H.C.C.

Even though tens of thousands of students graduate from Community Colleges with Associate Degrees each year, one educator says the schools often suffer from a "prestige deficit." But the new president of Hillsborough Community College is determined to make sure her school doesn't have an image problem..

In Assignment: Education.. Bill Ratliff tells us about the vision of Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson.

Clarence Barr and Dayron Torrez are just two of the more than 43-thousand students attending Hillsborough Communty College this year. They're pursuing Associate Degrees in business. They like the convenient location of the school and the attention they get from the instructors.

--[Student Clarence Barr says:] "I like the atmosphere the instructors. The instructors basically.. A little bit closer and spend a little more time with you." [Student Dayron Torrez says:] "I think the classes are nice, because you can get more out of your instructor. They're maybe a little smaller than a university."--

Tens of thousands of students have received Associate Degrees at H-C-C, in its more than 30-year history, but years of administrative turmoil and polticial infighting tarnished the school's reputation and hurt staff morale. Enter.. Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson. She took over the presidency of H-C-C last August. Her first challenge she says was to convince the college's staff good things are happening there. Like the fact that H-C-C has traditionally ranked in the top 10 in the nation in the number of Associate Degrees awarded.

--[Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson says:] "Given the fact there are 15-hundred community colleges in the country that is a significant accomplishment."--

But Dr. Stephenson says the greater challenge is to ensure H-C-C's growth. She says the way to do that is to tie it closer to business and industry.. through customized training programs.

--[Dr. Stephenson says:] "What makes community colleges so well-suited for this kind of work is because we're able to be very flexible.. We're able to be very responsive. We can pull together a team to analyze the needs.. design a cirriculum and then repsond quickly to this."--

More buildings are going up at H-C-C to meet the training needs of students, business and industry. Dr. Stephenson says that need will only grow as we enter the 21-st century. Bill Ratliff, Newschannel 8.

This article was brought to you
straight from the desk of

in the Newsroom of