Maryland has the second best community college system in the country, according to a new study from WalletHub.
The report ranked the state’s 16 community colleges against more than 650 other institutions across the U.S., and compared the entities based on 19 different metrics. Maryland’s schools averaged high, placing it at number two after Connecticut.
“It’s no surprise that [Maryland community colleges] rank ahead of 48 other states. These institutions have world-class faculties, offer innovative workforce development programs, and play a critical role in the state’s economy, supporting well over 100,000 jobs,” said Governor Larry Hogan in a tweet.
Our state’s community colleges are creating programs to help prepare the workforce for the future. For example, Frederick Community College has started a program on logistics and production technology for biotechnology systems and maintenance. Anne Arundel Community College has created an Associate’s degree for digital forensics, information assurance, and cybersecurity.
“Maryland’s community colleges are one of our most important economic engines,” said Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill. “Our network of two-year schools are laser focused on preparing the next generation of workers for in-demand jobs. With a variety of workforce development options and continuing education courses, we can ensure that Maryland’s talent pool stays ahead of the game.”
WalletHub also ranked Maryland the second most educated state earlier this year, with high percentages of Bachelor’s degree holders, as well as Graduate or Professional degree holders. Maryland took the top spot in this report when comparing the states’ quality of schools.
“Our state is diligently working to make sure its workforce is the most highly-educated in the nation,” said Sarah D. Sheppard, director of education and workforce at Maryland Commerce. “With help from affordable classes, flexible programs, apprenticeship opportunities, and more, the benefits of a Maryland education are endless.”
Just last week, U.S. News & World Report ranked Maryland the best state for gender equality, basing it on education, economy, health, representation and power, and family planning and care. And earlier this month, Inc. Magazine named 131 Maryland businesses to its list of the fastest-growing companies in the country, making Maryland fifth among the states as a percentage of total establishments.
