University System of Maryland Chancellor provides the keynote address to the 2015 Annual Summit on College Completion.
WHAT: Maryland Association of Community Colleges’ 6th Annual Summit on Completion
WHEN: Friday, December 4, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) — Catonsville Campus, 800 South Rolling Road, Baltimore, MD 21228, Center for the Arts Building – parking in Lot 3
WHO: Keynote Speakers addressing the role of community colleges in economic development:
- Robert L. Caret, Chancellor, University System of Maryland
- Bret Schreiber, Director, Education & Innovation, Maryland Department of Commerce
- Presidents and selected faculty of Maryland’s 16 community colleges
WHY: The Completion Summit, organized by the Maryland Association of Community Colleges (MACC), focuses on improving college completion rates by identifying, highlighting, and sharing innovative and successful strategies for educating community college students.
- A skilled and educated workforce is a foundation of a vibrant economy. Unskilled workers will increasingly be left out of the rapidly evolving digital economy.
- Concerted efforts to improve completion rates have resulted in a 42% increase in associate degrees awarded, and a 53% increase in the number of certificates awarded at Maryland’s 16 community colleges since 2009.
- Serving approximately 500,000 Marylanders annually, community colleges are the State’s largest workforce training provider.
- Community colleges provide a vast array of credentials that can equip students for in-demand careers offering family-sustaining wages without a bachelor’s or other advanced degrees. Community colleges are also an important entry point to further study at 4-year institutions.