Hudson County Community College Reboots to Prepare for Students Staying Close to Home
May 21, 2020
College builds upon students’ benefits by establishing the ‘Return to Campus’ Task Force, and planning for students and teachers to thrive in a safe and healthy educational environment.
May 21, 2020, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) President Dr. Chris Reber understands everyone’s concerns for today and the future. “The COVID-19 pandemic has left us all with uncertainty about aspects of our everyday life, and what we will encounter in the days, months and years ahead,” he said.
However, he states that the one thing COVID-19 has underscored is the value of education, especially a college education. “With the re-engineering of the American economy there will be new challenges and opportunities, and we intend to prepare students for those new realities,” Dr. Reber said.
The President stated that Hudson County Community College is dedicated to providing everyone with the opportunity to benefit from a HCCC education, and wants to accommodate the needs of all returning students and all newcomers, while ensuring their health and safety.
To address these priorities, the College recently formed the “Return to Campus” (RTC) Task Force, which is exploring timelines, data, models and recommendations for designing options for the Fall 2020 semester and beyond. The RTC Task Force will build upon the benefits the College offers HCCC students while determining the safest and most effective ways of providing instruction. These benefits include degree and certificate programs that lead to meaningful, well-paying careers with potential for growth; financial assistance and scholarships; robust online programs; state-of-the-art facilities that are close to home and centrally located; courses taught by nationally recognized and caring faculty; and award-winning, individual and group, free tutoring offered in-person and online.
HCCC offers more than 60 degree and certificate programs with credits that transfer to every major four-year college and university in the New Jersey-New York area. “We have exceptional, award-winning programs that lead to promising futures,” Dr. Reber said. The HCCC STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management, Nursing and Health Sciences, English as a Second Language, and Fine and Performing Arts programs are all top-ranked.
Knowing COVID-19 is economically impacting the people of our community, the College implemented a tuition and fee freeze last month that will last through the 2021 Winter, Spring and Summer I sessions. Dr. Reber noted that HCCC has one of the most effective teams of Financial Aid experts in the area, with more than 80% of the College’s students receiving scholarships from the HCCC Foundation and other sources as well as state and federal grants. Furthermore, current HCCC students may register for Summer and Fall classes even if they have a balance with the Bursar or are waiting for final grades to be posted.
Another plus the College affords Hudson County residents is that the College is easily accessed, with campuses, fully online programs, and state-of-the-art facilities in Jersey City, Union City and Secaucus, all of which have transportation hubs. “This certainly eliminates any worries about long-distance travel that may have upset some individuals’ plans for starting or returning to out-of-town and out-of-state colleges and universities,” Dr. Reber said.
Experts believe that community college educations are a good value, costing only about one-third of studies at a public college or university in New Jersey. Dr. Reber says the proof of that may be found in HCCC students and alumni. “Our students are awarded national scholarships, and go on to complete their baccalaureate and graduate degrees at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions, including Princeton, Columbia, Fairleigh Dickinson, Rutgers and New York University. HCCC students participate in exclusive, nationally acclaimed programs like the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholar program. Virtually all of our nursing graduates are employed in their profession. HCCC offers a great start to address the changing times ahead in America,” he said.