This April, Richland Community College is proud to showcase their direct, positive impact on the central Illinois economy as they join colleges nationwide in celebrating Community College Month.
Community College Month is an annual grassroots campaign to bring attention to the value and importance of community colleges led by the Association of Community College Trustees. It highlights the essential role community and technical colleges play in powering the workforce and expanding economic opportunity.
Specifically in central Illinois, Richland Community College has greatly shaped the economy. Lightcast recently released an Illinois Community College Board report where they analyzed data compiled in the 2023-24 academic year. Their data showed:
- The activities of Richland and its students support one out of every 32 jobs in the College’s Service Area. (This area comprises 31 ZIP codes located across Christian, DeWitt, Logan, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Sangamon, and Shelby Counties.)
- For every dollar students invest in Richland (in the form of out-of-pocket expenses and forgone time and money), they will receive a cumulative value of $5.00 in higher future earnings.
- Richland generates more tax revenue than they receive. For every dollar of public money invested in Richland Community College, taxpayers will receive a 30% return investment over the course of the students’ working lives.
- In FY 2023-24, Richland alumni generated $166.0 million in added income for the regional economy, which is equivalent to supporting 1,952 jobs.
- Students at Richland see, on average, a payback period of 7.9 years, meaning 7.9 years after their initial investment of forgone earnings and out-of-pocket costs, they will have received enough higher future earnings to fully recover those costs.
So, how does Richland do all of this? The College boasts a variety of opportunities to make education accessible for all. They introduce high schoolers to the collegiate environment through dual credit programs like Heartland Technical Academy, Prep Academy, Transfer Academy, and general dual credit opportunities.
Rahged Qatoum is a 2025 graduate from MacArthur High School who participated in Cohort 1 of Prep Academy. Now, she’s preparing to be the Keynote Speaker for Cohort 2’s graduation in May. She said, “Prep Academy was a big jump for me. It is the reason I graduated high school with my associate’s degree, and now I’m a junior at Millikin studying Psychology.”
For students wishing to go straight into the workforce, Richland offers career and technical education programs, earn-while-you-learn opportunities (PrairieLand FAME), and free trades programs like Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship and Industrial Job Skills Training. There is even the EnRich program, which is an empowering training program that provides financial assistance and personal support so adults with multiple barriers to employment can earn a livable income.
“The highlight of my day is coming to class because I really do enjoy learning,” said Milton Leath, a soon-to-be graduate from the EV/Hybrid Technician program within EnRich’s Clean Energy Careers. “[My professors] want you to dive into the program immediately with no fluff. Not a lot of places have programs directly covering EV/ Hybrid courses, so Richland is the place I want to be.”
All these programs, combined with strong industry partnerships, have allowed Richland to continue innovating to meet industry demands.
“Our team strives to make Richland Community College the first and best choice for our students,” said Richland President Cristobal Valdez, Ed.D. “We pride ourselves on providing meaningful educational opportunities on campus, while thoroughly researching ways to develop relevant curriculum for students preparing to enter rapidly changing industries. This strategic innovation makes us the smartest first step and the strongest next step for learners.”