Positioning Community Colleges as Engines or Economic Mobility and Opportunity

Creating an AI-Ready Workforce
This summer, NJCCC and the New Jersey AI Hub launched a statewide partnership, AI Ready NJ, to help New Jersey’s community colleges prepare students, faculty, and employers for a labor market increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. The initiative aims to advance AI education and workforce readiness by equipping faculty with the knowledge and resources to incorporate AI into the classroom, strengthen colleges' ability to deliver AI-focused programs, and create more hands-on learning experiences that prepare students to apply AI skills in real-world workplace settings. "We know AI will continue to evolve, so it's not about preparing students for one specific tool. It's about giving them a strong foundation, helping them understand responsible and ethical use, and building the adaptability they'll need as the technology changes,” shares Scherr. “The partnership also allows us to expand work-based learning through paid AI micro-internships. Those experiences give students the opportunity to apply what they're learning to real projects, gain valuable workplace experience, and graduate with practical skills that will help them stand out as they enter the workforce."

Fichtner adds that the partnership gives NJCCC the opportunity to launch initiatives they’ve wanted to pursue for some time. “We also want to bring innovative faculty together from every discipline to share how they're integrating AI into writing, chemistry, engineering, sociology, and many other fields. Our goal is for every graduate to develop AI literacy through authentic learning experiences that are relevant to their area of study. AI literacy isn't one skill or one course. We want students to graduate with a strong foundation, an understanding of responsible and ethical AI use, and the ability to adapt as the technology continues to evolve. That preparation will look different across disciplines, but every student should leave college better equipped to succeed in a world where AI is becoming part of nearly every profession.

"We also recognize that community colleges have an important role beyond traditional students. As AI continues to reshape the workforce, colleges can serve as trusted places where workers and community members come to upskill, reskill, and build AI knowledge throughout their careers. Combined with expanded work-based learning opportunities like paid AI micro-internships and our close partnerships with local employers, we're helping ensure AI education reflects both workforce needs and the realities of the communities we serve."

Building Beyond the Budget Cycle
Sustaining long-term innovation in higher education requires a commitment that extends beyond any single funding cycle. For New Jersey's community colleges, the Opportunity Agenda provides a shared vision that helps institutions stay focused on transformation even as external factors continue to change. "We know budgets will ebb and flow, and there's only so much influence we have over those cycles,” says Fichtner. “What we can control is the work we're doing together—the vision we've created across 18 institutions and the commitment to meeting the changing needs of our students, communities, and economy. State and county investments in community colleges come with a responsibility to ensure those investments create meaningful impact. The more we innovate, respond to student and workforce needs, and demonstrate our value to communities, the stronger that case becomes. The Opportunity Agenda is our commitment to continuing that work and building the future we believe community colleges need to create together.”

Heidkamp adds, “There are other states that invest much more heavily in community colleges and use their systems more intentionally as part of the higher education and economic development landscape. We’re optimistic that the new administration will view partnerships with community colleges and the Council as integral to advancing priorities such as apprenticeships, work-based learning, industry-valued credentials, and helping New Jerseyans earn degrees and other credentials. We understand the fiscal reality the State is facing, and it is a precarious time for higher education institutions in many ways.

“Thankfully, community colleges are well positioned not only to provide an affordable, high-quality postsecondary option, but also to help adults who are working to improve their prospects and adapt to a changing economy by earning new credentials, whether for credit or not for credit. I believe we’ve laid a strong foundation through the Opportunity Agenda and the Future Ready New Jersey Coalition, with a vision around expanding upward economic mobility and broad-based prosperity for New Jersey. That vision will remain at the forefront of our work because we believe it has the power to advance opportunity and prosperity across New Jersey.”

As the Council works to strengthen its communications, it is drawing on new data to tell a fuller story about the economic and social value of New Jersey’s community colleges and their impact across the State. “From a recent economic impact study conducted, we are armed with new insights into our $12.8 billion impact on the State’s economy and the 135,000 jobs we contribute to and support, as well as an $8 return to society for every dollar invested,” shares Heidkamp. “That includes, on average, an additional $10,000 a year that someone with an associate degree earns compared to someone with a high school diploma. There are many benefits of postsecondary education that can get lost when the headline is simply that people are turning away from college. We need to tell the fuller story; one that recognizes not only the economic value of a college education, but the broader ways it strengthens individuals, communities, and New Jersey’s future.”