The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching announced this week that Northampton Community College has earned the 2015 Community Engagement Classification.

The designation was based on evaluation of an extensive self-study documenting the nature and extent of Northampton's engagement with the communities it serves.Of the 24 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania that earned the designation, Northampton is the only community college.This is the second time in two months that Northampton has received national recognition for its commitment to community service.In December, Deb Bohr, director of Northampton's Center for Civic Engagement, was notified that Northampton had been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, described as "the highest federal recognition that colleges and universities can receive for community service, service-learning and civic engagement."This is the first year the college was also recognized in the "Economic Opportunity" category for addressing "the unmet needs of economically disadvantaged individuals, including financial literacy, affordable housing, and employment assistance."Northampton joined the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Keystone College and Bryn Mawr College one of four colleges to receive top honors in "Economic Opportunity Community Service."