Alabama’s Jefferson State Community College (JSCC) enrolls nearly 14,000 students annually at its campuses in Jefferson, Chilton, St. Clair and Shelby counties. Over half of JSCC attendees are first-generation college students. The College offers more than 33 certificate and training programs in vast array of fields including manufacturing, health care, robotics, welding and computer tech. With more than 250 nursing graduates each year, Jefferson State is the leading producer of graduates with associate degrees in nursing in Alabama. JSCC radiologic tech grads have a 100 percent job placement rate. During the 2018 fiscal year, Jefferson State, along with its students and alumea, added over $515 million in income to the College’s service area.
ARC has stood in partnership with the College for more than fifty years as it expanded curriculum, upgraded facilities, constructed new buildings, and purchased state-of-art training equipment to meet students and industry needs. For instance, ARC support enabled the College to purchase lab simulators and other training equipment for the nursing and allied health programs, stand up a dedicated Manufacturing Skill Standards Council’s Certified Production Technician (CPT) Certification, and build a new 5,000 square foot training facility at the Shelby-Hoover campus to house the College’s rapidly expanding welding programs. The new welding lab opened in time for the 2020 school year, welcoming students for welding certifications and two year degrees with a combination of online learning and hands-on training while adhering to COVID-19 distancing guidelines.