ve made great progress in creating new student experiences. We will repeat and expand on these summaries in the fall when all employees are available to attend and participate. In the meantime, here’s an article from the Washington Post about the increasing critical role of community colleges in America.
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President