Hudson County Community College - History

History

Under grants from the Exxon Educational Foundation and Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, feasibility studies were conducted by each group in 1972 and 1973, respectively. The results from the study showed that there was a need for a community college in Hudson County. Around the same time, the Community Action Program stated a need for a higher education center in the North Hudson area. This led to the establishment of the Hudson Higher Education Consortium, which included three Hudson County based post-secondary institutions: Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken and New Jersey City University in Jersey City.
Resulting from an act in New Jersey legislation that allowed a county lacking a community college to establish a commission on community college, the school opened its doors in September 1974 as the first "contract" college in New Jersey, and the second in the United States. As the third higher-education institution in Jersey City, the College began by offering educational programs that were reflective of the current job market, and the curriculum provided students with career and occupational oriented certifications and Associate degrees in Applied Science. In the spring of 1981, the college was accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and its official name became the Hudson County Community College.

Reflective of the institution's foundation of offering low-cost, bilingual and career-oriented education, the College's mission statement is:

The mission of the College is to offer high quality programs and services which are affordable, accessible, and community-centered. All programs and services are designed to meet the educational needs of a linguistically and ethnically/racially diverse community, and to promote the economic, technological, cultural, social, and civic development of Hudson County and its service areas.

In 1992, the county of Hudson committed to reorganize Hudson County Community College, with plans to improve services, expand enrollment and provide an urban style campus; this included a renovation to the former Public Service Building at 25 Journal Square, which was converted into classrooms and a library. Mary Teresa Norton, a longtime congresswoman for Hudson County, had a conference room dedicated to her in 1996. It was last reaccredited in 2009. Amidst changes in the economy regarding the job market in 2009-10, many New Jersey schools saw an increase in enrollment, Hudson County Community College had one of the largest in the state, at 11%. In 2011, HCCC graduated more than 1,000 students, its largest class since its founding.

In 2008, it was announced that part of HCCC's $200 million capital expansion program would be spent for the construction of The North Hudson Higher Education Center. The seven-story 92,330 square-foot facility which includes classrooms, offices, common areas, a Learning Resource Center and an outdoor plaza opened for the 2011 fall semester and is the first expansion of HCCC since the 2007 opening of the Culinary Arts Institute.

Most HCCC students who pursue Bachelors Degrees do so at regional state universities such as New Jersey City University, Rutgers-Newark and Montclair State University. In an agreement reached in March 2012, HCCC who attain an associate's degree can continue their education at nearby private Saint Peter's College while paying tuition and fees equivalent to a state college, at considerable savings.