East Central Community College in Decatur is the best in the state for the fourth straight year in preparing students for success at four-year public universities in Mississippi.
Students who transferred from ECCC to one of the state’s eight public four-year institutions earned the highest cumulative grade-point average at baccalaureate graduation in 2020 of all community college transfers in the state of Mississippi. According to data released by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, students who transferred from East Central earned a 3.32 GPA. It marked the fourth year in a row, and the sixth time in the past eight years, that ECCC students had the top GPA.
New East Central Community College President Dr. Brent Gregory said that it is important for the college to continue this legacy of academic excellence. Gregory, who graduated from ECCC in 1996 and went on to achieve his master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State University, respectively, became the ninth president of his alma mater in July 2020.
“Continuing this academic excellence that East Central is known for across Mississippi is very important to us,” said Gregory. “Academically, East Central Community College is the premier community college in Mississippi in terms of transfer GPA. But we also want to give our students the best opportunities available in Career and Technical Education so that they get very good, well-paying jobs when they graduate. We also want to prepare our graduates to go out and start their own companies if they so desire, especially within our five-county district of Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott, and Winston counties.
“Workforce development is also a big part of the role ECCC plays in our district and we must continue this mission, and even strengthen the support we provide local business and industry. We must not only continue the workforce training we provide to boost current industry in the area while also attracting new industry, but be prepared to adapt to their ever-changing needs.”
East Central Community College offers numerous educational opportunities that prepare students to continue their academic careers at four-year colleges and universities. The college offers the pre-baccalaureate Associate of Science and Associate of Arts degrees in 17 major academic concentrations.
ECCC offers terminal degree programs in Healthcare Education, including Associate Degree Nursing, Licensed Practical Nursing Transition Program to Associate Degree Nursing, Practical Nursing, Surgical Technology, and the one-semester Emergency Medical Technician instructional program.
The college also offers 18 Career & Technical Education degree and certificate programs that prepare students to enter the workforce in high-demand jobs, including career programs Carpentry, Cosmetology, and Welding & Cutting, and technology programs Automation and Control, Automotive, Business and Office (Accounting, Administrative Office, Business Management, Medical Office), Collision Repair, Criminal Justice, Culinary Arts, Early Childhood Education, Electrical, Engineering (Architectural Engineering, General Drafting), Heating and Air Conditioning, Hotel/Restaurant Management, Information Systems (Cybersecurity), Precision Manufacturing and Machining, and Surgical. The new one-year Diesel Equipment Technology program is offered in Philadelphia.
ECCC offers Adult Education (AE)/High School Equivalency (HSE) prep courses in all five counties it serves, as well as HSE testing. The MI-BEST program allows qualified applicants to take courses they need to prepare for the HSE test while at the same time training for jobs in several technical fields.
To round out the college experience, East Central fields 10 varsity sports teams that compete in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference and the National Junior College Athletic Association, including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, football, men’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, and men’s and women’s tennis.
In addition to its academic excellence, preparing technical and career students for well-paying jobs, and providing training to district industry, ECCC remains among the most affordable educations in state with tuition, fees, room, and board lower than the cost of just tuition at a state public four-year university.
To find out more about attending East Central Community College in Decatur, visit www.eccc.edu, call 877-GO-2-ECCC, or email go2ec@eccc.edu.
