A local community college wants to make getting a degree easier.

Complete to Compete  — C2C — is a statewide program aimed at helping Mississippians who attended college but did not finish, to come back and earn their degree. Copiah-Lincoln Community College has aligned with the statewide effort. The college’s campaign slogan is ComeBack2Co-Lin.

The program is available to people who are at least 21 years old, have not earned a postsecondary degree and have been out of college for at least 24 consecutive months.

C2C was initiated by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Community College Board.

“I’m excited about this program,” said Co-Lin President Ronnie Nettles. “This is going to provide us an opportunity to help former students for whatever reason didn’t finish their degree, to come back to Co-Lin and accomplish that goal.”

Colleges throughout the state are cutting the amount of hours an individual needs to get a degree. Previously at Co-Lin, students had to have 64 hours to earn an associate degree. Now, only 60 hours are required to earn a degree from Co-Lin.

Nettles said this program is aimed at encouraging people to come back to school.

“We’ve heard from so many people that are excited to finish,” Nettles said. “I think that there is a certain amount of self-satisfaction in finishing something you’ve started. If we can help bring former students back and finish their degrees, I think that many of them would appreciate that over time.”

On Aug. 15, the IHL will be launching a statewide marketing campaign. The target for the IHL is to reach 28,000 people statewide in the first year.

Co-Lin will receive $25,000 from the state to implement the program. Funds will be used for scholarships, promotional items, and part-time assistance to be housed in the admissions office on the Wesson Campus.

“We have people that only lack a few hours from graduating. We have several non-traditional students on campus. This happens all of the time, where something happened and people have to leave school, but they never come back to finish. We’re trying to make it easier for people to come back,” said Natalie Davis, director of public information at Co-Lin. 

For more information on the program go to www.msc2c.org.