$2 million loans & grants for TCCC education

$2 million loans & grants for TCCC education

Federal and NC loans and grants are a boon for area

By Frank Bradley

Sentinel writer

If extreme T-partiers had it their way, Clay, Cherokee and Graham counties would be suffering a lot more economically than they are today. Pushing for draconian cuts in the federal and state’s educational budget would be just the thing drive our local economy over the cliff, put more people out of work and practically relegate the area to true third-world status. Take two million dollars out of our economy and many a business would be shutting its doors.

Fortunately that hasn’t happened —-yet.

On September 22, the TCCC Financial Aid office authorized the release of $1,913,357 in federal and state grants, scholarships and for the first time ever, federal loans. The federal loans to students come to about $150,000 per semester, according to Bill Vespasian, a financial officer at TCCC.

The college’s enrollment continues to increase as more and more workers are going back to college to develop skills needed for the current and future job market. Also, more students are completing their first two years of college at TCCC because of affordability, earning credits that will readily transfer to four-year colleges and universities.

President Donna Tipton-Rogers said that the college has almost 1,450 students enrolled this semester.

TCCC is working with all three counties as well as the Andrews Chamber of Commerce to create a series of free seminars to target employment and tax issues of area small businesses.

The college has also developed a new customized training program to train 25 new hires for jobs created by Industrial Opportunities, Inc. The training is to include pre-hire, safety, quality and sewing machine operations.

It has been noted that there has been an increase in students taking on-line or hybrid classes. All totaled, 2,686 classes seats have been taken among the 122 classes offered on line by the college. Along this line, the college has developed new procedures and resources to help succeed by enhancing learning for career readiness.

The college is working out the details to implement Governor Bev. Perdue’s new Career and  College Promise program that is slated to begin this coming January. The program is designed to provide measurable pathways for high school juniors and seniors to earn college transfer credit or technical training certificates. The technical training is tailored to expedite student progress along four career tracks.

The board approved TCCC’s 2011-2012 Budget in the amount of $8,173,667.

The board of trustees approved the hiring of Candice Laney as Instructor of Nursing. Ms. Laney holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Western Carolina University. She has 16 years of full-time experience as a Registered Nurse working in various clinical settings including geriatrics, home health, medical/surgical unit, intensive care unit, operating room and public health. She also held admin positions  as an Assistant Health Director, Nursing

Supervisor and Agency Accreditation Coordinator.

The board set it’s next meeting date as Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at the Rose Room in the Jarrett/Oglesby Building on the TCCC campus.