Job Training Grants Coming to Community Colleges Coast to Coast

With so much talk about the value of a STEM education today, many students have the misconception that a four-year degree is necessary to gain good employment in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, community colleges are also answering the call for STEM training, through associate degree and certificate programs that prepare students for in-demand jobs in these industries. Check out these 10 exciting STEM degrees you can earn right at your local community college.

A.S. Natural Science – Kapi’olani Community College

The ASNS degree program offered through Kapi’olani Community College in Hawaii is specifically designed to deepen STEM learning at the community college level. This program provides a basic overview of natural science, with a two-year degree that can be transferred to a four-year school after graduation. The program offers students the option of specialization in either Life or Physical Science, with a broad curriculum that spans the science field no matter which specialty path is chosen.

A.S. General Physics – Waubonsee Community College

Waubonsee Community College in Illinois offers an Associate of Science with a specialization in a variety of fields of study, including physics. Students that choose this academic path will complete coursework in general physics and mathematics, as well as classes in chemistry, life sciences, and physical sciences. The school also provides a list of STEM classes that have been approved by the National Science Foundation, which can be taken towards completion of this degree program.

Associate of Technical

Arizona is fighting an immigration battle that has become more than a little murky in recent months. With undocumented immigrants now able to apply for deferred action to continue to work legally in the U.S., the question has naturally turned to the issue of in-state tuition. Recently, those immigrants were required to pay out-of-state tuition rates, even at the schools in the states where they lived and worked. However, the introduction of the deferred action program has some schools rethinking their tuition policies and some changing the rules on what undocumented immigrants must pay to get a college education in the U.S.

This video explains DACA and what it is.

New Action Plan Overridden by Arizona Governor

In August, shortly after President Obama’s new deferred action program was introduced, the governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, made her announcement. Governor Brewer signed an executive order for her state that mandated state agencies not to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants in Arizona, even if they received deferred action to work in the United States. The order also stated that these individuals were to be denied all public benefits by the state, according to a report in the Tucson Citizen.

“As the [DHS – Department of Homeland Security] has said repeatedly…these individuals do not have lawful status,” Matthew Benson, a spokesman for the governor’s office, told the Citizen. “They are able

The West Coast is an area filled with fertile land perfect for wineries, which is why the winemaking industry has become big business for western farmers. Many community colleges are acknowledging the success of the wine-making industry by offering degree and certification programs for aspiring winemakers. While one Washington college has been duly noted for its contribution to winemaking in the area, it is not the only school to offer the necessary training for employment in this lucrative industry.

Winemaking 101

According to the Huffington Post, Washington has the second-highest number of wineries than any other state in the nation. It also ranks third in overall wine production. With this distinction, it makes sense that one of the biggest winemaking degrees in the country would also be located at a community college in Washington. However, Walla Walla Community College in Walla Walla, Washington, isn’t the only school to capitalize on the need for trained workers in the wine industry. Other schools in the state, as well as in Oregon, have also provided training programs for local wineries.

The art of winemaking is a complex one that begins with planting the grapes and ends with marketing the finished product. Throughout the experience, training is required for grape growing and winemaking, also referred to as enology. Once the wine is ready, workers in the industry must learn wine tasting and marketing products to the hospitality industry. While the work was often passed down through generations of families,

Amid serious issues facing California community colleges today, possible reform is on the horizon. A new bill has passed California state legislators and is currently waiting on the desk of Governor Jerry Brown. The proposed legislation would bring some consistency to the California community college system and require schools in the state to focus on success and completion rates as much as they focus on enrollment and budgets. While the governor hasn’t dropped any clues on how he will go on this new law, those who drafted the legislation are hopeful that it could bring much-needed improvements to the California system if passed.

Student Success Task Force

Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, drafted Bill 1456, or the Student Success Act of 2012. The senator used information compiled by the California Community College Student Success Task Force to create his new bill. According to iJournal, the 20-member task force included faculty, staff, students, and external stakeholders in the community college system.

The task force spent seven months examining how to improve success in community colleges while boosting achievement for underserved students. At the end of the year, the task force presented its findings to stakeholders to get additional input on the best ways to utilize this information effectively to improve the community college system in California. After the hearings, the Board of Governors adopted select recommendations to draft the final bill. These recommendations included:

Teach Basic Skills—Many community college students in California are first-generation students who