The Mississippi Community College Board and the RCU work together to create, test and evaluate curricula that equip Mississippians with skills that the state’s businesses and industries need to compete in the 21st century. The educational opportunities at the state’s 15 community colleges are at the core of Mississippi’s efforts to build a sustainable economy.  Online classes and offerings of short, modular courses give full-time, working students the flexibility to enjoy and take advantage of education at a pace that makes sense and fits their already busy lives.

Innovative community colleges across the country have begun to deliver education and training in a fluid and flexible format that enable students to “stack” various types of education and training into a certificate or degree program that leads to a recognized credential of value.  This type of innovation requires a culture change—evolving from the focus of traditional delivery systems to a comprehensive focus on offering a flexible workforce education and training that meet the diverse needs of every student.  One way to achieve this goal is to remove the silos between noncredit and credit workforce education instruction.  Curriculum modularization and Credit by Examination (CBE) will not replace the existing workforce and education offerings and delivery systems, but will give colleges the opportunity to increase the options currently available to nontraditional students. Colleges will have the opportunity to deliver education and training that provides a seamless career pathway that includes stackable credentials and are aligned to industry certifications.  Although some colleges currently offer CBE, there is no formal statewide structure allowing students to transfer credit across district lines.  Mississippi’s Workforce Advantage simplifies the process of awarding college credit for noncredit workforce training.  The best practices outlined in MS Workforce Advantage promotes a seamless transition between education and training through career pathways resulting in stackable credential(s) of value, a concept that is rapidly being adopted by other states.