In my last stop in Vermont, I was thrilled to visit with Community College of Vermont (CCV) President Joyce Judy on the Winooski campus, just minutes from neighboring Burlington. The Community College of Vermont was founded in 1970 and today serves more than 10,000 students each year at its 12 academic centers and through extensive remote learning options.
President Judy is a NECHE Commissioner finishing her third year and has been the energetic and tireless president of CCV since 2009. She is particularly focused on expanding access to higher education for all Vermonters, from high school students taking college courses to adult students seeking new career opportunities. As part of that mission, President Judy has developed a broad number of workforce education initiatives and helped lead Vermont in increasing the number of students who continue their education after high school. Small wonder she was recognized with the 2024 Distinguished Citizen Award by neighbor Champlain College!
Because Vermont is a small state and there are a dozen CCV campuses, in-person students can easily reach classes in 12 degree and 26 certificate programs; workforce, secondary, and continuing education opportunities; and academic and veterans support services. At the same time, CCV also offers 75% of its classes online for even greater flexibility. This is vital since the average age of CCV students is 26, more than half are the first in their family to attend college, and almost 80% are working.
Two things about CCV are quite distinctive. First, the college began and remains one institution with multiple locations, with no talk of merging campuses. CCV’s campuses have always been tethered together, while in other states (and even in Vermont) there have been frequent mergers among four-year colleges. Second, all faculty are part-time and have been since Day 1. This model has allowed the college to operate efficiently, with faculty who are actively working outside the classroom, like their students. As a testament to that, throughout the modern Winooski facility hang beautiful and inspiring artworks created by the faculty.
This passionate attention to meeting students’ needs can likewise be seen in the staff’s quiet offering of food, snacks and sustenance to cover the food insecurity many students are experiencing. These are the victories too often overlooked in the national conversation about higher education. The critical work happening at our community colleges makes it a privilege to witness and highlight these remarkable institutions.
