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Herald-Leader
September 9, 2003
Improvements noted in transferring credits
LOUISVILLE - Students in Kentucky have complained for a long time that it is
difficult and discouraging to transfer from a two-year community college to
a four-year public university, and that they often lose credits in the process.
A state education panel heard yesterday that many improvements have been made
in the nuts-and-bolts of transferring, but there is also need for more streamlining.
"I have to be honest: There is a great deal of work to be done,"
said Keith Bird, chancellor of the Kentucky Community and Technical College
System.
Their comments were made to the Strategic Committee on Postsecondary Education
in a meeting at the University of Louisville.
The committee includes seven members of the Council on Postsecondary Education,
the state's governing body for higher education; seven from the state executive
branch, including the governor; and 14 from the General Assembly, including
the legislative leadership.
James Applegate, the council's vice president for academic affairs, said the
council wants to facilitate transfers so there will be more Kentuckians earning
a bachelor's degree and enhancing their chances at better jobs and pay.
But students need to know up front what credits will transfer when that time
comes, Applegate said.
"Advising and student awareness are key," Applegate said. "Getting
information to students in crucial."
Shirley Willihnganz, U of L's interim provost, said the chief academic officers
at the state universities think transfers should be simplified.
But she also noted that most students seeking two-year degrees are enrolled
in occupational/technical programs that haven't been designed with transfers
in mind.
To address this, she said, there should be regular workshops to help students
understand the desirability of a four-year degree. In addition, there should
be many more agreements between state universities and community and technical
colleges to smooth the transfer process.
Gov. Paul Patton said the "community colleges particularly have an obligation
to advise students" who don't understand the advantages of higher education
as well as professional educators do.
The strongest note of disenchantment came from state Rep. Harry Moberly, chairman
of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee and an Eastern Kentucky University
administrator.
Moberly said Kentucky's problems with transfers have been discussed for more
than 20 years and he hoped to see the day when all of the snags are eliminated.
Last year, 2,409 students from community and technical colleges and 468 from
private institutions transferred to Kentucky's public universities.
Applegate said the state has not focused as much attention on transfers from
one four-year institution to another because fewer students are involved. Last
year, the number was about 800.
Somerset Commonwealth Journal
September 5, 2003
SCC President appointed to national panel
Jackson, MS - Jo Marshall, Ph.D., president of Somerset Community College is
participating in a national task force composed of community college presidents
from across the nation. This prestigious group will develop strategies for increasing
awareness and support among community college presidents for Phi Theta Kappa,
the international honor society for two-year colleges. Meetings are being held
at the Center for Excellence, the headquarters of Phi Theta Kappa, in Jackson,
Mississippi.
“Presidential support of the mission and programs of Phi Theta Kappa is
essential in our efforts to recognize and encourage academic excellence among
two-year college students,’ explains Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director
Rod A. Risley. “In the United States, over the next five years, 55% of
current community college presidents will retire. It is imperative that strategies
are developed to ensure that new presidents are fully aware of the role of the
international organization and the local chapters,’ College presidents
traditionally have acknowledged Phi Theta Kappa’s ability to advance the
mission of the two-year college as superior to any other student organization
at the two-year college.
The college presidents sitting on this major task force were chosen based upon
support provided to Phi Theta Kappa over the years. They were selected to ensure
that urban and rural colleges and college in each of the Society’s four
geographic divisions are represented. “Phi Theta Kappa is the only honor
society in higher education established by college presidents and their support
continues to be key to the Society’s phenomenal growth and program development,”
states Dr. David Pierce, former president of the American Association of Community
Colleges and chair of the national task force. “Phi Theta Kappa aspires
to continue to be an invaluable tool to aid college presidents in the fulfillment
of their goals for their respective students, institutional and communities.”
Phi Theta Kappa is the oldest, largest and more prestigious honor society serving
two-year and community colleges in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany,
and the U.S. Territorial possessions. Approximately 90,000 students are inducted
annually in the Society’s 1,200 chapters.
The Messenger
September 6, 2003
Inmates make time count with GED studies
Todd Karem and Anthony Johnson are both state inmates from Louisville serving
sentences in the Hopkins County Jail.
When Karem, 41, arrived at the jail, he never dreamed he would spend much of
his time tutoring inmates for their GED test, and Johnson, 25, never dreamed
he would earn his GED while in jail.
Though the GED program is not new to the jail, in the past 14 months it has
undergone a face-lift.
“We had a GED program in the old jail,” said Paul Arison, program
coordinator. “We have now gotten to the point where we are doing an excellent
job at it.”
Arison, who has a degree in business management, said the program works closely
with Madisonville Community College's Adult Centers for Education Excellence,
called ACE2, a local agency that offers training and testing in various areas,
including GED.
“They do all the testing,” Arison said.
Before an inmate can begin GED classes, a test is administered to determine
what grade level the person is functioning.
“We need to know where we are starting from,” he said. “We have
people who read at the third-grade level and others at the 10th- or 11th-grade
level.”
After classes begin, ACE2 administers a second test to determine the progress
of the student. Once the course is completed, ACE2 administers the GED examination.
Under the old program, instructors came to the jail a couple hours each week
to teach the GED curriculum. By the time they returned, much of what was taught
had been forgotten.
“By using inmate tutors, we are able to have two-hour classes in the morning
and two-hour classes in the afternoon three days a week,” Arison said.
Since the inmate tutor program began 14 months ago, 33 have graduated.
“In the school year, that ended we had 19 graduates,” he said. There
were 91, including the inmates, GED graduates in the county.
“We had one-fourth of the graduates in the county,” Arison said.
The tutors must have a GED or a high school diploma before they can help prepare
other inmates to take the examination. If the tutors have a problem with the
material, ACE2 or Arison will provide assistance.
“I have had college graduate tutors,” he said.
Karem said the goal is to get the inmates reading at the 10th- grade level.
“If we can do that, they can pretty much get the rest of it,” he
said.
Reading, writing and mathematics are the heart of the GED test.
“The tutors give a lot of homework,” Arison said. “Most of the
homework is math. Essay writing has become more important on the test, and they
do a lot of that in their cells.”
They also work a lot of math problems on the board in the classroom. Three
or four inmates were gathered around a board discussing a problem with an inmate.
“A lot of them are good in math but not so good in reading,” Karem
said. “We have to bring the reading level up.”
He quit school in the 10th grade and in 1981 entered the Army. Afterwards,
he earned his GED. Along the way, he had his share of scrapes with the law.
His last confrontation began when he had too much to drink.
“When they put me in the police car, I started kicking the windows out,”
he said. “The damage was over $1,300, which made it a felony.”
Karem was sentenced to four years and is eligible for parole in February.
“If I don’t make it, I’ll be here two or three more years,”
he said. “Being a tutor has giving me a lot more self-esteem. I feel good
about myself.”
He said Hopkins County Jail was great compared to the Jefferson County’s
Jail.
Johnson is the father of three children in Louisville. He is serving a sentence
for escape. He will be released next March.
“I was on work release and I didn’t go back,” he said.
Johnson arrived at the jail in May and enrolled in the GED program two weeks
later.
“I was at the 10.5 level when I began,” he said. “I graduated
last month.”
Johnson is now tutoring others.
“I’ve been helped a lot by this program,” he said. “One
of the first things I notice was how much my grammar had improved in my letters
home.”
When he is released, Johnson says he intends to enroll in Jefferson County
Junior College.
“My family has said they will help pay for it,” he said.
The current GED enrollment at the jail is 64.
“We have five male tutors and one female tutor,” Arison said.
A lot of those enrolled in the program will be paroled before they complete
the course.
“It is usually made a condition of parole that they complete their GED,”
he said. “If they don’t, they could end up back in here.”
Arison said he has no doubt that some inmates enroll just to get out of their
cells for a few hours a day.
“That’s only natural,” he said. “If they goof off in class,
they are soon escorted back to their cells.”
Though it is too early to know if the program reduces recidivism, so far, only
one of the graduates has been returned to jail.
“He was brought back for writing a bad check,” Arison said.
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