USDA announces funding for SCC National Center of Excellence

P-16 Council sets goals for education, industry

Co-op program at Somerset Community College benefits businesses and students

Somerset Commonwealth Journal
November 28, 2002

USDA announces funding for SCC National Center of Excellence

WASHINGTON, November 19, 2002--Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr today announced funding for the eight National Centers of Excellence that help promote economic development in under-served rural communities and further President Bush's economic agenda.

"The Centers of Excellence selected have a strong track record of working in partnership with USDA Rural Development and will utilize new educational and technological tools needed to strengthen the Bush Administration's efforts to assist local communities and businesses in expanding their economic and employment opportunities," said Dorr.

The National Centers of Excellence selected include: University of Texas-Pan American, Texas; Somerset Community College, Kentucky; Heritage College, Washington; Cankdeska Cikana Community College, North Dakota; Crownpoint Institute of Technology, New Mexico; Fort Peck Community College, Montana; San Diego State University-Imperial Valley, California; and California State University-Fresno, California. USDA provided the eight centers with funding in 2001 and has extended partnership funding in 2002 due to the long-term commitment established by the centers to assist rural Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities and Champion Communities.

Dorr cited several examples of how the funding and partnership agreements will benefit rural areas, including in Kentucky where Somerset Community College will use the funding to provide on the job-training opportunities to new and existing business and industry within the Empowerment Zone, Enterprise Community, and other communities located in the district. At University of Texas-Pan American, focus will be on improving training and educational opportunities through the use of telecommunication and information technologies. "It is crucial that we develop programs and resources which enhance the opportunity for rural residents to receive 21st Century workforce skills. The National Centers of Excellence selected have shown their commitment to this idea," said Dorr.

The National Center of Excellence (NCE) program consists of one-year partnership agreements between eight rural institutions of higher education and USDA. The NCE program focuses on economic opportunity, sustainable community development, community-based partnerships, and a strategic vision for change. The agreements support strong information sharing and technical assistance links between Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Communities, state USDA Rural Development field staff, colleges/universities, civic organizations and other rural communities.

Each NCE will receive $20,000 from the Department of Agriculture to help rural communities achieve sustainable community development. Funds will be administered through USDA Rural Development's Office of Community Development, which is responsible for Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, Champion Communities and rural community development technical assistance.

USDA Rural Development is the lead federal entity for rural economic and community development needs. It administers financial and technical assistance through a network of state Rural Development offices, various non-profit and educational institutional partners, and its national office. Rural Development provides access to a range of financial and intellectual tools (including technical and educational assistance, loans, loan guarantees, and grants) through the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, Rural Utilities Service and the Office of Community Development. Further information on USDA Rural Development can be obtained by contacting your local USDA Service Center or by visiting USDA's web site at <http://www.rurdev.usda.gov>.

The Messenger
November 30, 2002

P-16 Council sets goals for education, industry

Hopkins County’s P-16 Council has a vision.

It’s a vision of a Hopkins County where there is mutual support between education and industry, the educational system is noted for its excellence, all residents value education, and the literacy rate is improved.

Achieving these four goals will be an ongoing effort, said Dr. Judith Rhoads, president of Madisonville Community College.

“The next step is to develop strategies to overcome the barriers to the goals,” she said.

The 24-member council has identified at least 11 barriers that could prevent the achievement of each goal.

For example, barriers to increasing the value that residents place on education include a lack of support for the public library, lack of revenue, apathy, a lack of knowledge of how to support students, affordability of education, poor communication between education and “real life,” and lack of accountability.

Barriers to education system excellence, according to the council, include lack of revenue, need for alternate paths to success, not enough intervention for potential dropouts,

complacency, lack of passion and a plan, need for scholarships, and the lack of a “big picture” report to the general public.

The goal of P-16 councils is to improve education from preschool through college.

The Kentucky P-16 Council was created in 1999 to advise the state Board of Education and Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education on teacher preparation, curriculum alignment, and elimination of barriers that stop students from progressing through school.

The Hopkins County council, which first met in April, is one of 13 councils being formed or in development throughout the state. The CPE provided grant money to start a P-16 Council here because Madisonville was one of its 10 model cities for adult education.

The council has members from all levels of education — preschool, grade school, middle school, high school, college — business and industry, and other groups affected by education.

“When in the past have preschools, the public schools, the colleges and business and industry sat down and tried to pull things together?” Rhoads asked. “Things are beginning to happen because of the awareness level of what’s going on on the P-16 Council.

“Numerous issues have been brought to the table and solutions already brought forth because of the open communication between the council,” she said. “Everyone on the council believes that increasing education levels will make a difference with our economy and the quality of life within our community.”

The council defined its vision with the help of Bob Brooks of Trover Foundation. Each person was asked to write on small pieces of paper what the group could hope to accomplish, and these were grouped according to topic. The process is similar to that used when the Badgett Regional Cooperative for Educational Enhancement formed.

“I think it’s a process that works, that gives a vision for direction over a number of years,” Rhoads said.

The council decided to make improving the literacy rate a separate goal because it’s such a big problem, she said. The Kentucky Adult Literacy Survey shows that 40 percent of Hopkins County residents of working age read poorly or not at all.

“We pulled it out because we’re setting goals to overcome that problem in our community,” she said. “We’ve increased the number of people obtaining their GEDs every year. We’re increasing the number of people enrolled in ACE2, but we want to continually increase that.”

Committees are looking at issues such as transitions between different education levels, community awareness and professional development.

The committee on assessment, for example, looks at standardized tests from preschool through college to see if they’re testing for the same skills.

“How do the tests line up?” Rhoads said. “It appears that testing for English skills in the high school is not heavy on grammar usage, but in the placement tests for college, that’s an emphasis.”

The executive committee will meet to help the subcommittees come up with strategies to meet the goals, she said. The council is also conducting a needs assessment of business and industry, with the report expected in January.

“It will help determine the current needs of the work force and the educational needs of the work force in the future,” Rhoads said.

Somerset Commonwealth Journal
November 30, 2002

Co-op program at Somerset Community College benefits businesses and students

A Cooperative is an agreement to work together for mutual economic benefit. The Co-op Program at Somerset Community College benefits both students and local businesses. Under the SCC Co-op Program, SCC students in the final semester of their college education are given an opportunity to test the skills they have learned in college in a real life business environment.

Local businesses and manufactures agreed to employ SCC students for a semester. The businesses pay the student hourly wages. The College provides oversight for the student through on-site visits, while the employer provides the College with regular reports about the student’s progress. The students get on-the-job experience and, most of the time, our students go on to full-time employment for the company. The student, the College and the employer all sign a Co-op contract at the beginning of the semester, which outlines the duties of each.

“About 95 to 98 percent of our co-op students are offered full-time employment at the end of their co-op experience,” said Ron McCowan, the Co-op Program Coordinator at the SCC Laurel South Campus.

According to McCowan, the SCC Co-op Program is popular with local employers because they get an opportunity to look over the student.

“It’s a good screening tool for them,” McCowan explained.

The College maintains Co-op Programs at both the SCC Somerset South Campus and the SCC Laurel South Campus. Junior Dalton is the coordinator of the Somerset South Campus program.

Joe Caldwell, the executive vice-president of Nami Resources Company, LLC, is currently involved in the Co-op Program. They have employed SCC student Matt Huff. Huff will be getting his Associate in Applied Science Degree in Computer Assisted Design (CAD). Huff is using his CAD skills to create maps for the company, which leases mineral rights in the state and drills for natural gas.

“Kelly McCowan, our vice-president of Human Resources, was aware of the Co-op Program and she recommended that we try it,” Caldwell said.

“It’s really worked out great,” he continued. “We were in the midst of growing pains. We didn’t have enough to do for a full-time employee, so Matt came in on a temporary basis.”

Now, the leasing department, where Matt works, has grown because the company has acquired some of its competitors.

As far as skills Huff learned in his College training, Caldwell seemed very pleased. “It was almost as if we had found somebody who had worked in the oil and gas business. He just picked up the files and began to work.”

Caldwell called Huff “well-mannered” and he was very impressed by the fact that Huff was a member of the National Guard. Huff just returned from a deployment with his National Guard unit to Germany.

“I told Matt any young man with the will and desire to go and help preserve our freedom means a lot to me,” Caldwell said.

From Huff’s perspective, the Co-op Program and being placed at Nami Resources has been “great.”

“I’ve got my own office,” Huff said. “I never expected that.”

Huff said that he has picked up a lot of new skills while at Nami. “I think I’m better prepared to enter the job market now,” he said. “The only change I would make is to make the Co-op experience longer. A year would be good because most employers want experience.”

Huff called his SCC drafting instructor, Richard Webb, “a genius.”

“He really knows his stuff,” Huff commented.

Caldwell said, “We appreciate the programs offered at Somerset Community College and we are pleased that our business is located so near the beautiful, new SCC Campus. We are looking forward to participating the Co-op Program in the future as the opportunity presents itself.”

According to McCowan, despite the tight job market, there are currently more Co-op opportunities available than there are students to fill them. Several of the AAS degree programs at the College require students to complete a semester of Co-op. Some of those programs are carpentry, auto technology, welding, HVAC and machine tool technology. In other degree programs like masonry, Co-op is not required, but is counted as an elective. Students receive up to three credit-hours for successfully completing a semester of Co-op.

During the Co-op semester, a student must work a minimum of 138 hours at the business, however, “We don’t like to see minimums and most of our students work more hours that that,” McCowan said.

During the 2001-2002 school year, Seventy-Seven students participated in the Co-op program, practicums or internships. Forty-One of those were involved in the Co-op Program. SCC students worked a total of more than 48,000 hours in local businesses. Co-op students earned a total of $110,782.75 in wages.

For more information about SCC’s Co-op program contact Ron McCowan at 606-864-7311, ext. 232 or Junior Dalton at 606-677-4049.