Pearl River recognized as 18th top community college in the nation

December 14, 2022

Countless graduates have said Pearl River Community College is a fabulous place to launch a new career or complete initial work before transferring to a four-year institution. Now the Wildcat family is celebrating the wonderful news of Intelligent ranking The River as the 18th top community college in the nation along with naming it Best for Human Services Programs. 

Exterior of Seal Hall main entrance with circular planter in front.
Seal Hall on the Poplarville Campus houses humanities classes. Almost all students take at least one class in this building.

Intelligent evaluated several benchmarks including affordability, program selection, reputation, faculty, and course delivery methods such as online, in-person, and hybrid classes. For the ranking, they evaluated 1,187 community colleges and 2,268 programs. 

“This ranking is a testament to the hard work and dedication that our faculty, staff, and administration have put forth to ensure our students receive an affordable and accessible education,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management and Business Services Candace Harper. “PRCC is student centered, and their feedback and needs are our number one priority. We have found that when we listen to our students, we make adjustments to fit their needs, and we continue to be efficient while providing exceptional service, great things happen.  

“Our President and Board of Trustees have made sure that we have the resources needed to provide our students a quality education as one of the top community colleges in the country.” 

Continued Growth for PRCC 

At a time when many schools have lost students, The River has experienced enrollment growth for the past nine consecutive semesters making it the fastest growing community college in Mississippi. In the last six years, the school has maintained a tuition freeze while adding new programs and providing pay increases to faculty and staff.  

Fall of 2022 had record enrollment while maintaining its position as the 4th largest community college in Mississippi for the third consecutive semester. The continued growth at The River can be tied to the college administration’s goal of making higher education affordable, accessible, and efficient. Affordability is achieved through the combination of the frozen base tuition, a transition to digital textbooks, scholarship opportunities for students, and  payment plans for any remaining balance.  

About Intelligent

The company seeks to offer unbiased guides to assist prospective students in finding a school and making the transition to college and then the workforce. They have ranked colleges and programs across the country using aggregated publicly available data.  

For the latest news on Pearl River Community College, visit PRCC.edu and follow us on Twitter (@PRCC_Wildcats), Instagram (PRCCWILDCATS), Facebook (@PRCCMKTG), and TikTok (@prcc_wildcats).

Each community college president is asked to bring two (2) wrapped door prizes, minimum value of $50 each. We will have a station set up at the conference for you to drop off the door prizes.

Each community college is asked to provide name tags for their Board members, administration, and staff attending the conference.