Bell students agree:"Stay With UK"
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by Jamie Raines Question: Should community colleges be removed from the University of Kentucky? Answer: A resounding NO! While there is some disagreement, the majority of students surveyed on the Bell County campus of Southeast Community College felt that community colleges should indeed remain a part of the UK system. The overall concern seemed to be the quality of resources that would or would not be available if Southeast were a separate entity. "A lot of the research and work I do here is on the Internet," one student said. "I wonder if we would be able to afford the great computer services we enjoy here at Southeast without being a part of UK." Other students expressed concerns about the financial portion of the argument. "I just don't feel that it would benefit us that much to change," a freshman said. "The UK system is working for us and others right now. It's like the old saying-- if it ain't broke, don't fix it." This sentiment is echoed through the majority. As far as the Bell County campus is concerned. we are better off staying under the umbrella of UK.
By Eddie Day Southeast Community College has suffered yet another decrease in enrollment, with a drop this year by 4.8 percent, compared to an even larger decrease of 10.9 percent in 1995. According to Joetta Gist, administrative assistant in the Registrar's office, approximately 2239 students attend Southeast Community College, including the Cumberland, Whitesburg, and Bell County campuses. SECC once enjoyed an entire decade of growth; from 1984 through 1994, SECC's enrollment almost tripled. In recent years, however, this trend has halted. When questioned as to why this has happened, Bruce Ayers, President of Southeast Community College, gave two reasons. "Population losses in our three-county service area of Bell, Harlan, and Letcher have been among the most drastic in the state," said Ayers. "In fact, percentage-wise, Harlan County had the greatest population loss in the state during the 1980s -almost 13 percent". Still another reason for the decrease of enrollment is tuition costs. "We have lost more part-time than full-time students," said Ayers. "Most part-time students are not on financial aid and have to pay their tuition and fees out of their pockets, not including the technology fee." According to Ayers, SECC is reviewing its mission, goals, and vision statement to update the strategic plan to maximize enrollment; the enrollment decrease should have no effect on tuition.
by Eddie Day Rebecca Shelby was all smiles when she was crowned Miss Southeast Community College 1997 Saturday evening, February 15th, in the theater of the Appalachian Arts Center. Shelby also received the talent award for her gymnastics performance set to an Arabian Nights theme. "I was shocked, I was just so shocked," Shelby said. "This is the first pageant I've ever been in, and, if it wasn't for Jennifer Carter, my best friend, I just don't know what I would have done." Shelby, a freshman political science and spanish major at the Bell County campus, is the daughter of Roy Jr. and Georgianna Shelby of Pineville. She will receive a full tuition scholarship and will represent SECC in the Mountain Laurel Festival in Pineville in May and at the University of Kentucky Homecoming next fall in Lexington. Other winners in the pageant were first runner-up Rachel Lynn Standridge, a merchandise marketing major from the Cumberland campus. Standridge, who was also named Miss Congeniality, is the daughter of Gary and JoAnn Standridge of Cumberland. Standridge performed a pop/rock dance routine for her talent. Second runner-up was Chaka Woodberry, a biology and pre-medicine major from the Cumberland campus. Woodberry is the daughter of Mary Ravizee of Cumberland and did a vocal performance of "Have I Never" for the talent competition. Contestants met a regimen of strict eligibility requirements upon entering the contest. Among these were a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.5 or better and enrollment as a full-time student at Southeast Community College. Contestants were judged in four areas: talent, on-stage question, evening gown, and a personal interview with the judges. The five judges were Anissa Alred, a local educator and cheerleading coach and first runner-up in the 1992 Miss SECC Pageant; Tamatha Boggs Banks, of the Jenny Lea Academy of Cosmetology in Whitesburg; Parker Boggs, a Harlan lawyer with Buttermore, Turner, and Boggs; and Susannah Walters and M.K. Combs of WYMT-TV in Hazard. Other contestants in the pageant were Wendy Nicole Blair, Sammy Yolanda Creech, Amelia Goins, Teresa Huff, and Veronica Shackleford, all from the Cumberland campus; and Erica Hodges, Keli Ryan Lail, and Amy Lynn Polly from the Bell County campus. The Southeasterner would like to congratulate Rebecca Shelby and the other contestants for a job well done.
by Melissa McCreary Paul Pratt, coordinator of SECC's Rural Community College Initiative, and Dr. Roy Silver, RCCI team leader, appeared on the television program "Issues and Answers" on WYMT-TV, channel 57, on Feb. 2. Pratt and Silver discussed the Southeast Community College Small Business Loan Fund, the availability of scholarships for at-risk students, and the Harlan County United Leadership Academy. Southeast Community College president Dr. Bruce Ayers was interviewed during halftime of the Feb. 4 Kentucky game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Ayers, who has been SECC president since 1987, discussed a recent newspaper commentary he wrote promoting his belief as to why the statewide community college system should remain under the jurisdiction of the University of Kentucky. The interview was aired over the Kentucky Basketball Radio network.
by Bethsheba V. Hollon SECC's Adult Education Program is giving new hope for better futures to its students. According to Southeast's Dr. Karl Winegardner, Adult Education Director, the program has three levels. The first level is literacy, in which instructors teach the students on a one on one basis. Next, is the ABE stage, which is taught on a fourth to ninth grade level. Finally, the highest step is GED courses. Winegardner explained, "some students simply need to be taught one on one, for reasons of learning problems or even learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. And some students have just realized that they need to change their lives for the better and get back in school." Dr Winegardner related stories of some students who have benefited from the program. According to Winegardner, there was one middle aged female student who began her education by enrolling in literacy classes--she is now a regular SECC college student. The student was around 35 years old, a mother of two, and had been divorced twice, and she had kept her illiteracy a secret, even from both of her ex-husbands. The day finally came when her children realized their mother could not read, and that's when she began attending literacy classes given by SECC. Winegardner also told me of a middle aged male student who has an opportunity to better his life. This student was working a low-paying job but had a chance to apply for higher position in which he would receive higher wages. However, when he went to apply for the job, he couldn't because he had not graduated from high school. He then took the necessary steps to earn his GED and will now be able to apply for the position. There are also stories of students who began their college career enrolled in literacy classes and are now enrolled in SECC's nursing program, which has a reputation for being one of the most difficult programs offered by the college. According to Winegardner, Adult Education programs are offered in Bledsoe, Evarts, Cawood, Loyall, Cumberland, Ages, and Harlan, in addition to classes held at SECC's Whitesburg and Bell County campuses. The classes are free of charge and open to anyone 17 years of age or older. For information contact SECC, at 589-2145 in Cumberland or 573-9654 in the Harlan area.
by Terry Day With distance learning sure to become a major part of education in the twenty-first century, a look into what it may be like and how it may change the complexion of obtaining an education is not only in order, but, a prudent step in planning for our future as well as that of our young. James Wilde is the coordinator of the Kentucky Appalachian Telecommunications Consortium, a project that is conducting a comprehensive survey of telecommunications capabilities and challenges in the hills and hollows of the region. He is also Assistant Professor of Communications at Southeast Community College. He serves as a regional consultant about Information Technology issues, and conducts training in the use of video and the internet in the classroom. Mr. Wilde created and developed the telecommunications plan for the Center for Rural Development, and provided the initial plan for the design of its facilities. He serves as the chair of the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the Appalachian Advisory Council, and is working with local area development districts in telecommunications projects. Mr. Wilde has been a teacher in higher education since 1984. He also volunteers in area schools to help acquaint teachers with the possibilities of the Information Age. He received his Bachelors Degree in Communications from Appalachian State University in 1983, and his Masters Degree in Communications from the University of Kentucky in 1985. The following is an interview with Mr. Wilde conducted via e-mail: Q. What role will distance learning fill in higher education's near future? J.W. "It will fill a number of roles. Community Colleges have a dual mission: Education, and Community Service, or Economic Development. In the education field, Distance Education will serve three immediate functions. First, it will let geographically distant campuses of the same institution ( such as SECC) to network its faculty and students. There are times when a course cannot be offered because there are not enough students on any one campus to justify its inclusion on the schedule, though there are enough on all three campuses. By offering one course that's electronically taught on all three campuses, this barrier is overcome. Secondly, there will be times when a course's depth can be strengthened by interactive video sessions. For instance, a sociology course may include a video-conference with someone in Washington (congressman, secretary of a cabinet, ect.), or allow members of the class to remotely attend a session of a national professional convention. Finally, coursework beyond the two-year degree limit of the community college will be able to be offered from other colleges and universities. It is already possible elsewhere to earn bachelors, and even graduate degrees by interactive video, it's our hope to be able to offer this service in the future." Q.What do you expect the typical classroom to look like in the year 2030? J. W., "That's a tough one. Technology will have changed exponentially by then, while its cost will have shrunken to an equal extent. What is plain is that it will be completely integrated into every aspect of life. The classroom itself will be fundamentally different. What will be the same is full interaction. Many doomsayers fear the concept that the classroom will disappear, replaced by individual interaction from the home. This, I feel, will not happen. There is a peculiar chemistry that happens when a group of individuals interact for the purpose of learning new ideas and creating new thoughts. There is just no substitute for the communications context we call the classroom. Yet, in that classroom, there will be fundamental differences as well. Walls that have limited our scope in the past will become electronic windows, allowing the classroom to become a laboratory of exploration. The closest analogy might be the holodeck popularized in the Star Trek series. While we are a long way from technology that advanced, it is not inconceivable that English students may find themselves sitting in the Globe Theater, or that Microbiology students may find a molecule floating in the middle of their classroom that they interact with in real time. In addition, the development of what we currently call the Internet will forever banish the concept of classroom as room. Interaction between places will become the norm in the education arena. It should be noted that technophobia will no longer become a factor. Just as the average person never thinks about how to use their toaster today, the student of tomorrow will find the technology a non- issue. It will simply do what we want and demand little or nothing from us in the way of operational skill. Q. How will the class be structured? J. W., "The teacher will become less of the sage on stage, and more of the chief student in the classroom. The days where a teacher can ask the student to see them as the sole source for knowledge are dead and buried... there is no way anyone can hope to keep up with the explosion of knowledge in any field, much less in the explosion of knowledge about how to get it. The teacher's role will be to guide the students search for knowledge, and then provide perspective on what they find. For instance, Pierre Salinger just learned the hard way that something isn't credible just because its on the net. How will students know how to evaluate what they find, put it into perspective, extrapolate seemingly unconnected pieces of information to find the meeting points? That'll be the teacher's job. Fact is, it has always been the teachers job, but we've had to spend most of our time just supplying information. Now, the Information Age will take this burden out of our hands... the Net will supply the information, we'll supply the education. And no, the two are not the same. Q. Will new technology allow students to tailor classes to their own speed? J.W., "Yes. There will be no lessening of what is expected from the student. What will change is the time frame. The notion that a degree must be earned in exactly two years is based, in part, on the necessity of holding classes for so long for the whole group of students. Technology will allow a student to accomplish the goals of any particular focus of study at their own pace,accommodating their life, kids,job, spouse, ect. Q. How might an individual student get needed help and attention? J. W., "First of all, the old fashioned way, by asking. They'll ask in person... either face to face, or over the network. They'll have access not only to their professors, however, but each other, and to virtual professors available across the world in particular areas. Secondly, smart lessons will evolve that will spot a student's trouble spots as they are progressing, and automatically connect them with real or virtual help. Even a test should be a learning experience in a true education, and technology will help us make them so." Q. What do you see as the best aspect of distance learning? J.W., "Clearly the removal of geographic barriers. Communities (civic, academic, cultural) can network and talk to each other in real time. To me, its biggest potential is to break down parochialism... to help us see ourselves as part of a larger whole, and not be quite so xenophobic regarding the world outside the mountains." Q. What, if anything, do you see as the downside of distance learning? J. W., "I want to stress that my answers to this question is based on possibilities, not on current realities.Fist, its expensive, which means it has the potential of further separating the haves from the have-nots. There are a large number of us who are working right now to insure that this does not happen. Second, it could be used as a method of reducing faculty. This will only happen at an institution with a particularly backward-thinking administration. Southeast Community College is blessed with an especially forward-thinking, responsible administration... there is no fear or danger of that happening here. Finally, the educational experience taking place in the distance learning classroom is only as good as the teacher's desire to fully utilize the technology. If its treated as simply a talking heads device, the classroom will stink, period." Q. Does the technology already exist for a virtual classroom? J. W. " that depends on what you mean. A Star Trek Holodeck? No, not in at least fifty years, if we're lucky. A space where people from different locations interact with each other in real time, and over the Internet access further resources? Yup, you betcha. That's what we're putting in on all three campuses at SECC this year." Q. Will distance learning impact interpersonal skills? If so, how? J.W. ,"Of course. We as a culture are coming to terms more and more with mediated interaction. We've had to adapt our conversational techniques to the reality of the telephone, where the entire physical component of nonverbal communication is absent. We, if we're smart, have learned not to use the phone for certain interactions, just because of this lessening of the message. With interactive video, we're suddenly going to have to adjust to the re-insertion of some of that message! If anything, distance learning will enhance interpersonal communications. People's fears that it will remove face-to-face communication is by-and-large unfounded. Most people who travel to interact will continue to do so. What interactive video will do, rather, is to enable interaction by people who, heretofore, were unable to travel and interact... it removes the travel barrier to the interaction. While it is clearly second best to actual face-to-face communication, half a cup is better than none. Q. Do you foresee a time when all or most learning will take place outside the now traditional campus setting? J.W., "Yes, because how we do learning will change. Up to now, we've operated on the model that we go to school for X years, learn what we need, then go out and use it for the rest of our life. That model doesn't work any more. The average person graduating with a technical degree now finds that, two years down the road, 50% of their knowledge has become obsolete. These are our dental techs, car mechanics, xray techs, ect. WE must begin to see education as a life-long process, one that continues as long as we are active members of society. There is no way that could function by expecting people to come to classrooms on specific campuses... no campus would be big enough, and no-one I know in the working world can just break away regularly to go to school. Campus will come to mean an area of expertise, a collection of knowledgeable people who engage in the regular refreshing of the knowledge pool of the general public. While the classroom will exist for quite some time, education itself will become classroom independent... process, not place.return
by Terry Day The overwhelming majority of respondents to a Southeasterner's survey say that they think the community college system should remain a part of the University of Kentucky. Last issue The Southeasterner included a survey form asking the following questions of its readers: (1) Do you think Kentucky's community colleges should remain a part of the University of Kentucky? (2) Why/why not (optional)? (3) Comments, Questions, or concerns you have about this issue (optional). With more than seventy responses, only four were in favor of breaking ties with UK. While none of those in favor of breaking with UK signed their name to their response forms, the following comments were included: "Because we have to go by their schedule, and I think we should have our own set of rules." "It (SECC) might expand to a four year college. This would allow further education here in the mountains with less travel." "So Southeast may one day become a university & help our area grow by expanding its facilities and attracting more students." "It is not clear exactly how things will run with it. Example, will the tuition be the same? Financial aid?" Some of the comments of those in favor of the community colleges staying with UK are as follows: "For those of us who can't afford to go to a major college, like UK, we can at least feel confident that we are getting an education close to that of UK."---Cheri Simpson. "If they (the community colleges) break away from UK, they could lose a lot of funding, would raise the cost for the students, and could cause a problem when a student at a community college wants to transfer. UK might not accept some or all of the credits, and also they could lose some valuable programs."---unsigned. "It makes it easier to transfer to UK and helps with rules and regulations. It makes the community colleges more uniform and standardized, not completely different from each other."---unsigned. "I think the advantages of being part of a major institution outweigh any gains to be had by a separation. By being a part of UK you are accessible to a broader range of information; without being a part of UK, tuition would go up, and funding would be harder to acquire."---Mike Bates. "I think that this makes it easier to transfer to the University of Kentucky. It helps the state work together for better education."---Chad Saylor. "I think the community colleges should stay with UK, because the classes transfer without question or conflict and students have many more advantages with UK. I think it would be a mistake taking community colleges from UK."---Stephen Hendrickson. "Through UK the community colleges have flourished and benefited. If UK stops helping community colleges, funding will go down as will attendance."---Tony Farley. The results of this survey would seem to clearly indicate that the majority of students at SECC would much prefer to remain a part of the University of Kentucky.