What defines a community college?

• We grant associate degrees and certificates.
• We specialize in workforce development and technical education.
• We're partially funded by local property taxes, in addition to tuition, state and federal funding.
• We're open access, meaning we accept every student regardless of their college readiness.
• We're created by a vote of our community, and we are not a part of state government.
• We serve the needs of a defined local region.

Independent and locally focused

Unlike in some states, Missouri's community colleges are not a “system” with a centralized administration under one governing body.

Instead, we are 12 separate and independent local colleges, with a history of working together to meet both state and local needs.  As local entities, each college’s academic and workforce training programs mirror the local economy by design. 

Our service regions cover the entire state, allowing us to serve every Missourian and every Missouri business.