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| At Patrick Henry Community College |
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer
A new certificate program for college transfer students is being developed at Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC).
The certificate in general education is to be granted beginning next fall. It targets dual enrollment students who take college-level courses while still in high school to get a jump start on earning a bachelor’s degree from a four-year college, according to PHCC Public Relations Director Kris Landrum.
But anyone who meets the requirements can receive the certificate.
PHCC’s board on Monday approved the certificate program in a unanimous vote. But the college also must get approval from the Virginia Community College System and the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia before the certificate can be conferred, said board member Judy Tomczak.
That is likely, officials indicated, because most Virginia community colleges already are conferring the certificate or are in the process of getting approval to confer it. Many such colleges nationwide are offering it, said Nolan Browning, PHCC’s vice president for academic and student development services.
Many students transfer to a four-year college after they earn an associate degree — also informally called a “two-year degree” — from PHCC, but some transfer before meeting all of the requirements for such a degree.
For students in the latter category, the certificate would be recognition of their education at PHCC.
The certificate is designed to be earned over two semesters. It would be a credential showing that students “have successfully completed a course of study” enabling them to be ready for higher-level courses, Landrum said.
She said the certificate could help students get into a four-year college. At the least, those aiming to go straight from high school to a four-year college “will be better prepared” because they already would have some experience with college-level classes, she added.
Browning said the certificate could be particularly useful to students who want to transfer without having decided on a major.
To earn the certificate, students would need a minimum of 31 credit hours of courses. They would have to take a college survival skills class, as well as two college transfer-level English composition, math, history and laboratory science courses and a social science course.
Basically, that is the equivalent of the first year of study in an associate degree program at PHCC, a report provided to the board shows.
Associate degree programs still will be available for students who want to pursue one, regardless of whether they plan to transfer to another college, Landrum said. She said she thinks the certificate will not deter students from pursuing an associate degree because if they really want the degree, they will earn it.
A degree carries more weight in the realm of academics than a certificate, she noted.
Also Monday, the college’s board learned that PHCC so far has received $24,670.50 of the $105,430 it is expecting to receive from localities it serves for the fiscal year that started July 1.
This fiscal year, the college expects to receive $55,229 from Henry County, $20,725 from Martinsville, $15,786 from Patrick County and $13,690 from Franklin County.
As of Sept. 30, Martinsville had paid in full and Patrick County had made a quarterly payment of $3,946.50, a document shows.
Each locality pays in different ways, according to Vice President for Financial and Administrative Services Ron Epperly. He said he anticipates full payments from Henry County next June and from Franklin County in early 2010.
PHCC officially serves the southern half of Franklin County. Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke serves the northern half, Landrum said.
The board also learned that:
• Incidents of the flu among PHCC employees and students seem to have waned recently, according to Vice President for Institutional Advancement Natalie Harder.
However, influenza seems not to have been a big problem so far at PHCC. Landrum said she has been made aware of only four employees and several students being absent due to having illnesses they thought were flu.
No such absences were reported during the past week, she said.
To try and stop the spread of flu, housekeeping and facilities maintenance employees are doing more cleaning and sanitizing than usual, Harder said.
• PHCC officials are in the process of preparing a strategic plan for the college through 2015.
Harder said they hope the plan will be finished by March. |
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