Here’s some good news we can all be proud of: Last week The Signal reported College of the Canyons was ranked No. 14 in the entire state for return on education investment among more than 300 community colleges.

What’s this mean in real life? COC students earn back the money they spend on college in less than half a year after graduating. Compare that to the decades of student loans millions of other students struggle under. Beyond becoming debt-free, our COC graduates earn more than $16,000 a year above the typical high school graduate. Over a lifetime, that adds up to more than $500,000.

That’s real money, not abstract. That’s rent paid. That’s food on the table. That’s kids who grow up in homes where college isn’t just a dream but a reality. It also paves the way for the next generation moving up educational and economic ladders.

For many in our community, COC is either their only path, or their best economic path, to higher education. Without a low-cost community college right here in Santa Clarita, many of these students would never set foot on a college campus. For families with several kids, COC is the affordable way to get them all into college without crushing debt. Graduating with an associate degree for transfer guarantees admission into the California State University system, and students with strong GPAs may also........

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