Cleveland State Community College Restructures Non-Credit Program With Lowe

  • Friday, September 18, 2015
Lee Ann Lowe has been hired as the continuing education coordinator at Cleveland State
Lee Ann Lowe has been hired as the continuing education coordinator at Cleveland State

The Cleveland State Community College Department of Continuing Education is in the process of restructuring its non-credit programs with the help of newly hired Continuing Education Coordinator Lee Ann Lowe.

Ms. Lowe, a Cleveland native and Cleveland State graduate, is a new, yet familiar face on campus. She previously served as coordinator for the Caring Place Sac Pac Program that is housed on the CSCC campus. Sac Pac is a program designed to provide food to Bradley County children that are at risk for hunger on the weekends. 

“My position at the Caring Place was part-time, and I was interested in a full-time position,” stated Ms. Lowe. “I saw this position, and it really interested me because I have wanted to work at Cleveland State since I received my associate’s degree.” 

Rick Creasy, executive director of Workforce Development and Continuing Education,  said, “We at Cleveland State are currently revamping our non-credit approach to focus more on the interests of the community, employers and alignment with the workforce needs. This includes non-credit courses that may help provide training or expansion of small business owners or entrepreneurs. We are excited to have Lee Ann as a member of our workforce development and continuing education team. As coordinator for the Caring Place, she successfully managed several complex projects and will bring these project management skills to CSCC.”  

According to Mr. Creasy, postsecondary non-credit education has become increasingly common with some colleges enrolling more non-credit than credit students. Much of the growth has occurred in workforce instruction and contract training offered by the community colleges. These programs are noted for their important role in meeting shifting workforce demands and providing skills in a way that is flexible and responsive to employer and community needs.  

As a local workforce development resource, community colleges serve many people seeking education for a variety of reasons and a wide range of industries needing employees at different skill levels. Non-credit students have diverse educational backgrounds and tend to be older and interested in gaining skills. To bring students interested in pursuing a degree into credit programs, the colleges use a variety of features, such as recruiting non-credit students to credit programs and developing linkages between non-credit and credit programs.  

In addition to meeting students’ and community needs, colleges seeks to meet specific employer needs at the state and local levels. Some have developed flexible ways to offer courses in response to employer demand, including Cleveland State. CSCC offers a variety of interactive courses that students can take over the internet through the “Ed2Go” program. All of these courses are led by expert instructors and according to Ms. Lowe, are “high quality, affordable, fast and convenient.” 

"Since I’ve been here, I have had nothing but positive feedback on these programs which are online through our website,” stated Ms. Lowe. Most are workforce development type classes, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Project Management, Grant Writing—that type of thing. We really want to gear our future classes toward workforce development to enhance and strengthen skills and abilities.” 

Ms. Lowe went on to state that many classes are online because of the changing times. “People are just drawn to online applications for everything—banking, purchasing, social media, etc. But, there are still people out there who are ‘anti-technology’ and would rather have the one on one, hands-on instruction. You still have that group of people who want a classroom setting and love the social aspect of getting to know people.” 

According to Ms. Lowe, CSCC offers the best of both worlds and are currently planning the Spring 2016 launch of their non-credit programs. For more information or to provide feedback regarding possible courses CSCC can offer in the future, contact Ms. Lowe at 473-2270. For a list of current Ed2Go options, visit the website at www.ed2go.com/clscc/.  

“I am really excited about my new position,” stated Ms. Lowe. “I care about this community, and Cleveland State has a lot to offer.”  

The Department of Continuing Education at Cleveland State Community College has several new classes for fall. The upcoming classes are as follows:  

Zumba
Back to School and back to the exercise routine. Ditch the work out and enroll in this non-credit class where every session feels like a party. The best part is you don’t even need to know how to dance.  Just move your body and follow the instructor’s lead.  It’s that easy. You’ll have a blast and get a great workout at the same time. This non-credit class starts on Monday, Sept. 21, and meets in Room G-118 of the L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium on Mondays and Thursdays from 6-7 p.m. Licensed Instructors Janet Conley and Regina Williams will lead this exciting six-week class (12 classes). The cost of the class is $60.  

David Medford Financial Planning Series
This is an on-campus three-course series instructed by financial planner, David Medford. The three courses include:
1. Financial Planning 101 “Savvy IRA Planning for Baby Boomers” (Tuesday, Sept. 22, 6-9 p.m.)
2. Financial Planning 102 “Understanding and Optimizing Your Social Security Benefit”  (Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6-9 p.m.)
3. Financial Planning 103 “Six Retirement Account Options Every Retiree Must Know” 
  (Tuesday, Nov. 17, 6-9 p.m.)
Each course will be held in Room 109 of the CSCC Library. During this three-course series, participants will learn a lot of valuable information including:
- How Social Security benefits are calculated
- Claiming Strategies to potentially increase your Social Security benefit
- What kind of Retirement Account is right for you
- How to optimize your IRA for retirement
- 7 strategies for Savvy IRA Planning
- 6 Roll Over options for your Retirement Plan Funds
- How to coordinate your IRA Planning with your overall Retirement, Estate, Tax, Education, Social Security, and Financial Plans
The cost for all three courses is $119. The cost for one course is $49.
David Medford has been in the financial planning business for 25 years. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Tennessee Technological University, he continued his commitment to expanding his expertise by earning the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC), and Chartered Financial Counselor (ChFC) designations. In 2001, he decided to concentrate his business in the area of retirement planning. He is a licensed investment advisor representative and life insurance agent. 

Bee Keeping Basics
This is a two-part course that will be offered at the CSCC Athens Center by Donald Williams. Williams has been keeping bees for 15 years. He has had up to 50 colonies at one time and essentially started his honey farm from scratch. By taking this course, students will learn first-hand from someone who is informed and passionate about beekeeping. Upon completion, students will have been provided with not only a working colony of bees, but also the education needed to become a successful beekeeper! Classes begin October 13 from 6-9 p.m. in the Workforce Development Room at the Athens Center. The cost for this two-part course is $225. 

The Basics of Selling on Ebay
Become a part of this growing market. Learn how to get started selling on eBay. Participants will learn how to set up a seller’s account, choose a selling format, select the item category, write item descriptions, upload pictures of sellable items, determine entry level pricing, shipping costs and payment methods. By completing the course, individuals will be proficient in selling on eBay. Ebay Education Specialist Steve Mills is the instructor for this class on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Room 113-115 of the Johnson Building.  

Parenting and Divorce Workshops
Classes for divorcing parents of minor children are offered on the Cleveland State campus on an on-going basis. These classes fulfill the requirements of the Tennessee Education Seminar Law for divorcing parents. Pre-registration and pre-payment is required. To register, visit the website at www.clevelandstatecc.edu.  

To be notified of new non-credit courses at Cleveland State, or for more information on continuing education opportunities, contact Continuing Education Coordinator Lee Ann Lowe by calling 473-2270 or email at llowe01@clevelandstatecc.edu.    

 

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