Editorial: Prod Kentucky lawmakers on budget

WKCTC's budget requests include $15 million building

MCC tops $4.2 million in fund drive

MCTC is finding its Niche

ACTC's nursing students score high on license exams

Cincinnati Enquirer
January 12, 2005

Editorial: Prod Kentucky lawmakers on budget

"We need a simpler tax system," Fletcher told an overflow crowd of residents and officials. "We need a fairer tax system." As he tried last year, the governor is taking his case to the people first, before lawmakers reconvene in Frankfort for a monthlong session in February. Frustrated Kentucky taxpayers need to do their part and demand lawmakers pass a reform-minded budget.

Fletcher doesn't expect to roll out detailed tax proposals until his Feb. 2 State of the Commonwealth speech. But he's already signaled he will support:

• A cigarette tax increase up to about 40 cents a pack.

• Lower income taxes for about 98 percent of Kentuckians.

• Removing about 300,000 of the lowest-income taxpayers from state tax rolls.

• Higher telecommunications taxes.

• More business incentives.

Last year, Fletcher proposed raising the 3-cent cigarette tax to 29 cents, but this year, the General Assembly faces worsening Medicaid and health care costs and constituent groups increasingly disgusted with lawmakers' failure to agree on a budget.

Gateway President Ed Hughes blasted how the budget impasse forced higher tuitions: "If anybody had a tax increase over the last couple of years," he said, "it was our students who had money coming out of their pockets."

Even anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, isn't quibbling over the pledge that about 50 Kentucky lawmakers signed not to raise taxes. He stopped in Frankfort Friday to back Fletcher's plan to raise some taxes and lower others, and said as long as its revenue-neutral overall, what's the problem?

Responsible Democrats and Republicans argue the tax code is too antiquated and the state's problems too serious for further delay. Next month, we'll see if they mean what they say, and at long last vote out a budget to get Kentucky moving again.

WKCTC's budget requests include $15 million building

"We're due for a building we don't have to pay for by ourselves," President Barbara Veazey said at Tuesday's board meeting. The college raised its own funds for the Challenger Learning Center and Crounse Hall. Veazey said the state has funded technology centers at five other community and technical colleges.

"I feel we have to ask for this," she said. "We need a fair share."

The board considers the proposed 50,000-square-foot building, the location of which will be shown on the upcoming campus master plan, its top funding priority. It would offer laboratories, classrooms and simulators to train students on the newest technology used by area businesses. Course offerings would evolve with local industry.

The building would allow the college to increase enrollment, strengthen the work force and increase the college's value to economic development, Veazey said. She said the cost estimate includes equipment.

Other funding requests, listed by priority:

$1 million for continued renovation at Anderson Technical Building.

$1.1 million to purchase an existing building to house the Business and Industry Training Center and the Adult Education program. The figure is a cost estimate; no building has been targeted, or even a location.

$350,000 in recurring funds for computer updates.

$150,000 to upgrade the electrical system in the Anderson building.

$1.1 million to repair the cracked brick facade of the Allied Health Building.

$630,000 for fire-protection sprinkler systems in eight campus buildings.

Another $1 million was requested for additional operating costs, equipment, personnel and classroom materials. The Paducah Junior College board of trustees will review the requests next week. The list will be submitted to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System as additions to the current $20 million biennial budget approved last year. The KCTCS will seek General Assembly approval for accepted items.

The proposed technology building will be requested as a 2006 budget item, and funding for the other projects will be sought in the next few years, Veazey said.

Veazey listed other priorities for spring as updating computers in Matheson Learning Center, offering laptop computers in the library and counseling center, developing publications and recruiting materials, and renovating the dental hygiene classrooms.

In other matters, PJC Executive Director Kay Travis announced new fund-raising efforts for the "resource development plan," including a "Name a Star" program at the Challenger center.

The resource campaign is collecting financial contributions, volunteer hours, tools and equipment to support and improve the Challenger center, allied health, engineering technology, historical preservation/arts and culinary arts/hospitality.

For a $100 annual pledge, the donor may name a star on the Center's Galaxy Wall. Twenty-seven stars have been named.

Travis added that the committee overseeing culinary arts fund raising will be contacting potential donors soon. "They are people who may not have donated to the college before — they may not have been asked to donate to the college before — but they have a vested interest on having skilled employees trained in the culinary arts," she said.

There is no goal or deadline for completion. The college will collect whatever it takes to improve the targeted programs. The school's foundation has raised more than $300,000 in gifts and pledges so far.

The Messenger
January 12, 2005

MCC tops $4.2 million in fund drive

Madisonville Community College’s Fulfilling the Promise gifts campaign has passed the $4.2 million mark in cash gifts and multi-year pledges, according to an announcement from the development office.

This means the college has raised 84 percent of its announced $5 million goal. The amount raised by MCC is the largest campaign-related total in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

Recent campaign successes involve gifts to three main areas, said Development Director John Peters. These are pledges to the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts’ endowment base, support of the School Counts work force initiative, and college foundation support of the college’s Title III “Strengthening Institutions” grant.

“We had seen some really wonderful gifts come our way as a result of support of both the Glema Center and School Counts,” said Peters. “I think that our communities agree with our intent of making this campaign one of permanence, one where each gift will make a continuing impact. Likewise, the foundation has stepped up to make sure our Title III program is successful. That grant is extremely important to help the college increase graduation rates.”

Campaign General Chairman Steve Cox, president and CEO of First United Bank, praised the generosity of people in Hopkins, Muhlenberg, Crittenden and Webster counties.

“All of the communities in our six- to seven-county service region have a history of being supportive of MCC,” Cox said. “We have scholarship endowments active in four counties, and over 160 students are served each year with private support. Fulfilling the Promise will only strengthen established college relationships.”

Dr. Judy Rhoads, MCC president, is optimistic about the campaign.

“Our campaign objectives were supported by the community long before we announced any goal,” she said. “These objectives have a direct benefit for our students, our manufacturers and our families. Also, we completed a very successful employee campaign prior to any major community solicitations, so our donors and friends know that we put our money where our mouth is. Over the past 15 months, our endowment base has increased by over $1 million.”

The campaign will likely conclude by October, Peters said.

Main objectives yet to be completed include additions to the School Counts Endowment, funding for the Loman C. Trover Library endowment, and additional support for the Crittenden County Endowment for Excellence.

Ledger Independent
December 22, 2004

MCTC is finding its Niche
by Augusta A. Julian, President/CEO of Maysville Community and Technical College

Recently a new college came to a campus near you. Yes, it looks like the same one you knew before. It is even using the same name it has used for nine months. But new possibilities abound and new enthusiasm is evident. On December 6, the consolidation was completed for the former Maysville Community College and the former Rowan Technical College. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Board of Regents gave final approval to the merger over a year ago. The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools took action at its fall meeting to approve the consolidation following a two-year review process.

This institution, Maysville Community and Technical College, is finding its niche in postsecondary education. We are now fully accredited at all campuses to deliver technical, vocational, and transfer education with campuses in Cynthiana, Maysville, and Morehead and are operating technical programs in the correctional facility in West Liberty. Our service efforts reach into a 20-county region of northeast Kentucky and southern Ohio. In three of those counties, Lewis, Mason, and Robertson, we also serve the adult literacy needs of citizens. We educate some 2,700 citizens annually with college courses, assist over 4,000 employees to improve skills, serve 32,000–plus with community events, and some 700 with adult literacy and GED services.

In the past three years, we completed three accreditation visits and four follow-up reports, reorganized our administrative and academic structure with leadership from among all campuses, and endured annual budget cuts totaling over $500,000. All the while, we maintained a quality educational experience for our students, increased enrollments, and moved ahead with new directions and initiatives in community and economic development.

Our community partners and students have celebrated many recent accomplishments with us. We held anniversary celebrations at both the Maysville and Rowan campuses. We opened new buildings in Cynthiana and Maysville, adding and expanding seven new technical programs and increasing transfer program courses. We are starting nursing and other healthcare programs in Cynthiana. We expanded both workforce development and regular credit offerings at Rowan.

Our first online course was offered in August of 1999 and today our faculty will be offering eighty online classes during Spring 05. We remain a leader in Kentucky postsecondary institutions in the variety and quality of internet courses. Overall enrollment has increased more than 50 percent. Dual credit and dual enrollment for high school students are allowing them to receive college credits in technical and general courses that give them a leg-up toward a college degree.

Community and technical college students continue to achieve success and surpass their educational goals. The largest ever classes of registered and practical nursing and respiratory care are graduating and going out to serve the healthcare needs of our communities. Dislocated workers have enrolled in these and other classes and are moving into new and exciting careers after the trauma of job loss.

The honor society Phi Theta Kappa recognizes academically high achieving students and gives them opportunities for leadership and service. The Ready-to-Work program supports students who are trying to manage lives and families while they pursue their educational dreams.

Looking back, we celebrate, and, at the same time, challenge ourselves for the future. We are currently engaged in updating our strategic plan that will guide the next five years. We are honored to have your support for education that brings such benefits to our students and communities. We know it really takes a community effort.

As we look to the future, we recommit to “changing lives” for the better in our expanded service region. Who would have envisioned this future for Maysville Community College, which opened in 1968 with 243 students, or Rowan Technical College, which started in 1972 and occupied its current facility in 1984? Maysville Community and Technical College is planning...together...for a brighter tomorrow. Please let us know what you think of your “new” college.

The Independent
January 12, 2005

ACTC's nursing students score high on license exams

ASHLAND Nursing students at Ashland Community and Technical College passed their professional licensing exams at higher-than-average rates last year, college officials said.

Graduates of the two-year program for registered nurses passed at a 92 percent rate and graduates in licensed practical nursing, an 18-month program, achieved a 93 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination, said health sciences division chairman Keith Brammell.

"We feel it's a fairly high rate, especially with the increase in the amount of material being taught and the new technology in medicine," Brammell said.

The state Board of Nursing expects an 85 percent pass rate and the national average is 85.9 percent, said Janie Kitchen, coordinator of the RN program. ACTC's program has exceeded the national rate since 2001, she said.

"We're very excited about the students performing well because it's the first class to take it since the curriculum was revised," she said.

The revision was the first major one since 1996 and resulted in a tougher and more rigorous course of study, she said.

Among the course revisions are requirements to complete certified nurse aide programs and clinical practicum’s. The result is graduates better prepared for complex nursing care, she said.

"Any time we can get 90 percent or above, we're happy," said Phyllis Howard, coordinator of the LPN program. The program has achieved that goal for the past two years, she said.

In fact, all of the students who graduated the program in May 2004 passed the exam, she said.

The LPN program also has gotten tougher because the scope of practice for LPNs has expanded, she said.

The 93 percent rate "says that we're doing something right. We've got a good solid team," Howard said.