Western Kentucky is a wonderful place to live and work, but obstacles remain that restrict educational attainment and accompanying economic and community development. Our area's educational statistics do not measure up when compared to national and statewide standards. To successfully compete in the 21st century, to maintain the quality of life we now enjoy, and to keep our college and communities strong, we must address the following issues:

Workplace Competency - in a 2002 skills assessment of local employees that focused on workplace competencies, the findings revealed cumulative low functioning levels in basic and advanced writing, creative thinking and problem solving, responsibility and technology.

Financial Need of Students - For the Fall 2002 academic term at MCC, 59 percent of the total student population received some form of financial aid.

Education Attainment for our Area - only 15 percent of Hopkins countians over the age of 25 possess a postsecondary credential. In Webster, Crittenden, and Muhlenberg counties, that figure is 12 percent. The nationwide average is 24 percent.

Aging Workforce - According to data from the Kentucky 2000 Census, a large percentage of Kentucky's workforce will retire in the next 10 years. It is also projected that the population of workers age 25-39 entering the Kentucky workforce will remain stagnant through the year 2030.