Big Sandy News
April 8, 2005
Big Sandy Community and Technical College continues to meet the needs of the
coal industry in eastern Kentucky.
State Representative Hubert Collins and Senator Ray Jones were on hand at the
Hager Hill Campus of BSCTC, Tuesday, April 5th to mark the start-up of the reorganized
truck driving program at Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC).
Responding to the expressed needs of the coal industry in eastern Kentucky for
more and better prepared truck drivers, the truck driving program has been reorganized
under the direction of David Pelphrey, Dean of Community, Economic and Workforce
Development for the college.
“Truck driving has long been a staple career choice for many men and women
in eastern Kentucky. Training and CDL certification have become a necessity
as more and more commercial vehicles are needed to transport everything from
vegetables to coal. BSCTC has responded to that need with classes designed to
fit the needs of students who have a desire to drive the big rigs or need training
for CDL certification,” stated Pelphrey.
Truck driving student Susan Davidson from Morehead, KY said, “I am a wife,
mother of 5 children and grandmother of 3. I have driven my husband’s truck
and now I am here to learn and get my CDL license so I can drive with him.”
Calvin Bates, another student from Jenkins, KY, said he wants to be a truck
driver to be able to earn a better living for his wife and two children.
Bobby McCool, Vice President of Institutional Services said, “Legislators
like Collins and Jones have been instrumental in passing laws to improve the
opportunities for education like that offered by BSCTC and for providing funding
to make it possible to keep abreast of business and industry needs. Men of vision
like these are necessary in government, if we are to keep Kentucky strong and
our workforce ready to meet the challenges of today’s economy.”
The truck driving program at BSCTC is a short term program. Anyone interested
in taking the course should call the office of Community, Economic and Workforce
Development at 606-789-5321 ext. 82844 for information on the next enrollment.
The Messenger
April 10, 2005
Area high schoolers get jump on college
Education officials hope next year’s Providence High School seniors find
the new Jump Start College program does exactly what its name implies.
“They’re going to get their jump start at being real college students,”
said Dr. Deborah Cox, interim dean of academic affairs at Madisonville Community
College.
Participants will travel to campus during the school day to take college classes,
receiving dual credit. MCC plans to work with two school districts in implementing
the program next year.
The Providence Board of Education has already agreed to participate, and the
Muhlenberg County board will decide Monday.
“While high school students have had access to dual credit classes in
the past and they’ve had access to dual enrollment classes, never before
have they had the opportunity to experience a college atmosphere during their
school day,” Cox said.
Providence Superintendent Edwina Sheffield said four students out of the 30-member
class plan to participate. Higher numbers are expected from the much larger
Muhlenberg County Schools, with students traveling to the nearby MCC Muhlenberg
campus.
“They’re very excited about it, really, really excited,” Sheffield
said. “They’ve already picked out their classes for the fall, and
we’re getting them registered.”
The opportunity, however, doesn’t come free.
The students will be required to pay tuition, which is $98 an hour at MCC next
year. They cannot qualify for financial aid. However, Providence students planning
to participate will have fund-raisers during the city’s summer festivals.
“I think that it provides an opportunity for students who need more challenging
work and rigor than can be provided by a normal high school curriculum,”
Sheffield said. “And I think it gives them an opportunity to experience
what college is going to be like on a campus while they still have their high
school contacts here to help them and nurture them through that.”
Several colleges around Kentucky have experimented with bringing high school
students to campus for classes, said George Humphreys, MCC’s extended campus
director.
“That made a lot of sense to us in terms of bridging the gap between high
school and college,” he said. To participate, students should have a B-average
or a 2.5 GPA and a counselor’s recommendation.
“Easing the transition makes them more likely to stay in school and earn
a degree,” Humphreys said.
Providence plans to use a small bus to transport the students to MCC’s
main campus on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They will enroll in two college
classes. While classes like college algebra and English 101 have traditionally
been offered at PHS, students will now have a wider range of options from which
to choose.
Humphreys met with Providence students last week about which classes they want
to take. Several want to enroll in General Education 101 Strategies for Academic
Success, he said. There’s also interest in algebra, history and computers.
When they return to Providence in the afternoon, they will take three high
school classes. On mornings when they don’t have MCC classes, they will
have access to computers and staff if they need help with college coursework.
They’ll also have the opportunity to do community service and work with
younger students, Sheffield said.
“The community college has been a great partner with us on this and we
feel like it’s going to be a great advantage to our students working together
with them,” she said.
Somerset Commonwealth Journal
April 7, 2005
SCC public forums discuss five-year plan; final forum to be held tonight at
SCC Somerset Campus North
On Tuesday afternoon, April 5, Dr. Jo Marshall, President of Somerset Community
College, opened the third in a series of five public forums to discuss the College’s
draft of a new five-year strategic plan. The third forum was held in the Harold
Rogers Student Commons on the SCC Somerset North Campus.
Monday, April 4, the College held the first public forum at its McCreary Center
in Whitley City. Earlier in the day Tuesday, Marshall hosted community members,
as well as SCC faculty and staff, at the public forum in Albany at the SCC Clinton
Center.
“We were very pleased with the comments we received from the citizens
of McCreary, Clinton and Pulaski Counties,” Marshall said. “It is
very humbling to see the wonderful support Somerset Community College has in
the communities we serve.”
Marshall reviewed the previous 5-year strategic plan with the participants
and pointed out some of the accomplishments achieved.
“Of course, one of our biggest challenges and opportunities of the previous
plan was to consolidate Somerset Community College, Laurel Technical College
and Somerset Technical College into a single college known as Somerset Community
College. I think you all know that we have successfully achieved that objective,”
Marshall explained.
The proposed SCC 2005-2010 Strategic Plan has four objectives. They are communications,
access, leadership and learning environment. Marshall pointed out to that the
first letter of the four objectives spelled out the acronym “CALL.”
A discussion of each objective took place starting with communications. Some
of the concerns expressed about College internal communications included the
use of e-mail, the completion of the new and long awaited new telephone system
for the College.
Jack Kenney, the executive director of the Somerset/Pulaski County Chamber
of Commerce, expressed the opinion that the present telephone system was inadequate.
Community attendees at the Somerset forum said that they believed that SCC
had done a good job of communicating information about the College and its programs
to the Somerset community. However, Marshall told the crowd that the community
participants from McCreary and Clinton Counties thought there was need to distribute
more information about new programs at SCC.
There was a short discussion concerning the need to change the name of the
college so that it would represent the region it serves. Some citizens said
the College should remain Somerset Community College, while others thought a
more regional name was important. Marshall said the desire to change the name
of the College seemed to be greater outside of Somerset in counties the College
served.
Concerning the second objective, access, Marshall defined this as the availability
of the College to the public for its use. She said this included physical accessibility;
access to financial information and the availability of money to attend college;
developing flexible schedules, including weekend and evening programs, to allow
students to keep jobs while attending college; creation of stipends for low
income students who do not qualify for scholarships and increase cultural and
ethnic diversity on campus.
Suggestions for improving access included renewed efforts toward potential
non-traditional students, better information on loans and loan forgiveness programs,
and closer cooperation between K through 12 school systems so that students
are prepared for college work.
Next, Marshall opened a discussion of the College’s role in being a community
leader and developing community leaders.
Ideas from the community included the development of a “Speaker’s
Bureau” made up of SCC faculty and staff and the building of a closer relationship
between the College and companies with less than 20 employees.
Participants agreed that Somerset Community College needed to move toward the
concept of becoming a “Learning College” to fulfill its objective
of improving the “learning environment” at SCC. In a Learning College
the emphasis is always on the needs of the student.
Suggestions regarding the learning environment included ways to improve a student’s
motivation to learn and to improve the College’s use of technology.
“There are two additional forums,” said Marshall. “I want to
encourage our communities to attend.”
The fourth forum is scheduled for Wednesday, April 6, 3:30 p.m. on the SCC
Laurel Campus North in London. The fifth and final forum will be held Thursday,
April 7, at 5 p.m. in Somerset in the Harold Rogers Student Commons Community
Room located on the SCC Somerset Campus North.
Hazard Herald
April 6, 2005
Groundbreaking held for YouthBuild house in Lothair
YouthBuild Hazard, a program under the Hazard Community and Technical College
umbrella, and the Hazard/Perry County Housing Development Alliance held a groundbreaking
ceremony yesterday on Ashless Street in the Lothair section of Hazard. The ceremony
was held to celebrate a new “barrier-free rental” house project named
Guyla’s Grace in honor of Hazard resident Guyla Burhans, who has served
with the Housing Development Alliance for over ten years.
The YouthBuid Program serves students from ages 16-24 and provides preparation
for the GED examination for these students that participate in the program.
YouthBuild also provides construction training, counseling, and job development
and graduate assistance such as job placement. These students are currently
constructing the house in Lothair with funding from the Kentucky Housing Corporation,
the Housing Development Alliance, the City of Hazard, and HCTC.
Speaking of the students that are working with Youthbuild, HCTC President Jay
Box expressed a great amount of pride in their success and accomplishments they
have achieved in the program. “I am so proud of this group that has worked
with the Housing Alliance to build this home,” he said. “They are
reaching out to others and changing their own lives.”
“We’re very excited about this project,” said Scott McReynolds,
Executive Director of the Housing Alliance. “We wanted a project that Youthbuild
could build from start to finish.” Local architect Daniel Roll designed
the house that these students are constructing. The home was built with accessibility
in mind as it consists of stepless entry, wider than normal hallways, and a
roll-in shower and tub with a transfer seat.
The house is being built for a low income family with accessibility needs.
According to McReynolds, the house is slated to be completed some time this
coming summer.
Paducah Sun
April 10, 2005
2 actresses play Eliza's role in ‘My Fair Lady’ at WKCTC
Director Norman Wurgler was faced with choosing between two talented actresses
when it came to casting the vital role of Eliza Doolittle in West Kentucky Community
and Technical College's upcoming production of "My Fair Lady."
He did the only thing he could do.
"During auditions, I discovered two talents that the audience needed to
hear, so I cast them both," Wurgler said.
It's the first time a role has been purposely double-cast in a production at
the college. The Tony Award-winning musical runs April 20-23 in the Clemens
Fine Arts Theatre. Janet Bloomingburg of Paducah will perform the role of Eliza
at 10 a.m. April 20. Kate Broeckling of Paducah will perform the same role at
7:30 p.m. April 23.
Both women will be in performances on Friday, April 22, at the theater. Broeckling
will take on the role of the Cockney flower girl at 10 a.m., and Bloomingburg
will perform the role at 7:30 that evening. Tickets for the evening performances
cost $5 for students and senior citizens and $8 for adults. For the matinees,
it's $4 for everyone.
Based on the 1914 comedy "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw, the
college's adaptation tells the story of Professor Henry Higgins, who transforms
the unrefined Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into a lady. When Eliza
leaves Higgins, he realizes that he has grown accustomed to her face and really
can't live without it. Featuring favorite tunes including "Wouldn't It
Be Loverly," "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "I've Grown
Accustomed to Her Face," the show promises classic entertainment for young
and old alike, producer Gail Robinson Butler said.
Veteran actor Don Maley said having two actresses play the same role has been
a challenge. Maley, a WKCTC faculty member, will perform the role of Henry Higgins.
He has been active in college and community theater since 1972.
"I find my character reacting a little bit differently with each of them,"
Maley said. "One of our Elizas is a little bit more edgy than the other
one. So I find myself responding a little bit more abruptly to her."
Maley said sometimes one actress will deliver a cue line slightly different
from another or they will react a little different to his cue line. "It
makes it interesting," he said. "And it keeps me, as an actor, on
my toes."
Freddy Eynsforth-Hill is portrayed by David McCall, a Murray State University
student. The role of Colonel Pickering is played by Jody Smith.
Other performers in the production include Robyn Smith, Ben Milam, James Davis,
Colby Holt, Peter Murphy, Kevin Keeling, Bob Sutman, Tehl Burchett, Paul Wurth,
Nikki Young, Sandi Slatic, Kayla Marie Stratemeyer, Tammy Thompson, Karla Bills,
Phyllis Hammonds, Chris Akin and Tonya Morris. Technical direction is by C.
Todd Birdsong.
Having two different female leads has meant a little extra work during rehearsals,
Maley said.
"We had to go through every scene twice. We'll do a scene two or three
times with one Eliza and instead of just calling it night, we do it two or three
times with the other Eliza."
Last year, the college's performance of "The Fantasticks" had two
different lead actresses because of a scheduling problem.
Bloomingburg, a graduate of Freed-Hardeman University, is performing in her
fourth musical with the Arts in FOCUS Series.
She previously appeared in "The Pirates of Penzance," "The Wind
in the Willows" and "Man of La Mancha." She has sung with the
WKCTC College Community Chorus for the past seven years. She and her husband,
Bob, have two daughters, Grace and Julia.
Broeckling, a Henderson native, received her singing and acting training through
years of school and church choirs. She studied broadcast journalism at Murray
State University. While at Murray State, Broeckling was active in the MSU concert
choir and community theater with roles in "Annie," "Jesus Christ
Superstar" and "Once Upon a Mattress." She also appeared in the
musical "Oklahoma" at the Market House Theatre. She is currently active
in the Paducah Symphony Chorus and married to John Broeckling.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
April 13, 2005
Building a Pathway for Occupational Students
Editorial
In February, the Bush administration eliminated from its proposed budget the
Perkins Act, which provides support for vocational and technical education.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has argued that there is no evidence
that it is effective, and the administration's goal seems to be to shift support
to the No Child Left Behind program.
Legislators continue to support occupational education. In March the Senate
unanimously passed a bill for the reauthorization of a Perkins Act similar to
the existing measure, and passage of the House version looks favorable, although
Perkins could still be cut at the appropriations stage.
It now seems likely Perkins will survive its threatened elimination, but such
a possibility has created an opportunity to re-evaluate its role and how the
federal government should be involved in occupational education. Two key issues
have generated controversy. First, do the programs supported by Perkins help
students get good jobs? Second, does enrollment in vocational programs discourage
students from continuing toward associate or bachelor's degrees and preclude
their chance of obtaining higher economic returns in the long run?
Congress originally passed a version of the Perkins Act in 1917. Through many
reauthorizations, the last in 1998 as the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical
Education Act, the law has distributed money to the states, each of which allocates
its share according to a plan approved by the Education Department. Expenditures
on Perkins are more than $1-billion a year; about 60 percent of the funds are
spent at the high-school level, with the rest disbursed to community and technical
colleges. Perkins money is used for vocational curriculum materials, occupationally
relevant equipment, materials for learning labs, staff development and hiring,
career counseling and guidance, remedial classes, and the integration of occupational
and academic education.
Today the focus of vocational education is increasingly shifting from training
for jobs to preparation for careers and further education. Growing evidence
suggests that most young people entering the labor market must have some college
education to secure jobs paying much more than subsistence wages. While workers
with associate degrees make more on average than those with just a high-school
diploma, those who complete bachelor's degrees have even stronger economic potential.
Meanwhile, employers increasingly demand workers who have not only technical
expertise, but also skills in language, communication, problem solving, and
applied math. Thus, while "terminal" occupational degrees that do
not transfer to a B.A. program are still common in community colleges, educators
and state policy makers have been working to encourage transfer through common
course-numbering systems and by merging technical colleges and comprehensive
community colleges.
Strengthening subsequent postsecondary opportunities for occupational students
has profound implications for educational equity. Low-income students are more
likely than their middle-class counterparts to enroll in community colleges
rather than four-year colleges and to enter occupational programs. Low-income
community-college students also tend to be concentrated in one-year certificate
programs instead of associate-degree programs. Even those who are in degree
programs are more likely to be in occupational than academic programs. And,
within each of those levels, low-income students are less likely to graduate.
That reflects the extreme differences in the quality of elementary and secondary
education available to students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Lower-income
students also usually need a job at an earlier age than middle-class students,
so they seek a credential that will be immediately useful rather than pursuing
a liberal-arts program that leads to a B.A. Further, first-generation college
students, in particular, may not think that they have a realistic chance to
complete a B.A. degree. Other students may simply be more engaged by concrete
occupational instruction than by more abstract academic education.
How then can we ensure that vocational education not only leads to good jobs,
but also prepares students of all backgrounds for the next level of education?
That is the fundamental question that we must ask about occupational education
at all levels.
In responding to it, educators face a number of formidable barriers. One is
the difference in content and structure between associate and baccalaureate
education in occupational fields. Traditionally, the first two years in a baccalaureate
program are rather theoretical and focus on gener-al-education courses that
presumably prepare students for their subsequent specialization. Associate programs
must include the technical and applied courses in their two-year span and tend
to place more emphasis on practical knowledge and skills. As a result, the typical
preparation for an associate degree in engineering technology will not be equivalent
to the first two years of a four-year degree in engineering, and often credits
from community-college courses do not transfer to the analogous four-year program.
Meanwhile, many bureaucratic barriers stand in the way of community-college
transfer. Transfer among institutions even within the same state system is often
difficult, and community colleges often must negotiate individual transfer agreements
with each college. Moreover, institutional data systems are not connected so
that they can track student movement from one college to the next.
Helping to overcome the substantive and institutional barriers that tend to
block upward mobility for occupational students is an ideal role for Perkins
and the federal government. Support should be designed particularly to encourage
colleges and states to ensure that the vocational programs supported by Perkins
prepare students for occupations for which there is a local demand and prepare
them to move on through the higher-education system. States should be encouraged
to use Perkins to reward schools and colleges that are successful in preparing
low-income students to enter and succeed at successive levels of employment
and education.
We already have much to build on. The Education Department has supported research
for programs that tie high schools to community colleges through dual-credit
arrangements. Such programs have the potential to promote college access and
should be further tested and developed.
Community-college occupational programs that transfer efficiently to baccalaureate
institutions -- like many nursing programs -- should also be encouraged. The
National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education program encourages
stronger science and mathematics instruction in community-college technology
programs and promotes partnerships between high schools and community colleges
and between two- and four-year colleges to improve articulation among them all.
Community-college university centers, where baccalaureate programs in fields
in demand from local employers and job seekers are offered on community-college
campuses, and "upside-down degrees" that reverse or alter the sequence
of theoretical and practical courses are also models worth exploring and testing.
In addition, a growing number of states are supporting "career pathway"
programs. Those bring together high schools, community colleges, universities,
work-force-development agencies, and employers to create a sequence of educational
and employment steps that allow students to move in and out of education and
work as they gain skills and credentials in industry sectors important to local
economies.
Another important step is to improve the capability to track the flow of students
as they progress from one level of education and employment to the next. The
federal government should seek to strengthen data systems that allow better
analysis of student movements among institutions and into the labor market.
Federal data now available from the National Center for Education Statistics
have been enormously helpful in understanding national patterns of student access
and attainment, but the samples are not large enough to allow analysis at the
level of individual institutions or state systems. State data systems have tremendous
potential for strengthening our understanding of educational trajectories at
a much more detailed level, for identifying any roadblocks to advancement, and
for evaluating whether efforts to remove those roadblocks produce better outcomes.
The traditional approaches to the sequencing and organization of educational
content, along with powerful institutional and regulatory forces, make progress
difficult. But with the proper incentives and support, occupational education
can benefit both students and employers, and become an integral part of an educational
progression. Encouraging such developments through financial support and research
is an appropriate role for the federal government. Breaking down the conflict
between preparation for work and preparation for further education can strengthen
both and make our educational system more efficient and equitable.
Thomas Bailey is a professor of economics and education and director of
the Community College Research Center at Teachers College at Columbia University.
He is also director of the Institute on Education and the Economy at the college.
Davis Jenkins is a senior research associate at the Community College Research
Center and a senior fellow at the Great Cities Institute at the University of
Illinois at Chicago.
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