New Hampshire Community Colleges Balancing Access, Affordability

In New Hampshire, changes are afoot in the community college sector. Prior to assuming the presidency at River Valley Community College, in Claremont, New Hampshire, three years ago, Dr. Alicia Harvey-Smith was vice president for student affairs at Baltimore City Community College (BCCC).

Moving to the rural environs of the Connecticut River Valley from the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro area presented Harvey-Smith with a decidedly different kind of lifestyle. Yet it was one that she decided to embrace together with her husband, who retired from his job on Capitol Hill. They took up residence in Claremont, New Hampshire.

“We didn’t want to be far away from town; we wanted to be in the middle,” Harvey-Smith says. Their home, in the middle of town, sends a message — Harvey-Smith is a part of the community now. “No matter where you go education for the most part is the same,” she says. “I felt that I could make a difference here.”

Industrial workforce

River Valley Community College is one of seven colleges within the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH). It serves the rural southwestern part of the state, with campuses in Keene, Claremont and a new campus, scheduled to open this fall, in Lebanon, New Hampshire, just south of Dartmouth College.

To the outsider, New Hampshire might be best known as a tourist destination, with its abundant lakes and mountains, but it is also home to many industries, particularly in health care and advanced manufacturing. Some of the largest regional employers are hospitals, particularly in rural areas, while the southern part of the state is the site of growing technology and industrial operations.

The state’s community college system is playing a key role in bridging the workforce gaps in those emerging industries.