Kentucky Community Colleges Will Replace Diplomas Lost in Natural Disasters

Updated on November 7, 2022

Edited by

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System will replace — for free — credentials lost or destroyed during recent tornadoes and floods in the state.

Damaged homes, vehicles, and land where homes used to stand are seen past Chase Hays as he stands near his house in Lost Creek, Kentucky, on September 29, 2022. - Chase Hays is "torn": after seeing floods ravage his hamlet in the Appalachian mountains, he filed a complaint against the mine that overlooks it, but this 34-year-old American does not want to be perceived as an "enemy" of coal. Like him, people in eastern Kentucky are struggling to challenge an industry that has long offered the only well-paying jobs in the region. And in the run-up to the midterm elections, few candidates dare to talk to them about climate change. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Credit: Stefani Reynolds / AFP / Getty Images

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System will replace paper credentials that graduates lost in recent natural disasters.
Graduates need to fill out an online form in order to receive replacement credentials.
Eight community colleges are included in the credential replacement program.

Kentucky has been rocked by natural disasters over the past year. And as residents recover, a local community college system is making sure its alumni network can replace lost diplomas.

From tornadoes in western Kentucky in late 2021 to devastating floods in eastern Kentucky in July, nearly every corner of the Bluegrass State has been touched by natural disasters. In fact, Kentucky has seen more flood-related disaster declarations than any other state between 2000 and 2022, The Courier-Journal reported.

As residents recover from those disasters, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) announced it will replace paper credentials lost in the disasters.

“AT KCTCS, we want to do whatever we can to support our students and alumni impacted by these historic and devastating events,” KCTCS President Paul Czarapata said in the release.

“As our students, their families, friends and our business partners rebuild and repair, we hope that providing complimentary access to important documents will help provide them a sense of certainty and the tools necessary to build a brighter future.”

Colleges included in the credential replacement program are Big Sandy Community and Technical College, Hazard Community and Technical College, Henderson Community College, Hopkinsville Community College, Madisonville Community College, Somerset Community College, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, and West Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Those colleges serve areas impacted by both the 2021 tornadoes and the more recent eastern Kentucky flooding, according to the release.

Graduates will need to fill out this online form to receive a replacement for their lost credential.