Colleges use stimulus funds in different ways
By Carisa Chappell, Published January 5, 2010

As the spring semester begins, states and students bring in the New Year by benefiting from the federal stimulus grants awarded to community colleges. These grants are having an impact on the communities that received federal funds for activities such as training for jobs that are in demand, reducing tuition increases and limiting program cuts, as well as funding innovative new programs.

While portions of the funds that community colleges received have had a direct impact on students in terms of creating jobs or new training programs, the effect of other stimulus-funded projects are more subtle but just as important. They include retaining faculty, filling budget shortfalls and updating or repairing buildings to accommodate soaring enrollments at community colleges.

In Arizona, Yavapai, Pima, Grahm, Mohave and Cochise community colleges are sharing $9 million of federal stimulus funds, while the Maricopa Community College District (MCCD), one of the largest community college systems in the country, will receive $15.1 million.

The colleges will use the funds to offset state budget shortfalls, and therefore stave off personnel cuts, limit tuition increases and create jobs.

Community colleges in Maine face another problem that many other two-year colleges are confronting: aging facilities. It’s become especially important as enrollments have significantly increased during the economic downturn.

The Maine Community Colleges System is tapping its $7.7 million grant to make infrastructure improvements that could help save them money in energy costs. Some of the primary needed repairs and renovations include replacing aging HVAC systems, roofs, windows and doors, and boilers and burners, said Helen Pelletier, the system’s director of public relations. In addition to cost savings, the repairs will allow the college to use buildings that have been unsuitable for use yearround to help accommodate enrollment growth, she said.

“In most cases, the stimulus funds are covering the full cost of projects and making them possible,” Pelletier said, noting that it helps mitigate the need to increase tuition and fees to pay for essential repairs or renovations.   

A bulk of the stimulus funds has gone to job training for both new and displaced workers.  That’s the focus of the “JobsNow: 12 in 6,” a series of initiative developed by community colleges in North Carolina to meet local and regional labor demands. With $13.4 million in federal stimulus funds, the colleges are training students in 12 diverse occupational areas in which short-term training can be provided in less than six months. The areas include nursing assistant, phlebotomy, hospital billing, plumbing, food service and manufacturing.

The 12-in-6 model examines how colleges can package an accelerated program to help displaced works though a difficult labor market, according to Bill Randall, associate vice president for Learning Technology Systems with the North Carolina Community College System.

“A year ago this time, we had the worst swing in unemployment and have been facing a tremendous number of layoffs,” Randall said.

With an array of different local industries across the state, community colleges can select industry sectors that fit their local needs, Randall said. For example, construction in Fayetteville, N.C., where Fort Brag is located, is big, so that is what the area community colleges are focusing on.

The initiatives appear to be working, Randall said.

“We have more than 700 people who have been given career readiness certificates in the first three months, and we track it very diligently,” he said.

In Ohio, Owens Community College received its largest ever single grant with a $1.9 million federal stimulus grant to expand training opportunities for unemployed workers. The focus is on high-growth and high-demand occupations that include green jobs, health care and construction-based industries.

The college is partnering with the Lucas County Board of Commissioners through a one-stop job center and will provide job training in six months time or less for certain in-demand jobs. Participants will receive industry-recognized certification upon completion of the program.

In California, San Mateo County Community College, City College of San Francisco and the Peralta Community College districts are among 11 recipients of a $931,087 stimulus award. They will use the funds to launch regional green job corps demonstration programs throughout the state to help 1,500 at-risk young adults find jobs in the new green economy.

All programs will be public-private partnerships that include green job training, a stipend, an educational requirement and community service. The state program is modeled after the Oakland Green Job Corps program designed by the nonprofit Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in 2008.

Community colleges will play a large role in the career and technical education aspect of green jobs, so it was critical to include them as partners, said Ian Kim, Green Collar Jobs campaign director for the Ella Baker Center and coordinator for the California Green Stimulus Coalition. The center partners with several community colleges, including Laney College, which is already a leader in green training programs, Kim said.  

The grant is the largest single green job training fund ever in California, Kim said.

“Of the $787 billion in stimulus funds nationally, $40 billion was dedicated to clean energy and energy efficiency,” Kim said.  “Green jobs training is definitely picking up, and there’s no shortage of people in need of training.”

Another focus of the effort is to work with companies to create green-collar jobs and to ensure that they offer a competitive pay in an upwardly mobile career.  

“We are very involved in pushing for job quality standards as well,” he said. “We don’t want solar sweatshops.” 

The promise of green jobs and a revamped economy that will rely more on alternative energy has more community colleges zeroing their resources on providing training for skills needed to support that industry.  J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (Virginia), for example, is using a $720,000 stimulus grant to develop five courses that focus on fuel-cell and electric and plug-in vehicles, which are not offered in traditional college automotive programs, according to industry experts. In order to reach students nationally the courses will be provided through distance learning.