It is not often that community colleges are put on the same level as four-year colleges or Ivy League campuses. A two-year college is rarely seen as a training ground for jobs in the so-called creative economy, which include industries like fashion, design and computer gaming that typically require bachelor’s degrees. But when the giant Indian technology-services firm Infosys announced last November it would open a design and innovation hub in Providence, the companies president said a big reason for choosing Rhode Island was the proximity to higher0education institutions, including Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Community College of Rhode Island, reports The Atlantic. The Community College of Rhode Island is New England’s largest two-year college with more than 15,000 students. They are trying to change the image that two-year institutions are places for people who can’t hack a four-year college or for the unemployed who is trying to figure out what’s next. Under Meghan Hughes, a relatively new president who has a background in art history, the college is completely changing its approach to workforce development. The college is better aligning programs with the state’s economic priorities than is currently the case, writes The Atlantic.
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