News Photo by Julie Riddle Alpena Community College student Anna Alfaro studies for a test about electricity at the Stephen H. Fletcher Library on the college campus on Wednesday.

ALPENA — Alpena Community College graduated a higher percentage of full-time students than any other community college in the state last year, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Education by all higher education institutions.

Nearly 40% of the students who started a certificate or associate degree program in recent years left the school with a degree in hand — nearly double the median graduation rate for state community colleges, according to an analysis of college data by an ACC instructor.

“This is cool,” said ACC President Don MacMaster on Wednesday, pleased with the numerical evidence that ACC provides a valuable service to its students and community.

MacMaster credited a dedicated faculty and staff for the school’s first-place ranking among Michigan’s 28 community colleges in graduation rate of first-time, full-time certificate or associate degree students.

ACC’s multiple occupational programs — nursing, concrete technology, welding, and more — in which students move from enrollment to graduation as a tightly-knit cohort, provide built-in support systems for students that help them weather the challenges of college life, he said.

The region’s distance from a four-year university to which students might transfer before completing their community college degree may play a role in the high graduation rate, as well, MacMaster said.

Dr. Amber Vesotski, a member of the college’s psychology faculty, decided to dig deeper into the report shared annually by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, which collects federally required data from colleges and universities.

That report usually only tells ACC how it compares to other smaller, rural community colleges, MacMaster said.

Vesotski wanted to know how her school stacked up against all community colleges in the state, including those with more money and in metropolitan areas.

Check out the interactive graphic below. Story continues below the graphic.

ACC IPEDS Report by Julie Riddle on Scribd

“It was a simple idea,” MacMaster said. “Most great ideas are.”

The administrator was delighted to learn that, of all the community colleges in the state, ACC landed solidly at the top of the graduation rate list.

The data excludes part-time or second-time-through-college students, keeping dual enrollment and early college students out of the count to keep comparisons more equal, he said.

Students’ persistence in reaching graduation reflects the resilience he’s seen in the community, MacMaster said.

“People tend to hang in there during hard times” in Northeast Michigan, he said — the same way the college students in their midst persevere through the non-glamorous, low-budget, often-challenging life of a college student.

Student Anna Alfaro, 21, of Harrisville, will earn a diploma in welding this year, which she plans to put into use in the Alpena area by incorporating it into her love of art and sculpting

As she nears the completion of her two-year welding degree, Alfaro said her professors and other staff inspired her to make it through tough semesters of grueling classwork.

“They’re very understanding,” she said. “They’re helping me, so I should help myself get the grades I need.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.