The Colby Community College Trojan Advising Center officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday in the Robert Burnett Student Union.

The center will provide support to students attending on-campus classes and the rapidly growing online platform, ColbyConnect.

Already with the highest graduation rate among all 19 Kansas community colleges, CCC believes the office will help continue the trend and be an asset for student retention.

Both of the advising center’s full-time staff members have been with the college for some time. Linda Nelson was named the director after serving as a transfer and advising specialist in Student Support Services for the previous 16 years. Also moving across campus is administrative assistant Penny Cline. She has been at CCC since 2008, working as an assistant in academic affairs and as the executive assistant to the president. Additionally, several current and retired faculty members will hold office hours.

“The advising center has been a longtime dream, and we are excited to see what we will accomplish,” said Nelson. “I am incredibly grateful to the administration and board who saw the value in an advising center and made it happen.”

The office is already seeing students before fall semester classes begin Aug. 20.