The Rankin Campus of Hinds Community College will expand the monthly info sessions to three for the month of July.

Prospective college students, including nontraditional students, and parents can learn what they need to know about enrolling at a Hinds location.

The sessions will be 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. July 7, 14 and 21.

The sessions are led by Hinds recruiter Shane Brown. "With the economy in recession, people need all the tools that they can get to have the skills they need to be able to get the jobs that will help them and their families. Hinds is here to help them fulfill that hope for something better," he said.

The sessions feature general information about the college and the Rankin Campus, including specific programs that lead to careers that pay well, how to enroll in college, what to expect in college and how to pay for college.

Attendees are able to get specific questions answered during a q-and-a at the end of the program.

Free refreshments and gifts are offered for those attending.

The sessions are in the administration classroom building (the building closest to Highway 80) at the Rankin Campus in Pearl. Take the Airport Road Exit off I-20 and head west toward Pearl. The campus is on the left.

For more information, call Shane Brown, Hinds Community College adult recruiter, 601.857.3431.

The Rankin Campus celebrated its 25th anniversary in the 2008-09 academic year. The campus began in 1983 with vocational-technical programs for the county's nine public high schools. Since then the commuter campus has grown to four buildings housing approximately 2,200 students enrolled in academic or technical programs. It's the only public higher education venue in Rankin County.

In 2007, the size of the campus more than doubled with the addition of 60 acres of land on the south end of the current campus bordering Interstate 20. The Garner family donated 20 acres and the Rankin County Board of Supervisors bought another 40 acres of behalf of the college. Plans are being made now for a new multi-purpose building to house both campus and community functions.