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Capital Community College Makes Downtown Come Alive

By Andy Hart

July 18, 2013

Capital Community College (CCC) is an associate degree and certificate-granting public institution located in the old G. Fox Building on Main Street in downtown Hartford.

Its vision as an urban, two-year college is to “instill life-changing knowledge in a community of learners from multicultural backgrounds in a vital urban setting where business, culture and government converge.” The College offers 60 degree and certificate programs and workforce training for occupations in demand in Greater Hartford.

CCC is increasingly the college entry point for students who transfer to the baccalaureate level. CCC, a founding member of the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education comprised of 11 colleges and universities, is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Professional programs in nursing and allied health are nationally accredited.

Founded in 1967 as Greater Hartford Community College, CCC merged with Hartford State Technical College in 1992. It consolidated its two campuses in 2002 and moved to its downtown campus.

Enrollment for credit students last year was 4,434 students with 60% of students residing in Hartford, West Hartford, Bloomfield, Wethersfield and Rocky Hill. More than 7,000 students are served annually in academic and continuing education programs.

CCC is one of New England’s most ethnically diverse campuses; 65% of students are African American and Hispanic. CCC is recognized as an Hispanic Serving Institution by the federal government. Most Capital students attend part-time (76%). Their average age is 29; a majority (71%) are female.

Programs

Capital Community College, one of 12 two-year institutions in Connecticut, offers a comprehensive curriculum in eight academic departments including business and technology, humanities, behavioral and social sciences, nursing, health professions, social and behavioral sciences, science and mathematics and academic media technology. Classroom and lab instruction is supported with tutoring, advising and counseling services. Learning communities and outcome-based faculty and staff interventions (Achieving the Dream initiative) continue to help first generation students facing academic challenges to persist in their first year of college. Internships in business, technology and health care studies provide practical workplace experiences and may lead to employment.

The Division of Continuing Education and Community Development provides an array of career and professional development training at institutes and centers for Corporate Education, Insurance and Financial Services, Information Technology and Health Professions. Through outreach and community engagement the College partners with city, government, business, neighborhood organizations, public schools and educational institutions in Greater Hartford on student achievement issues and access to higher education.

Recent Accomplishments

The College became one of 19 institutions in five states to develop a new mathematics pathway for students to advance studies from the developmental and associate level to the baccalaureate. Mathematics faculty have introduced “Statistics Pathway” (Statway) to move students to and through transferable college statistics in one year. Meeting the challenges of implementing cost-saving informatics systems in health care, CCC received a $471,000 two-year grant as part of a 23-state consortium led by Tidewater Community College (VA) to engage IT professionals and Health Care personnel in the transitions to electronic health records systems. In 2012 the College launched the Health and Life Sciences Initiative using $1,3 million in federal funds to educate veterans and under-served group for employment in the growing health care field.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded CCC an Hispanic Serving Institution $98,645 grant for a “We The People” project. Faculty of the College are enhancing the college’s writing curriculum with an exploration of the city’s rich cultural and historic institutions and immigrant communities.

A partnership between the Travelers Insurance Companies’ EDGE – Empowering Dreams for Graduation and Employment - initiative established the Crossroads to Careers program. Since 2008 Crossroads – now a model for internships and career development at the College – has given high achieving students job and campus mentoring, internships and financial aid and transfer support to the baccalaureate

Ten years after the move from the Woodland and Flatbush campuses Capital Community College is part of a new energy that makes downtown vital to the regional economy, and a unique destination for employment, history, culture, the arts and higher education.