Northeast Texas Community College is excited to announce that it has won a 2024 national Bellwether Award for its innovative Work4College program. NTCC received the Best In Showcase Award at the 2024 Community College Futures Assembly in San Antonio this week in the category of Planning, Governance and Finance. The Bellwether competition is the most prestigious competition for community colleges and recognizes cutting-edge, trendsetting programs worthy of replication among the more than 1,000 community colleges across the nation.
NTCC submitted its Work4College Program for consideration last fall. Their submission was judged among proposals submitted by two-year colleges of all sizes from across the U.S. who applied for the honor. NTCC was selected as one of just 30 colleges invited to attend the Community College Futures Assembly as finalists to compete for the top prizes. Dr. Ron Clinton, NTCC President; Dr. Jon McCullough, NTCC Executive Vice President for Advancement; and Mason May, NTCC Director of Work4College, presented at the assembly.
“It was a real honor to have the opportunity to share our Work4College Program with other colleges and to learn about the truly innovative work that is happening at other institutions across the country,” McCullough said. “From the beginning, we wanted Work4College to be scalable and replicated by other institutions. This made it a great fit for the Bellwether contest.”
The competition process consisted of submitting an initial application, a digital binder that gave a comprehensive overview of the program, a booth showcase, and a formal presentation at the Community College Futures Assembly.
“Our NTCC Advancement team did an outstanding job putting together an eye-catching booth and materials that helped the Work4College Program stand out at this very competitive event. We were in the company of some of the most prestigious colleges in the country and it was an honor to receive the first-place award for our category for this highly impactful program,” Clinton said.
The Work4College Program empowers students to succeed by providing on-campus work opportunities allowing students to pay for their college in advance. The goal of the program is to foster a strong work ethic while simultaneously helping them avoid student debt.
To learn more about the Work4College Program, visit work4college.com or contact May at 903-434-8246 or mmay@ntcc.edu. The program is currently accepting applications for Summer 2024.
