Garrett College Foundation

Because it is your college.

GC is Garrett County’s center for higher education, occupational training, and lifelong learning. Businesses benefit from workforce development programs and a technology enterprise incubator. The College works in close collaboration with Garrett County schools to enrich the educational experience for children. College facilities, including the Community Aquatics and Recreation Complex (CARC), are open to permanent and seasonal County residents as well as to visitors.

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Because students need your help.

Most Garrett College students have high financial need and many are the first in their families to pursue higher education. Some are forced to drop out for financial reasons before completing their study, or if they do graduate, leave with substantial debt. The County Scholarship assists new high school graduates with tuition charges remaining after Federal aid has been awarded, but even with that help, some of those eligible have trouble covering the additional cost of books and travel. Students who do not qualify for the County Scholarship (for example, those out of high school for a year or more) need even more assistance in order to be able to afford to attend.

Because a college education offers the chance for a better life.

Graduates of Garrett College consistently outperform their peers from other Maryland community colleges when they go on to pursue four-year degrees. Many of the two-year degrees and occupational certificates allow others to enter the work force directly. National research shows consistently that the higher the level of a person’s education or training, the higher will be that person’s lifetime income and overall quality of life. And the community benefits as well: the greater the educational level of residents in a county or region, the more support there is for schools and cultural organizations and the more attractive it is to live and work there.

Because the College can't do it alone.

As a community college, Garrett College receives a portion of its general educational funding each year from the state of Maryland and a portion from Garrett County. Tuition and fees make up the largest segment of general educational revenues. Residence hall costs are covered by rental charges and students purchase their own meals from a privately owned food service. With public funding flat or declining and tuition kept low to encourage broad access, the College’s ability to keep up with changing technology, or to offer new degrees that respond to community needs, or to retain talented faculty and staff, is always challenged.