CCC not barring illegal aliens from class
Cherish Wilson
December 8, 2007 - 10:40PM



SHELBY — For Cleveland Community College, undocumented people are simply not an issue, said Associate Dean of Community Relations and Development Shannon Kennedy.

What’s the issue:

A Duke University class studied the individual community colleges’ admission policies. They found 22 of 58 campuses had a written or unwritten policy barring illegal aliens. CCC was not one of the 22.

While community colleges have historically had open-door admissions policy, they were allowed in 2004 to set their own regulations regarding illegal immigrants.

While he was attorney general, Mike Easley, now governor, sent an advisory letter in 1997, which said community colleges couldn’t use nonacademic criteria for admission. The letter did not specifically address the issue of illegal immigrants.

The 22 colleges with the policies in question were informed administrators had concluded the policies were wrong and students could not be barred due to citizenship status.

Statewide there are about 340 illegal immigrant students out of a more than 271,000 general student population.

Here in Cleveland County, Kennedy said CCC has seen maybe five illegal immigrant students in the past five years.

The community college system has said it costs $5,375 to educate a full-time student.

Illegal immigrants pay out-of-state tuition, which is $7,465.

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