Cleveland State Community College will be offering certificates in Electrical Maintenance at the Athens Center and Electrical Maintenance and Welding Technology at its new Monroe County Center this fall. Although these cohorts were offered last year at the Athens Center, CSCC has expanded its technology certificate offerings to the new Monroe County Center.
These cohorts were made possible through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Grant for Innovation and Training in Workforce Readiness Programs the college received last year. The grant totaled approximately $100,000 with the college matching funds. The overall purpose of the ARC Grant was to enhance workforce skills through training and education and to maintain collaborative relationships between training institutions and businesses to improve workforce readiness.
“We are excited to be able to meet workforce demands by offering these technology certificates in our northern region,” said Patty Weaver, director of Off Campus Sites. According to Ms. Weaver, the students who started the certificates in January will be completing in August—making them the first cohort class in technology to graduate from an off-campus site.
“The grant allowed the CSCC Business and Technology Division to develop an innovative project at the Athens Center that engaged students through using 'hands-on' workforce simulations combined with online virtual textbooks for the technology cohort programs,” said Susan Webb-Curtis, dean of Business and Technology. “We plan to continue the work we started with the ARC Grant by using these same technology purchases to sustain the efforts the grant started.”
The ARC Grant is assisting the college with a goal in the new 2020 Community First Strategic Plan that states “CSCC will establish the Athens Center as the northern hub of Cleveland State.”
The certificates will be offered through Advance, Cleveland State’s block scheduling format, which offers working adults a convenient way to obtain a college certificate or degree by taking classes with the same core group of students, or cohort. Students will also know their scheduling up front for the entire program. They will be able to network with other students and professionals along the way. The courses in these certificate programs will also apply to an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Industrial Technology.
For more information about the technology certificates, contact Tim Wilson, Technology instructor/department chair, at (423) 473-2447 or email advance_technical@clevelandstatecc.edu.