Published Monday, November 26, 2001, in the Herald-Leader
College's Ready-to-Work program succeeding
By W. Bruce Ayers
Sue Greer-Pitt, who teaches sociology at Southeast Community College's
Whitesburg campus, is one of the school's finest instructors. She is a
caring and compassionate teacher, one who shows genuine interest in her
students. That she would be interested in helping to ensure that welfare
recipients benefit from an instructional program that meets their needs
does not surprise us.
What does surprise us is the lack of knowledge her
column displayed about the college's programs that do exactly what she
seems to call for.
Greer-Pitt's memory about a faculty meeting in which
speakers ``described how many computers we could get and how the contract
(with those providing funds for welfare-to-work programs) would help support
our own staffing and programs'' sent me back to the minutes of meetings
held over the past few years to see whether I could find a reference to
programs that deal with welfare recipients. The closest match I found
was on Jan. 26, when Roland Cornett, coordinator of the college's Ready
to Work program, reported to the faculty on the success of students enrolled
in this program.
Ready-to-Work, the product of a partnership between
the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the Kentucky Cabinet
for Families and Children, has developed into one of KCTCS' most successful
programs. Ready-to-Work, which enrolls welfare recipients in college and
prepares them for the world of work, served more than 1,000 students across
the system in the 2000-2001 academic year.
At the January meeting, Cornett reported that 108 students
were enrolled in the college's program. All were participating in programs
that lead to an associate degree, such as nursing, business technology
and office systems, which provide a platform for immediate employment
on graduation or allow students to transfer to four-year institutions
and complete baccalaureate degrees. Cornett also reported that students
in this program had a combined grade-point average of 2.99 (on a 4.0 scale)
and that their retention rate was good. He expressed pride in the progress
of these students and offered his thanks to the faculty and staff for
their assistance. He particularly commended the Office of Financial Aid
and praised the college for contributing its own funds to match work-study
aid that was made available through the program. Last year, 21 of the
students in the Ready-to-Work program graduated from Southeast Community
College.
I would contend that the students in this program are
receiving exactly what Greer-Pitt calls for: ``real instruction in college-level
technical and academic subjects that would provide them with genuine knowledge,
concrete skills and real credentials for the work world.''
In addition to providing students with opportunities
to enroll in programs leading to degrees, Southeast Community College
also partners with other agencies to assist students who may not be as
far advanced in their academic preparation. These apparently are the programs,
coordinated through the Office of Continuing Education, with which Greer-Pitt
takes exception.
Many of these students are enrolled in Adult Basic
Education or similar programs, and often faculty are asked to assist in
providing workshops and seminars that will help round out students' educational
backgrounds and improve their chances of finding and keeping employment.
Topics often include resume development, how to prepare for a job interview,
the importance of attitude and improving self-esteem.
Although we hope that all students in programs like
this will enroll in post-secondary education, we know from experience
that many of them will not. For those who do not aspire to college, workshops
like those to which Greer-Pitt refers, combined with the knowledge and
skills they may already possess, can be of great help.
Far from making money from our involvement with programs of this nature,
the college neither receives nor expects a financial reward. In self-supporting
areas, like continuing education, funds are derived from several sources
to help in the delivery of programs and services. A review of our budget
will show that we have consistently supplemented the dollars we receive
with our own.
Southeast Community College is proud of its work with
welfare recipients. We believe we are doing a first-rate job in educating
and empowering those who enroll in our programs.
W. Bruce Ayers is president of Southeast Community College.
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