Community College Month Showcases the Power of Community

Illinois Central College (ICC) is proud to join community colleges nationwide this April to celebrate Community College Month.

An annual campaign led by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) to improve awareness of community colleges’ economic, academic, and equity advantages. The 2025 theme, Best Decision Ever, reflects the life-changing opportunities ICC provides to students and the region.

“Community College Month is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate ICC’s profound impact on Central Illinois,” said Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey, ICC President. “Our students are earning the credentials that transform their lives, whether by transferring to four-year institutions or entering the workforce. When more people in our community achieve their educational goals, it changes the trajectory of their lives and that of their families.”

Increasing the number of credentialed adults in our region expands our local workforce, strengthens our regional employers and increases the economic vibrancy and resiliency of our regional economy. We are proud to be a workforce and economic engine for our region.

Public community colleges are a uniquely American educational model designed to guarantee all individuals access to affordable, high-quality higher education. They also serve as an on-ramp to bachelor’s, master’s, and higher-level degrees for many students, particularly for the most demographically and socioeconomically diverse students.

In Illinois, more than half of all students in higher education attend community colleges, highlighting their critical role in the state’s educational system.

Community colleges provide significant benefits for the communities they serve. Through the Workforce Equity Initiative, ICC has lifted over 1,000 individuals out of poverty and into high-demand, higher-wage careers. In response to local employers’ needs, ICC certified nearly 800 individuals for information technology jobs through the IT Workforce Accelerator.

Community colleges also provide support for students outside the classroom. In partnership with community-based organizations and the state of Illinois, ICC provides students with support services including a food pantry, childcare assistance, transportation, and more. Without this support from community colleges, many students could not access higher education due to financial limitations and other barriers.

Community colleges were created to serve the needs of their communities and eliminate barriers faced by disadvantaged individuals, and they do it exceptionally well. Research from New America’s annual Varying Degrees study has shown that most Americans hold community colleges in the highest regard among all higher education institutions regarding affordability, wise use of tax dollars, and resource efficiency.

Community colleges provide crucial support for students, including career-related services (88%), financial aid (87%), and academic support (85%). Community colleges throughout the United States, including ICC, provide these services so that the most disadvantaged students will succeed in their higher education careers and beyond.

“Everywhere I go, I am told by current and former students that choosing to go to a community college is one of the best decisions they ever made,” said ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee. “The reality is that many students don’t realize this until after they attend and realize what opportunities their community college gave them and how much their instructors cared about them. Our goal is to get the message to students before making one of their life’s most consequential financial decisions.”