Get Your Feet Wet with a WaterBotics Camp at Your Local Community College

Technical fields have long been regarded as low-paying industries that did not offer many career choices. However, as technology and machinery have advanced, fields like plumbing, welding and manufacturing have required highly skilled laborers and paid much higher salaries than ever before. To keep up with the demand for workers in these areas, and to change the perception of the fields overall, community colleges are striving to produce industrial tech programs that answer the needs of today’s workforce and train up a new generation of skilled workers prepared to advance this country’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.

Trades in Focus

One initiative designed to advance industrial tech careers is Trades in Focus. This program was created through a partnership between the Association of Community Colleges and W.W. Grainger, Inc., the leading North American supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products. Trades in Focus provides an online toolkit to educate the general public about the importance of industrial tech careers and the potential opportunities these skilled trades offer. The program is also geared to alert those interested in industrial tech careers to schools and colleges across the country that are committed to training up workers in those specific fields, with innovative programs designed to teach the latest technology and processes in their industry.

Dr. Gary M. Green, president of Forsyth Technical Community College and member of the advisory board for Trades in Focus, said

Remedial education has become an integral part of the community college experience for many schools across the country. Students who need additional help in the core curricula like reading, writing, and math can get the help they need to succeed in a college program and get a higher-paying job once their degree is complete. However, remedial education is not without its share of controversy in higher education circles. Some question the need for such courses and believe the money spent on remedial education could effectively be allocated elsewhere.

Who Owns the Problem?

The first question regarding remedial education is who owns the problem of high school graduates not being adequately prepared for postsecondary education. Many believe it is the job of high schools to ensure students are college-ready when they graduate. However, a recent report at Inside Higher Ed explains that at this time, a standardized platform for college readiness simply does not exist. The article states, “Because colleges have not clearly articulated the skills that students must possess to be college-ready, students are blindsided when they are placed into remedial courses, and high schools don’t have a clear benchmark for preparing students for success.”

If high schools do not know the college-readiness standards, it can be nearly impossible for them to adequately prepare students for the academic rigors of postsecondary education. While the article's author acknowledges that setting college standards across the country would not be easy, he does assert the

Since the Great Recession began a few short years ago, budgets have been a concern for community colleges, with less money coming in from their states. This problem is exacerbated by the unprecedented influx of students, from displaced workers seeking new training to high school graduates who can no longer afford a four-year university. Fortunately, some community colleges are seeing financial relief as grants come from a wide range of resources. We’ll look at some grants community colleges receive for the upcoming school year.

Grants Given to Ivy Tech for the Benefit of Military Students

Ivy Tech is the big winner in the grant offered to Indiana colleges by the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University. This community college received more than a half-million in funding from the foundation. According to a report at Inside Indiana Business, the money was awarded based on Ivy Tech’s efforts to enhance services for student service members, veterans, and their families.

The money is offered in 12 separate grants that will go to many of the Ivy Tech campuses across the state. The funds will be used for the following:

• The development of a podcast that will be used to educate students and faculty and create a supportive environment for veterans
• Enhancement of relationships with community agencies that work with the military population, such as WorkOne and Veterans of Foreign Affairs
• The creation of a “Boots to Suits” program to help veterans transition to civilian life

Ivy Tech

While community colleges offer a wealth of options in associate degree programs and practical career training, the majority of students that grace a community college campus for a period of time are not content with a degree from these schools. In fact, the large majority of community college students have plans to further their education by eventually transferring their credits to a four-year institution. This is the precise subject of the latest report by the College Board that looked at the high number of community college students that want to transfer to a four-year university and why.

About the Report

College Board is a non-profit organization committed to equality in education, from the early primary years all the way through postsecondary education. This particular report, titled, “Improving Student Transfer from Community Colleges to Four-Year Institutions,” was designed to emphasize the importance of smooth pathways between community colleges and other institutions of higher education. The College Board website estimates that more than 7 million students enrolled in community colleges – up to 41 percent of all college students across the country - at any given time. With so many students enrolled in community colleges, it is important to assess what the choices for these students might be should they decide to continue to pursue their education after their initial degree program is completed.

This video shows college leaders discussing improvements to the transfer process.