STLCC Receives #3.7 Million Education Grant

By Holly Shanks of the Forum

(from 2011 November Forum Issue)

  St. Louis Community College recently won a $3.7 million grant to help create and implement new training systems for education of healthcare informatics and therapeutic services.  As part of a larger $500 million community college career training grant announced by U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis and Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter.  

  The college expects to serve more than 1100 St. Louis area residents including a range of unemployed and under-employed workers, “We are absolutely excited about being on the cutting edge to help students get their healthcare credentials and get good jobs,” said Steve Long, Director of Workforce and Community Development.       

  The 3 year grant opens up the door to a training model with an innovative new approach. Long also said, “This is more than just a training program.”  STLCC will be part of building a “new box” to improve healthcare training methods and allow a higher number of people to move through the education process quicker and with a greater degree of retention.

  Missouri obtained a $20 million grant award from this Labor Department funding, from which STLCC will receive its funds called the MoHealthWINS grant.

  Governor Jay Nixon teamed with Missouri’s 12 community colleges and Linn State Technical College to establish training initiatives. The Missouri Department of Economic Development and Workforce Investment boards will collaborate with colleges to apply the federal grand funding.     

 An analysis from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center states that by 2025, the national nursing and healthcare support shortage could possibly grow to 1 million people.

  Several factors including aging of the baby boomer generation and lack of trained faculty contribute to the shortage in multiple areas of the healthcare industry.  Expanding education and offering training opportunities for individuals to enter the healthcare field is a step forward in alleviating the shortage.    

  STLCC will be on the front lines of transforming new standards for healthcare industry training and career pathways. Streamlining and improving the process for accelerated and easier ways for people to obtain degrees and certificates is a focal point of the new strategies.

  Highly targeted program steps such as “Healthcare Portals” will assist with basic skills instruction to advance students college preparedness and provide career exploration and coaching.

  “Boot Camps” will create an intensive, short term, learning process to help students with more challenging courses, such as chemistry and biology, mixing on-line and hybrid learning.

  Collective groups of students will go through classes together as “cohort-based learning communities” with “Career Pathway Coaches” acting as advisors and guides.   

  “Stackable credentials” will allow multiple entry points on the road from entry level to Associate Degree in Nursing, and a “newly created Medical Services Workforce Outsourcing Center” will assist students with various opportunities, such as internships. 

  The new processes will be implemented in stages. An official timeline has yet to be announced, but it is possible first stages will be seen by summer or fall of the 2012 semesters.   

  More information will be released in the near future about implementation and to detail requirements and eligibility.  At this time interested parties may call or leave a message referencing the MoHealthWINS grant with the “training hotline” at 314-539-5310.



Photos and Captions by Holly Shanks of the Forum



Global Classroom Club at FV

By Holly Shanks of the Forum 



Graphic design by Holly Shanks of the Forum



 Stepping onto a college campus for the first time can be a traumatic and exhilarating feeling for the young and not so young alike. If someone that is not a perpetual lone wolf comes to campus without any connections or acquaintances, one good idea would be to investigate what clubs or organizations are offered for student participation.

  Campus clubs offer a wide range of professional, academic and personal interest, such as, art, math and engineering, poetry, medical, deaf communications, future teachers, broadcasting, photography, political interest, religious interest, international culture, and even a Genshiken club and Tolkien Adventure Community. With the vast amount of diverseness there is enough variety that there is a little something for everyone, and all clubs and organizations have sponsors and advisors made up of staff and faculty from the college.   

  Joining campus clubs and organizations offer many benefits, such as networking with professionals through seminars, training sessions and activities. The opportunity to meet, spend time and connect with people that that share the same interest can offer a place to fit in and an anchor to campus that someone may never have had otherwise. The experience can be rewarding and create lifelong friendships. To find a complete listing of clubs at STLCC-FV campus visit www.stlcc.edu/FV/Campus_Life.html

  If anyone has an interest in global culture then the Global Classroom Club could be a good fit. The club is open to any student who would like to be part of a group that offers on-and-off campus learning experiences, such as visiting the Japanese festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, local museum exhibits, hosting global food tasting events for the FV campus, foreign language lessons and even travel to other countries to experience another culture first hand.

  Advisors for the Global Classroom Club Chris Stephens and Jeanne Florini explained that the club offers students opportunities and learning experiences to help them be better equipped to comfortably interact with a multi-cultural skill set while living in a growing international society and entering the workforce where employers have increasing concerns of global and cultural awareness in potential staff.  Students can also gain a better understanding of their own cultural heritages, as well as others, along with a different perspective on other people and alternate ways of doing things.  

  The club traveled to Italy this past March and visited places such as Pompeii, a city that was preserved in ash during the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. and      according to Stephens the club is planning an upcoming trip to Northern Italy. Along with the famous sights of Italy, he also likes to lead his students off the beaten path of the tourist trail to see, feel and observe local life and customs. This gives the students a healthy mix of the expected tourist sights and a look inside the “contemporary and historical culture of Italy and how they fuse together in the modern world.”

For more information on the Global Classroom Club and how to earn points for participation in the club’s activities that can help offset a percentage of travel cost for the club sponsored trip contact Chris Stephens at cstephens@stlcc.edu or Jeanne Florini at jflorini@stlcc.edu.

     STLCC offers many other opportunities for study abroad. Visit www.stlc.edu/programs/study_abroad.com to learn more.