Jefferson college gets money for design work

Local college gets $600,000 for improvements

JCTC offers two new associate degrees

Appointments

For Latino Students, Early Aspiration to Attend College Improves Likelihood of Graduation, Report Says

Jefferson college gets money for design work

Members of the Jefferson County legislative delegation presented a symbolic $600,000 check to Jefferson Community and Technical College System officials in a ceremony Thursday.

The 2004-06 state budget includes that amount to pay for the design work on an $11 million project to renovate science labs, classrooms, faculty offices and the historic Seminary Building.

Business First Louisville
April 1, 2005

Local college gets $600,000 for improvements

Jefferson Community College has received $600,000 from the state of Kentucky to help fund planned improvements at the school's downtown campus.

The initial funding, which is part of the budget recently passed by the General Assembly, will be used for design work for an $11 million project to upgrade and expand laboratories and classrooms. The project also includes plans to restore sections of the historic Seminary building that currently is unusable, according to a news release.

John Kinney, chairman of the board of directors for the Jefferson Community and Technical College District, said in a release that funding for renovation projects "would allow the campus to reach the same level of excellence as our faculty, staff and students." Currently, there is a waiting list for allied-health students needing anatomy, physiology and other courses requiring a lab, the release said.

Jefferson Community College is seeking additional funding from public and private sources for the project.

Jefferson Community College is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which is based in Lexington, Ky. The system, which operates 16 community and technical colleges on 65 campuses in Kentucky, received a total of $130.6 million in state funding for various projects across the state.

Business First Louisville
March 29, 2005

JCTC offers two new associate degrees

The Kentucky Community and Technical College Board of Regents has approved two new associate degree programs at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville.

The degree programs, in criminal justice and horticulture, will begin during the fall 2005 semester, according to a news release.

The criminal justice degree program was added in response to more law enforcement agencies and related professions requiring applicants to have at least a two-year degree, the release said.

Previously, the existing horticulture program at JCTC offered two diploma programs and eight certificates, which are shorter-term programs in specific disciplines.

Interested students can call (502) 213-5333 or visit www.jefferson.kctcs.edu.

Community College Times
March 29, 2005

Appointments

The Chronicle of Higher Education
April 4, 2005

For Latino Students, Early Aspiration to Attend College Improves Likelihood of Graduation, Report Says

Latino students who get help on their college-entrance or financial-aid applications, or who receive such aid, are not significantly more likely to graduate from college than those who get no help, according to a report scheduled for release today by the Educational Policy Institute.

The report, "Latino Students and the Educational Pipeline: Pathways to the Bachelor's Degree for Latino Students," says that financial concerns are important, but that "it is the types of funding in certain combinations along with the costs," not the question of whether Latino students do or do not receive aid, that affects whether they graduate from college. The report also says that the courses Latino students take in high school are more important to their success in college than any help they may receive with college applications.

Latino students who either aspire to attend college as early as eighth grade, who enroll in college right after high school, who stay enrolled continuously, or who have parents who expect them to get an advanced degree, among other factors, are the ones who are significantly more likely to graduate from college than their counterparts who do not meet those criteria, says the report.

Among other recommendations, the report says that postsecondary institutions should:

Give Latino students enough academic support services and "safety nets."

Track their academic progress, especially during freshman year.

Stress financial-aid programs that allow students to stay enrolled continuously.

Link the financial-aid office to the academic and social-services branches of the university to provide coordinated support.

The report is based on data drawn from the U.S. Education Department's National Education Longitudinal Study, a long-term study of the academic progress of a random sample of 26,000 students who were first surveyed in 1988, when they were in the eighth grade. Follow-up surveys were conducted in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 2000.

In its conclusions about Latino students, the Educational Policy Institute's report also says that:

Eighth graders who plan to attend college are 48 percent more likely to complete college than their counterparts who have no such plans. Those who plan to get a bachelor's degree are 53 percent more likely than their counterparts to graduate.

Students who maintain continuous college enrollment are 60 percent more likely to graduate.

Students who have a grade-point average between 2.50 and 3.19 are 47 percent more likely to graduate, and those with a GPA between 3.2 and 4.0 are 62 percent more likely.

Students with parents who expect them to get an advanced degree are 46 percent more likely to graduate than their peers without such expectations. Students with parents who expect them to get bachelor's degrees are not significantly more likely to graduate than peers whose parents have no such expectations.

Latina students are 20 percent more likely to get a college degree than their male counterparts.

Delaying college enrollment after finishing high school reduces graduation rates among students by 20 percent.

The institute plans to post the full text of the report on its Web site.