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TCC PILOTS INNOVATIVE INDUSTRY
CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
To focus on seniors with no plans for college
NORFOLK, Va. – (April 12, 2004) – Planning a career
for post-high school will become a little easier for 100 or so
seniors in South Hampton Roads this summer.
As a part of Gov. Mark Warner’s Education for a Lifetime
initiative, Tidewater Community College has begun a pilot program
with up to 27 South Hampton Roads high schools for select seniors
interested in industry certification. (To date, 18 schools have
signed on.)
The pilot program at TCC – one of four launch sites in the
state – will start in June with approximately 100 just-graduated
students from Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia
Beach schools. The statewide head count will be at least 200 and
will multiply many times over as it expands later this spring to
include next-year seniors.
Students, selected by counselors at their high schools, can choose
from 13 TCC programs. They must complete the Senior Year Plus,
Path to Industry Certification program at TCC within nine months
of graduation.
“This is a critical time to educate our youth who want to
step into good jobs through certification, simultaneously addressing
industry workforce needs. Clearly, this is a forte of community
colleges,” says TCC President Deborah M. DiCroce. “We’re
pleased to apply TCC’s long-held expertise in career preparation
to this important program for select high-school seniors who may
lack the skills needed to enter the 21st century workforce.
“The Industry Certification program will give these students
impetus to earn their diploma and immediately follow through on
a certification path, with no tuition costs to them,” adds
DiCroce.
The program requires students and their parents to sign a Student
Compact. The compact states that the student will complete high
school and then enroll in technical training to acquire the appropriate
skills and certifications to enter a career. Students also complete
an “interest inventory” to best match a certification
program with what they enjoy doing.
Industry certification curricula in which selected seniors can
enroll at TCC – all established programs – include
real estate, nurse aide, emergency medical technician, greenhouse
operator, automotive, restaurant operations, lodging management,
welding, computer graphics programs: Photoshop and Fireworks, IC3,
and Microsoft Office specialist. TCC will provide career counseling
throughout the program.
“
Building on the launch this summer, we expect the number to more
than double at TCC next year,” predicts Diann Holt, associate
vice president for occupational/technical education at TCC and
coordinator of the pilot program at the college. Holt worked intensely
with TCC academic divisions to select best-fit curricula for high
school seniors, many with little or no training in their respective
certification program.
Participating high schools responded enthusiastically, says Holt.
Interested juniors and seniors should contact their school counselors.
The high schools taking part as of April 1:
·
Chesapeake – Great Bridge, Indian River, Hickory
·
Norfolk – Lake Taylor, Maury, Norview
·
Portsmouth – Churchland, I.C. Norcom, Woodrow Wilson
·
Suffolk – Lakeland
·
Virginia Beach – Bayside, Floyd Kellam, First Colonial, Frank
Cox, Green Run, Kempsville, Landstown, Salem
The other three Virginia community colleges piloting the program
are Danville Community College, New River Community College and
Patrick Henry Community College. Five more colleges will join the
pilot as it expands to include next-year seniors.
“The Governor’s Path to Industry Certification provides
a tremendous career opportunity that can lead to more focused,
productive and fulfilling lives for Virginia’s students,” says
Bob Almond, director of career and technical education services,
Virginia Department of Education. “The dedication of counselors,
career and technical education professionals, and community college
coordinators to this initiative has been impressive.”
To learn more about Gov. Warner’s Education for a Lifetime
initiative, visit http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Initiatives/Ed4Life/index.htm.
MEDIA NOTE: TCC will host information sessions
for parents and students who have been selected, April 19 at the
Chesapeake Campus
and April 20 at the Advanced Technology Center, Virginia Beach
Campus. Students will have the opportunity to talk with TCC faculty
members and counselors as well as complete college application
and registration forms. For more information and interview sources,
contact Laurie White:
Laurie White |
Media Relations |
757-822-1085 |
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Tidewater Community College is the second largest
of the 23 community colleges in the Commonwealth of Virginia, enrolling
more than 34,000 students annually. The 37 th largest in the nation’s
1,600 community-college network, TCC ranks among the 50 fastest-growing
large community colleges. Founded in 1958 as a part of the Virginia
Community College System, the college serves the South Hampton Roads
region with campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia
Beach as well as the TCC Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts
Center in the theater district in downtown Norfolk, the Visual Arts
Center in Olde Towne Portsmouth and a regional Advanced Technology
Center in Virginia Beach. Forty-three percent of the region’s residents
attending a college or university in Virginia last fall were enrolled
at TCC.
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