This article is from the Press Enterprise. 

“Community colleges are poised to take a greater role in providing job training as more federal money becomes available to return the unemployed to the workplace.

“The Riverside Community College District got $660,000 in stimulus cash to employ youths during the summer and expects millions more to expand programs. Mt. San Jacinto College expects nearly $1 million to expand programs, including those for alternative fuel mechanics and water technicians.

“And a grant of about $870,000 that was awarded to the San Bernardino Community College District on Friday for green job training is partially funded by stimulus dollars.”

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This article is from WDBO Local News. 

“Seminole Community College taught its first online class in 1996 — to four students.  Today, over 4,000 are logging on to their lessons.

“SCC officials say enrollment since last fall has increased by 27%, spurred no doubt by the desire of some people to improve their job prospects in this economy.

“The phenomenal growth in SCC’s online classes is a direct reaction to student demand, Distance Learning Services Manager Wilma Hodges says.

“‘It’s easier for students to work them into their schedules.’”

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This article is from the Daily Globe.

“Faced with ever-expanding technology, many of today’s grandparents and greatgrandparents are learning to do things a little bit differently than they may have in the past.

“Instead of writing out checks, they are using cash cards. Instead of referencing the card catalog at the library, they are looking information up on computers. And instead of writing letters, they are sending e-mails and keeping tabs on family through social networking sites such as Facebook.

“For some people over the age of 55, computers have even become an avenue for them to take collegelevel coursework.

“District 518 Community Education has made it possible not just for seniors, but people of any age, to expand their knowledge through online educational courses. The classes require computer access, but allow participants the opportunity to learn on their own schedule.”

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This article is from Time.

“Community colleges are deeply unsexy. This fact tends to make even the biggest advocates of these two-year schools — which educate nearly half of U.S. undergraduates — sound defensive, almost a tad whiny. ‘We don’t have the bands. We don’t have the football teams that everybody wants to boost,’ says Stephen Kinslow, president of Texas’ Austin Community College (ACC). ‘Most people don’t understand community colleges very well at all.’ And by ‘most people,’ he means the graduates of fancy four-year schools who get elected and set budget priorities.

“Many politicians and their well-heeled constituents may be under the impression that a community college — as described in a promo for NBC’s upcoming comedy Community — is a ‘loser college for remedial teens, 20-something dropouts, middle-aged divorcées and old people keeping their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity.’ But there’s at least one Ivy Leaguer who is trying to help Americans get past the stereotypes and start thinking about community college not as a dumping ground but as one of the best tools the U.S. has to dig itself out of the current economic hole. His name: Barack Obama.”

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This article is from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“There was near-universal praise last week as President Obama announced a plan to spend an unprecedented $12-billion over 10 years to improve programs, courses, and facilities at community colleges. The money, the president said, will position two-year institutions to produce five million more graduates over the next decade and to play a leading role in rebuilding the economy.

“But after the dazzle of the dollars dims — along with the novelty of the presidential spotlight on what even Mr. Obama called the ’stepchild of the higher-education system’ — many questions will remain: How will the grants be awarded? Can the administration ensure that community colleges will, as the president proposes, help workers learn the ’skills they need to fill the jobs of the future,’ instead of preparing them for professions of the past? And is a brand-new grant program the most effective way of achieving Mr. Obama’s ambitious goals?

“After all, Mr. Obama’s proposal is just that, a proposal, and how the measure, which was included in a broader higher-education bill introduced the day after the president’s announcement, takes shape as it moves through the legislative process will very likely determine its efficacy.”

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This article is from the Boston Globe.

“THIS WEEK, President Obama unveiled a multibillion-dollar proposal to boost enrollment in the nation’s community colleges. His plan seeks to graduate 5 million more Americans from two-year colleges by 2020, and follows a more sweeping goal he announced during his first address to Congress in February: for America to once again have the highest number of college graduates in the world by 2020.

“While some will question whether these prospective students are ready for college, many of us in higher education are asking ourselves: Are we ready?

“In the months following the president’s congressional speech, there has been spirited debate in the education community about whether or not the president’s goal is attainable. A member of a federal commission on higher education called it “sheer fantasy.’’ Others have said the deadline should be pushed from 2020 to 2025.”

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This article is from the New York Times.

“President Obama plans to head to hard-hit Michigan on Tuesday afternoon to announce a $12 billion infusion for the nation’s community college system, part of his efforts to ease the considerable pain of the still-sagging economy.

“In a conference call with reporters Monday, education officials said $2.5 billion of the new funds would go toward new community college facilities, with the rest going to an assortment of grants designed to boost graduation rates and encourage the teaching of skills that will better prepare students for jobs in a changing economy that is increasingly demanding a more highly educated workforce.

“Mr. Obama will make his announcement in Warren, Michigan, a hub of the auto industry that has been hit hard by the economic slow down and the administration-sponsored overhauls of General Motors and Chryslers, which have brought heavy layoffs from plant and dealership closings.”

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This article is from Examiner.com.

“The U.S. Department of Education, Center for Technology in Learning, recently released their latest report ‘Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies‘.

“The findings revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction. In addition, they identified that learners in the online environment spent more time performing a task than student’s offline. The research focused on the K-12 environment, but the findings are interesting for online education as a whole.

“This report is a milestone in the continuing search to validate the online learning environment. CSU Global Campus students have said that they prefer the online classroom not just because they save time by not driving to a campus, but because they can spend more time on the actual course work since it can be completed at any time of the day that is convenient for them. They are particularly impressed at how quickly their communication skills have improved, which is a skill set that can be readily applied to their day-to-day job.”

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This article is from eLearners.com.

“In an effort to educate, empower and employ adult Americans, the national Career Stimulus Package campaign will launch in Denver, Colorado on Friday, June 12, 2009.  The Career Stimulus Package is a direct answer to the need for adult Americans to retool their skills for future job and career opportunities.  The campaign will offer more than 100 full-tuition scholarships worth more than $4 million, job shadowing programs at some of America’s most innovative companies and a 38-city Empowerment Tour across the country offering free career counseling services and fund-raising for additional adult-driven scholarship dollars.

“The Career Stimulus Package and Empowerment Tour is the convergence of forces between eLearners.com and Flavia Colgan to help American adults kick-start their careers through education.  Colgan, a passionate advocate for education over the past decade, served as the first woman and youngest Chief of Staff in the country for Pennsylvania’s Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll.  Most recently, she has appeared as a correspondent and commentator on several national TV networks including CBS, MSNBC and FOX.  Colgan and eLearners.com have joined forces with the help of participating schools and companies to help working adults overcome the barriers of time, money and confidence in pursuing education and retool their skills for the future.”

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Your license, job or a raise may depend on earning continuing education units (CEUs) but most people simply don’t have the time for courses. Now you can earn those units with on line courses from home in your pajamas.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, May 16, 2009 ) Fort Lauderdale, FL - More education? Wait a minute! You’ve already earned your degree, and you’re ready to get established in your new career and start having a social life again. The thought of going back to school even to earn an online degree makes you shudder. And then you find out that your employer or professional license has a continuing education requirement.

Before you panic at the thought of spending your vacation time traveling to seminars trying to get the necessary education hours, relax. You can meet all of these requirements through distance learning programs, without ever setting foot outside your home. Instead, keep your job and meet licensing requirements at home ñ you don’t even have to worry about what to wear.

When most people think of distance learning, they think of online degree programs such as Bachelor or Master’s Degrees. These programs offer excellent opportunities to finish a college education and earn a degree. Many distance learning universities, though, also realize that sometimes people only need short-term courses for certification or continuing education units.

Some of these non-degree programs offer certificate studies programs, such as a tax preparer’s certificate. Others offer special certifications to people who have already earned their degrees. Many others, though, are specially tailored to offer continuing education credits.

Continuing education credits usually offer a certain number of units, or contact hours. After studying the material, learners are usually required to complete a test. After passing the test, learners receive a certificate from the university or program offering the course. This certificate proves that the learner has successfully completed the required continuing education to earn the units or hours offered by the program.

Many employers offer at least partial repayment for the cost of continuing education, but education seminars can be expensive. When you count the travel cost, as well as meals and hotel stays, you may find that you save hundreds of dollars by choosing the distance learning option. Check with your organization to see if it supports distance learning continuing education the money you can save will be almost like getting a raise.

Be sure you know what your continuing education requirements are, and choose a traditional seminar or online non-degree program that meets these requirements. Sometimes, certain seminars or programs won’t meet your needs. It’s up to you to know what you need, so educate yourself before you start. Then sit back and enjoy the luxury of meeting your job requirements while you’re sitting at home in your pajamas.

Career Consulting International
Sheila Danzig
Tel: 1.800.771.4723