By William D. Green May 1, 2006 issue - If you had told me back in 1971—the year I graduated high school—that I'd be going off to college soon, I would have assured you that you were sorely mistaken. I was the son of a plumber living in western Massachusetts, and we had all assumed that in the end I'd be a plumber, too. I spent the year after high school working in construction. Then one day I went to visit some friends who were students at Dean College, a two-year residential college 45 minutes outside of Boston, and my mind-set began to change. As I walked around campus and listened to my friends talk about their experiences, I realized this was an opportunity to change my path that might not come again—an opportunity to take another shot at learning. So I enrolled at Dean, and I can honestly say it was a life-altering experience. The school's philosophy is to educate, energize and inspire. In fact, it was a Dean professor, Charlie Kramer, who ignited my passion for economics and taught me how to think analytically. After all these years, I still have my notes from his economics classes, and I've referred back to them from time to time—even as I went on to Babson College, where I earned my bachelor of science degree in economics and then an M.B.A. I'm proud to say that today I'm a member of Dean College's board of trustees. Would I be running a global consulting company with $17 billion in revenue and 130,000 employees today if I'd followed a different path? Who knows? But there is no doubt that my two years at Dean College not only prepared me for advancing my education and gearing up for a career, but also transformed me as a person. And that's not a bad start no matter where life takes you. But while Americans are waking up to the idea that we need to sharpen our competitive edge in the world, many still overlook our system of community and junior colleges. The truth is, these schools can be the solution for what our K-12 programs might not be getting done. Whenever I get the chance to talk to young people, I urge them to consider options other than four-year schools. Junior and community colleges can help them become better equipped to continue their education and to face real-world challenges. These colleges can smooth their transition from high school to work life, provide them with core decision-making skills and teach them how to think and learn. In the United States there are more than 1,100 community colleges, most of them publicly funded, which serve nearly 12 million students. Almost two thirds of these students attend school part time, and many of them are holding down a full-time job. What's especially striking is the diversity of these schools: 47 percent of all African-American undergrads in this country attend community college, as do 56 percent of Hispanic undergraduates. But what is it about these schools that make them so important to our competitive future? For starters, I can't think of any other institutions so tuned into the needs of our communities. The American Association of Community Colleges estimates that more than half of new health-care workers get their training at community colleges. In 2003, 62 percent of the applicants who took the national exam to become licensed registered nurses were graduates of such programs. Community colleges excel at working with local businesses to identify specific needs, whether helping displaced autoworkers gain new job skills or helping local companies ensure they will have a steady supply of skilled workers. Chances are, if there's a large manufacturing plant in your town, your community college offers technical training in conjunction with the plant. Better skills and better pay lead to happier, more productive employees. That boosts the economy, which gives us all a better standard of living. I believe that since businesses benefit from these institutions, we also have an obligation to help them. This is especially true as state support, which constitutes an estimated 44 percent of community colleges' financial resources, continues to decline. We can show our support by donating funds, recruiting students, offering career counseling and encouraging our employees to teach classes. An investment in your local junior or community college is a sound investment in the competitiveness of our country and the potential of our citizens. I should know. Green is CEO of Accenture.
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