Community College News

Three years ago, the U.S. Labor Department began issuing grants to community colleges that were ready and willing to train up the local workforce in their areas. Those schools that successfully partnered with area businesses to target training programs to the specific needs of employers were rewarded with federal funds to help them do so. Three years later, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program (TAACCCT) is still going strong, promising another $500 million to qualifying community colleges next year. What is the money being used for? Check out how community colleges are using these Labor Department grants to benefit students, colleges, and the local workforce.

This video features Vice-President Joseph Biden announcing the final round of Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grants to community colleges across the country.

The Massachusetts Consortium Offers Variety of Options

One of the federal grants has gone to a consortium of 15 community colleges across the state of Massachusetts, according to Inside Higher Ed. The $20 million in grant funding has been used to create new credentials for students and help them hone their job-seeking skills to create better opportunities after graduation. To that end, each community college in the consortium now staffs a career and college navigator full-time to help students succeed in school and beyond graduation.

The Massachusetts program has focused on preparing

Looking for inspiration? Look no further than some of the stages of community college graduations this year. Amid the young adults parading across the stages to accept their hard-earned degrees, you might see a few faces you would not expect at a graduation event. Some of the oldest community college graduates of 2013 are also some of the most inspiring – if you are lucky enough to grab a few nuggets of their wisdom and their zest for life as you pass them on campus.

Check out this amazing selection of the Class of 2013.

Beverly Ross

To earn her associate degree from Mott Community College this year, Beverly Ross had to overcome two hurdles. The first was a cancer diagnosis she received three years prior. The second was her age, which, at 54, was well beyond the average age of most Mott students. Ross managed to climb over both those obstacles, accepting her diploma in social work just this month.

According to mLive, Ross was diagnosed with cancer in her thigh muscle in May 2009. Two muscles had to be removed and replaced with bolts, brackets, and screws. Ross also underwent intense chemotherapy treatment, which she was told could impact her ability to think. Ross decided to put that warning to the test and enrolled at Mott Community College soon after.

“I’m so excited with proving [the doctor]

New Community College in New York has just found itself $15 million richer, thanks to a generous donation from the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation. As one of the largest donations in community college history, the school felt a name change was in order as well. Now, New York’s newest community college will be known as the Stella and Charles Guttman Community College. In addition to the new name, the school is preparing to launch initiatives to improve graduation rates and expand their financial aid opportunities, courtesy of the foundation that is now the school’s namesake as well.

The Birth of a School

The New York Times reported in July 2012, that New Community College was about to open its doors to its inaugural class of incoming high school graduates. The school was a new endeavor by the City University of New York to bring an innovative two-year school to the Big Apple. New Community College wasted no time reaching out to the surrounding community of potential students; many of whom found the idea of higher education overwhelming and even out of reach.

The primary goal of New Community College was to provide relief for what ails community colleges today. CUNY designed the school structure from scratch, including a full curriculum that school officials hope will improve graduation rates and increase transfers to four-year schools. New York Community College Chancellor Matthew Goldstein stated on the CUNY website, “There is no more urgent task in higher education than

The Virginia Tech tragedy in 2007 was a glaring indication that community colleges are not immune to the deadly violence that has impacted school campuses across the country. That single incident defined the risks students undertake when they head to classes every day. While schools of all kinds are taking another look at how to keep students safer, unique challenges face community colleges in this area. At the same time, a recent string of community college attacks has highlighted the need for a higher level of security, despite potential obstacles facing these schools.

Attacks at Wyoming School Precede String of Incidents

The first in a recent string of community college attacks took place at a Wyoming school last November. Reuters reports that the son of a professor at Casper College shot his father in the head with a crossbow and arrow in front of a classroom full of students. Students were able to safely exit the classroom as the father and son engaged in a struggle that left both of them dead. Later, authorities found a third victim, another college professor who had been living with the first victim, slain in her home.

“I can’t even imagine what the students in that room had gone through,” Chris Walsh, chief of police in Casper, told Reuters.

This video explains how an attack at a community college in central Wyoming and another location nearby left three people dead.

Community colleges have traditionally been considered the go-to place for two-year vocational degrees or general college coursework for students that have plans to transfer to a four-year college or university. However, these institutions of higher education are increasing their program offerings to include a smattering of four-year degree options as well. Although not without their share of opposition, the four-year degree is slowly but surely becoming more common at the community college level. Check out these states and schools delving into the frontier of the four-year degree program.

Chattanooga State Considers Addition of Five Four-Year Programs

A community college in Tennessee is looking at adding five new programs to their current catalog selections. The Chattanoogan reports that Chattanooga State Community College is considering the addition of four-year degree programs in a variety of high-tech fields. The president of the college, Dr. Jim Cantanzaro, applied for approval of the programs last summer and is still waiting for a response from the Tennessee Board of Regents.

The community college would like to add four-year degree programs in chemical process engineering, radiological sciences, nuclear engineering, technology management, and mechatronics engineering. The programs were specifically chosen based on the local employment needs of the current workforce. Dr. Cantanzaro made it clear the goal of the program addition was to fulfill those professional needs and not to transform Chattanooga State into a full-fledged four-year school.

Dr. Cantanzaro also explained that 60 percent of the material in