Community colleges are in desperate need of federal stimulus relief in order to continue fulfilling our mission of providing quality, affordable, and accessible postsecondary education and training, which is especially crucial in the midst of a global health crisis.
You can help by reminding lawmakers that community colleges are vital to reskilling and upskilling the more than two million displaced Pennsylvania workers, are critical to educating and training for in-demand and pandemic-related professions, and are key to Pennsylvania’s economic recovery.
Not only is it imperative that community colleges receive federal funding, it is also important that funding be allocated appropriately using a headcount-based distribution formula. Community colleges serve the highest percentage of low-income students across higher education, and many of these students attend part-time. Community colleges should not be penalized for offering affordable higher education options to economically disadvantaged students.
“At a time when the nation faces unprecedented demand for education and retraining, Delaware County Community College stands ready to help. The college is representative of U.S. community colleges in that most of our 19,000 credit and non-credit students attend part-time, which makes federal support for a headcount-based funding formula essential, especially for the nation’s 1,050 community colleges – the U.S. higher education sector that serves the most low-income students,” said Delaware County Community College President Dr. L. Joy Gates Black.
Please complete the form below to ask your federal policymakers to support H.R. 6800, the HEROES Act, or similar legislation that will provide much needed funding and additional support to Pennsylvania’s community colleges.
We need your voice now more than ever. Take action here.