Category — Daily Press
Diverse group trains, retrains at Thomas Nelson Community College
A college graduate and a former construction worker going through the same program gives an idea of the diversity in job retraining seen these days.
Aspiring workers are flooding Thomas Nelson Community College’s Workforce Development programs, and they include the laid-off, degree-holding, degree-less and career switchers.
March 8, 2010 Comments Off
Community colleges are a key resource in attaining the nation’s goals for an educated work force
Since arriving at Thomas Nelson Community College a little over one year ago, I have witnessed with dismay an institution seeking to fulfill its mission in the wake of what seems to be interminable budget reductions. One might argue that the halcyon days of generous public support for higher education are gone forever. But are they, and if so, at what cost?
According to one recent legislative report, funding for higher education in Virginia has declined by almost 24 percent since fiscal year 2008. Clearly, if we continue along this path our future is imperiled.
January 6, 2010 Comments Off
Fundraising is critical at TNCC, president says
Friend-raising leads to fundraising, and Thomas Nelson Community College officials are mounting a big effort for both.
Raising money hasn’t always been a big part of the world of academia, but it’s essential there these days, says according to TNCC President Alvin Schexnider. This fall he has emphasized that as state budget cuts continue, the college will have to find ways to generate private donations.
October 15, 2009 Comments Off
Student ‘communities’ progress together at TNCC
Tabatha Hankerson isn’t sure she would have stayed at Thomas Nelson Community College if its Communities of Learning program wasn’t recommended.
Hankerson spent last spring as part of one of the communities, which are groups of students who attend classes together. Students are also set up with faculty and staff in common for support and extra help staying in school.
October 9, 2009 Comments Off
TNCC students learn about their majors in English class
Recognizing that generic material in an English class is, for some, akin to watching paint dry, Thomas Nelson Community College instructors have tailored some English classes for freshmen to specific areas of study.
So as classes started Saturday, TNCC put to the test the idea that reading and writing on topics related to a student’s future profession will hold attention longer.
English 111: College Composition I will be available to coincide with studies in science and technology, social science, business and accounting, liberal arts and pre-nursing, said college officials.
The new courses are part of TNCC’s Communities of Learning program, which helps students successfully transition into the college environment with a team of counselors, advisers and career planners.
It was launched about three years ago to help students in developmental, or noncredit, English classes.
August 25, 2009 Comments Off
TNCC Historic Triangle enrollment expected to blossom
Thomas Nelson Community College has conducted classes in various spaces around Williamsburg for a long time, but this fall it opens the first building on a permanent satellite campus there.
Tours are available to the public between now and Aug. 20. Classes start Aug. 22.
Future plans for the campus call for additional buildings if and when student enrollment demands it and state funds are available, said TNCC Historic Triangle Provost William Travis.
If trends hold, enrollment will continue to grow. Enrollment in classes conducted at the college’s Historic Triangle sites has steadily grown over the past three years, except for a slight drop from 738 students the spring semester of 2006 to 731 in the spring of 2007.
For the fall, 749 students were enrolled in 2006, 966 in 2007 and 1,117 in 2008.
In spring 2008, there were 850 students enrolled in classes, and that number rose to 1,102 this past spring. These numbers do not count students who are dual enrolled, which means they are high school students taking courses for college credit.
August 4, 2009 Comments Off
Steps simple to find help paying for community college
Applying for money to attend classes at Thomas Nelson Community College isn’t nearly as complicated as you might think, and there’s guidance available at every step, says Kathie Anderson.
Anderson’s the college’s director of financial aid, veterans’ affairs and scholarships. It’s where financial aid of all types stops and starts.
Anderson outlined the steps for a prospective student coming in with no money for classes. The goal is to exhaust every possible avenue for free money.
“The first thing we try to explain to students is it’s not that difficult if they follow the instructions,” Anderson said.
July 19, 2009 Comments Off
Community college officials thrilled with Obama proposal
Local community college presidents were as close to gushing as decorum allowed Wednesday and were still digesting the possibilities opened up by President Barack Obama’s proposal of increased funding for their schools a day earlier.
“We give him an A-plus,” said Deborah DiCroce, president of Tidewater Community College.
Continuing his attempts to bolster the sagging economy, Obama unveiled a plan Tuesday to infuse $12 billion into the country’s community colleges over the next 10 years. The “American Graduation Initiative” includes $9 billion in challenge grants to qualifying schools for new programs, or expanded training and counseling; $2.5 billion toward facilities renovation and construction; and $500 million for expansion of online education.
The president spoke of the importance of giving unemployed workers opportunities to be retrained for jobs that are in demand and of the increasing need for career and technical skills. His goal is for an additional 5 million community college graduates by 2020, which is on top of the approximately 6 million students who attend such classes.
July 16, 2009 Comments Off
