President Barack Obama”™s proposed $12 billion funding plan for two-year schools could become a bridge in the void between demand for higher education and the realities of a sunken job market.
At Westchester Community College in Valhalla, more than 12,000 students could benefit from federal funding for work force placement and preparatory programs.
“Community colleges have historically provided education and training leading to direct support for local industries,” said Joseph Hankin, president of Westchester Community College. “President Obama has recognized our mission with this new proposal. I hope that his plan will result in an expansion of resources for our institution as we continue to impact the economy by educating tomorrow’s work force today.”
The American Graduation Initiative has a stated goal of producing an additional 5 million community college graduates by 2020.
In a Council of Economic Advisors”™ report, a shift in the U.S. labor market toward jobs requiring greater analytical and interactive skills is imminent.
Jobs requiring at least an associate degree should grow twice as fast as jobs only requiring a high school education, it reported.
Â
“The president talked about jobs for the future and there are a couple of new things we”™ve done,” said Patrick Hennessey, WCC spokesman. “We have a new program in computer security and forensics, which specifically relates to jobs in that industry. Over the last few years, we”™ve expanded the nursing program, which is an area with real need. There are students working during the day that can take classes at night.”
Hennessey said the school is expecting an “extraordinary influx of students” this fall.
Â
In addition to more classes, the federal investment initiative would provide grant money for: job readiness programs, campus construction and renovations as well as development of online courses.
Norwalk (Conn.) Community College President David Levinson said in terms of enrollment, “We are about 15 percent ahead of last year. We are clearly having a bounty number of students.”
Where federal funding could impact capital projects, Levinson noted the school is this fall breaking ground on a $40 million, 55,000-square-foot science and health center.
More than half of the funds will come from the state of Connecticut and the remainder from the school”™s foundation.
He said it will allow the school to increase the size of the nursing program, which “has a long waiting list,” among other programs.
Though Levinson pinned the recession as an underlying cause of growth in enrollment, he said people could be looking for an alternative to four-year schools for the diversity in courses offered.
“A lot of people are going into the paralegal program and some (into) liberal arts and general studies,” he said. “Because of the restructuring of financial services, there are career changers and people who want to start over.”
Â
At SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge, President Donald Katt said that community colleges contribute to economic recovery and any way to become more productive is an added bonus.
Â
He cited how federal aid could abet a broader concern.
“Ulster County legislation is concerned about the budget and sales tax revenues have dropped,” Katt said. “We have a $73 million master plan over 10 years and the county and state both pay half. The county has to come up with $35 or $36 million over the next 10 years. If we can get federal aid, that would really help. Even $1 million from the federal government could help with some of our building programs.”
Like Westchester and Norwalk, Katt said SUNY Ulster”™s nursing program is one of the most popular and would benefit from federal aid.
“We”™ll see how it (the money) ends up being distributed and we”™ll apply as soon as an announcement is made,” Katt said.
“There will be a request for proposals in a competitive fashion based on the capacity of institutions for degree completion and programs,” Levinson said. “Things are still filtering through, but I think we”™ll see more activity in the coming months.”
