Office of the President
Welcome to Harper College, where more than 40,000 students annually pursue their journey towards an associate or bachelor degree, advance their careers through certificate programs or further their personal aspirations through continuing education classes. Our faculty is passionate about teaching, our classes are small and personal and our facilities are second to none.
Yet, we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. No community college can. The world is changing, and we’re changing with it to meet new demands for the workforce of the 21st century. Today’s new economy jobs demand that workers be technologically proficient, have communication and critical thinking skills and, most importantly, have access to training and credentialing to upgrade their skills over a lifetime of work.
Harper is changing to meet this new reality. While we continue to strive for strong enrollment, our goals are more closely aligned to increasing the number of students who are successful at Harper, not simply how many we attract to our front door. We are engaged in a continuous, active two-way dialogue with our local businesses to make sure our programs are meeting their changing workforce needs.
We’re also collaborating more closely with our local high schools to ensure that our curriculums align and that students come to Harper well-prepared for college-level work.
When William Rainey Harper helped start the community college movement in the early 1900s he couldn’t have dreamed of the difficult and complex challenges higher education faces today. But like our namesake, we believe in thinking boldly, challenging the status quo and advancing new and innovative solutions to help students achieve their personal, educational and professional goals in a fast-changing and ever-changing world.
