Montgomery College

With Americans struggling financially due to rising inflation and a year of community college nearly three times less expensive than a year at a public four-year college, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst Community Colleges, coupled with its state-by-state ranking of the Best & Worst Community-College Systems, Montgomery College was ranked 7th out of over 650 community colleges, coming it at 19th in the ‘Career Outcomes’ category, while Maryland was ranked 2nd in “States With the Best Community College System.”

Per the article: “Other than serving as an affordable, and in some cases free, option for education, community colleges have a number of attractive qualities. They often provide more flexible schedules, smaller class sizes and rigorous coursework. Some even go beyond two-year programs to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees. These qualities advantages appeal especially to students who need to balance their studies with other commitments, such as family and work.

Montgomery College students Eve Elias Stowell, Marthe Medalebem Sanjol, and Anna L. Chacon are three of 100 recipients of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s (JKCF) prestigious Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The highly competitive national scholarship will provide the three students with up to $55,000 a year to complete their bachelor’s degrees. This is the first time the College has had three JKCF winners in the same year.

This year, more than 1,200 students from 332 community colleges applied to receive the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The foundation evaluated each submission based on students’ academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, and leadership.

Montgomery College has been ranked one of the year’s best schools for online degrees in public service by STEPS (Student Training & Education in Public Service). Just under 6 percent of colleges and universities in the U.S. earned a ranking position. “The virtual campus at Montgomery College provides students with comprehensive services and support to help them reach their academic goals, and the online degree in criminal justice is a great example of how students are provided with the option to complete their degree entirely in the virtual environment,” said Shinta H. Hernandez, Ph.D., the College’s Dean of the Virtual Campus, Office of E-Learning, Innovation, and Teaching Excellence (ELITE).

“Criminal justice professors have worked tirelessly over the past several years to ensure that the programs’ online courses utilize best practices in distance education, including a variety of media and innovative, often free, instructional materials,” said Ginger R. Robinson, JD, Interim Department Chair, Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice. “Courses are routinely updated to incorporate current events, reflecting the changing nature of law, justice, and society. The faculty’s willingness to meet students where they are, whether it’s the physical or online classroom, ensures that every criminal justice student in Maryland possesses the ability to access the highest quality education.”