Facilitating the Establishment of A Community College for the Susquehanna Valley
About the Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project
- Higher education through flexible, open-enrollment courses
- Attract, retain, and support local businesses
- Training for in-demand skills and career advancement
Community colleges are affordable, accessible, accountable, and adaptable
Who We Are
Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project (SVCEP) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2007 by Dr. Lenaire Alum. We are a group of dedicated community leaders, business owners, and educational professionals who realized that many of our area’s economic challenges would be most effectively addressed by establishing our own regional community college. We exist to bring a new community college to the four-county (Northumberland, Union, Montour, and Snyder) region.
Why a Community College? Why Now?
Nationally, community colleges are the number one driver of workforce development. According to state-level data, our region currently has 7,000 high-priority job openings annually. That is, every year there are more than 7,000 local jobs that employers cannot fill.
Community colleges meet that need by partnering with employers to create targeted training programs to help bridge the skills gap, and to place graduates directly into in-demand careers. Community colleges are so critical to technical and career training that one of the first questions businesses ask when considering a new location is, “Is there a community college in the area?”
Community colleges are the only form of higher education that combines affordability, open access, and flexibility with full-service, in-person classes. Currently, the nearest full-service community colleges are over an hour away, in Harrisburg and Nanticoke. If these and existing local education options were sufficient, we wouldn’t be struggling with a consistent, significant skills gap.
Having our own regional community college will allow people to pursue a degree, gain needed skills to advance in their career, or get a better-paying job in a new industry, without leaving their current job, having to endure a long and expensive commute, or move away. 94% percent of community college graduates stay in the area after graduation, adding the value of their education, skills, and training to the local economy. By making it possible for individuals to pursue their educational and career goals right where they are, our own community college will lift up the entire region.
Why We Created SVCEP?
Our region once had access to a community college: Williamsport Area Community College (WACC), which existed from 1965-1989. It was a resounding success, enrolling upwards of 20,000 students at its peak. In 1970, the Middle States Commission on Institutions of Higher Education reported, “The college's commitment to its community is total, is real, and is significant. It is involved in the economic, social, and cultural life of north-central Pennsylvania in ways which few if any institutions of higher education ever even hope to achieve.” Two generations of Valley students benefited from this investment in affordable, accessible higher education.
So what happened?
The state law which governs Pennsylvania’s community colleges made provisions to create ten original community colleges in the greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas. For other regions of Pennsylvania, it laid out the steps required to form a new community college accessible to area residents. In addition to passing rigorous accreditation requirements, new community colleges must have a fiscal sponsor–a local taxing body which will provide crucial financial support to complement state and federal funding.
WACC’s fiscal sponsor was a confederation of regional K-12 school districts. At the end of the initial 20-year fiscal sponsorship agreement, the school districts decided to discontinue their financial contributions, effectively closing the college. A state-level rescue plan transformed the former WACC into Penn Tech, an affiliate of Penn State. Penn Tech continued to offer an excellent education, but at a significantly higher price tag. With this change, affordable, accessible higher education was once again out of reach for residents of the Susquehanna Valley.
Our Goal
Since WACC closed, we’ve learned a lot. Pennsylvania recently celebrated the opening of its 15th community college serving Erie County. We now know that county-level fiscal sponsorship is the best and most stable option for the local match that state law requires.
In 2021, SVCEP completed an economic impact study that shows how a regional college sponsored by Northumberland, Union, Montour, and Snyder Counties could be funded by the equivalent of $1.15 per household per month! For about $14 per household per year, we could have our own new community college and reap the benefits of state and federal investment that currently go to other regions. Supporting a new community college means supporting local industry, keeping local talent, and helping people live better lives for themselves and their families.
Won’t You Join Us?
Ask
your county commissioner to vote "yes" on a resolution of sponsorship and make Our Own Regional Community College a reality once again!
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