Patton's visit here to focus on HCC
Tuition rising for HCC, other schools
Community forum addressing consolidation of colleges to be held at The Center
Henderson Gleaner
Patton's visit here to focus on HCC
Gov. Paul Patton's brief visit here Monday will focus on the new agricultural technology program at Henderson Community College, Henderson County Judge-executive Sandy Watkins said Thursday.
Patton is scheduled to arrive here at 11:40 a.m. Monday, then proceed to HCC's One-Stop Career Center to discuss the ag technology program.
Officials hope to arrange for the governor to meet Donna Grossman, the first graduate of the ag tech program, Watkins said.
The program is funded in part with tobacco settlement funds from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund.
Patton "will be discussing the tobacco settlement fund and how that affects KCTCS," the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which is the parent agency of HCC, Watkins said.
He added that he and HCC President Pat Lake will also likely emphasize the importance of building the proposed technology center that the community college has been seeking. The project has received high priority from KCTCS but funding fell victim this year to state revenue shortages.
After an approximately 40-minute visit here, the governor is to travel to Morganfield for a 12:55 p.m. ribbon-cutting at the Union County Technology Center on U.S. 60.
From there he will travel to Marion for a 2:50 p.m. appearance at a day care center before touring an agriculture development program at Webster County High School in Dixon at 4:15 p.m.
Then Patton will return to Henderson at 5:30 p.m. to attend a fundraising event for state Sen. Paul Herron at Ellis Park.
Henderson Gleaner
Tuition rising for HCC, other schools
Students at Henderson Community College -- and every other school in the KCTCS system -- will be paying more for their 2002 fall semester studies.
Under a fee schedule established by the KCTCS Board of Regents in April 2001, tuition for part-time students will rise by 4.9 percent per credit hour, and tuition for full-time students will rise by 32 percent.
During the previous school year, per-credit-hour tuition was $61. Now that's risen to $64. Total tuition for students who take 15 or more credit hours a semester will be $960 -- a $235 jump from last year.
David Brauer, HCC dean of academic affairs, said though the school continues to recognize 12 credit hours as full-time academic status, the new tuition rate for full-time students begins at 15 hours.
Tuition for out-of-state students this academic year is $2,880. Last year it was $2,175. That rate, however, does not apply to residents of five southwestern Indiana counties which have a reciprocity agreement with HCC. Those who live in Vanderburgh, Perry, Posey, Spencer or Warrick Counties may attend the school at Kentucky in-state rates.
Brauer said the majority of HCC students are part-time, and therefore most will be faced with only the slight tuition increase.
Bryan Armstrong, KCTCS director of public relations, said the tuition hikes are necessitated by the mushrooming growth of programs within the Kentucky Community and Technical College System of 13 community colleges and 15 technical colleges.
During the five years since the system began, he said, "Colleges have been putting in new programs at an exponential rate. There have been more than 600 new programs." When schools develop new programs, he said, "They don't ask for new money. They do it with existing resources." New programs involve additional teachers, space and equipment.
Tuition in KCTCS schools "is still the lowest of any post-secondary institutions in Kentucky," Armstrong said.
Among the 10 "benchmark" states used for tuition comparison because of similar community and technical college systems, only two have lower tuition than KCTCS, Armstrong pointed out.
He noted that three out of four KCTCS students receive some form of financial aid and therefore "Few students will pay the full rate."
Somerset Commonwealth Journal
Community forum addressing consolidation of colleges to be held at The Center
It wasn’t that long ago that the community college and technical
college systems announced they were moving toward consolidation. Initially,
that led to some confusion.
A forum has been planned to explain the consolidation of SCC, STC and the Laurel
Technical College.
The new combined college will be one of 16 districts in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). On Tuesday, Aug. 13, the college will host a community forum to discuss the consolidation. The forum will be held at The Center for Rural Develop-ment in Somerset beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting will allow the public to learn more about the upcoming merger of
the three institutions. Dr. Michael McCall, the president of KCTCS, and Cynthia
Read, the chairperson of the KCTCS Board of Regents, will be attending the forum.
Lonnie Lawson, the executive director of The Center for Rural Development, will
moderate.
"We have already moved forward by consolidating a number of programs and
departments," said SCC President Jo Marshall, Ph.D. "For example,
we used to have three Offices of Community and Economic Development; one at
each school. We now have one CED office for the entire district. This, of course,
is more efficient and allows the college to provide more services to the community
with our limited resources, so I believe it's a good thing."
The Office of Community and Economic Development provides training for employees
of area businesses and industries. It provides continuing education opportunities
for local professionals, as well as hobby and general interest classes for the
public.
The state's community and technical colleges were combined under the new KCTCS
following the passage of House Bill One in 1997. Since that time, all of the
schools in KCTCS have been moving toward creating a seamless system of higher
education to better serve Kentucky.
"The forum will help us ensure that the broader community is fully informed
of our plans," Marshall said. "The community will be able to ask questions
and provide their opinion of consolidation at this meeting."
Anyone wishing to speak must register at the sign-in desk available as they
enter the forum. Speakers will be asked to come to the microphone and state
their name and place of residence for the record. Oral comments should be limited
to two or three minutes. More detailed comments may also be presented in writing
at the forum or by mail.
Written comments should be received by Aug. 20, 2002. The
forum will be video and audiotape. The final 15 minutes of the forum will be
devoted to questions and answers.
The KCTCS Board of Regents has already endorsed the pursuit to consolidate the
three local schools. The forum is the second step in that process. Next, the
combined college will seek single accreditation from the Southern Association
of Schools and Colleges (SACS). The SACS team will be visiting in November of
this year.
Several other colleges within KCTCS have already had their consolidation proposals
approved by the KCTCS Board of Regents and many have held local public forums.
In addition to the three colleges mentioned above, the new college will include
SCC's McCreary Center and the Laurel Center. Currently, a new Regional Post
Secondary Educational Center is under construction in Clinton County. There
are two new buildings being constructed on the SCC campus in Somerset, one new
building near completion at the SCC Laurel Center and an expansion of facilities
under way at the SCC McCreary Center.
The colleges of KCTCS prepare Kentuckians for employment in today's competitive
workforce, provide upgrade or additional training for those already in the workforce,
train those who desire to change occupations, offer degree and transfer programs
to four-year colleges and universities and provide life-long learning opportunities
in a community-based setting.