New college expands options for students

Organizers say the college is an excellent example of collaboration.

By Harold Gwin

CHAMPION — Eleven associate-degree programs, six professional-certificate programs, 180 course offerings — Eastern Gateway Community College is starting off with a much wider array of educational opportunities than originally expected.

Organizers had been saying an LPN/RN nursing program would be the first offered, with several other programs picked up as the first year progressed.

The full scope of offerings was unveiled at a kickoff ceremony Friday at Trumbull Career and Technical Center.

Classes begin later this month at TCTC, Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, Columbiana County Career and Technical Center, Choffin Career and Technical Center, Jefferson (County) Campus of the community college, Valley Center and online.

Valley Center, located in Forum Health’s health education building at 500 Gypsy Lane along the Mahoning/Trumbull County line, will be the official Eastern Gateway central office, but there is no central campus.

This is “a very nontraditional expansion of higher education,” said Dr. Roy Church, president of Lorain County Community College, who served as chairman of the Eastern Gateway planning and development committee.

“It’s built on the notion of partnerships,” he said, explaining that classes are being taken to students, rather than having students drawn to a central campus.

Eric Fingerhut, Ohio’s chancellor of higher education, said it made more sense to spend money on programs than on bricks and mortar.

That focus helped get the community college launched a full year ahead of the schedule outlined in Ohio’s Strategic Plan for Higher Education, which called for the start of a community college to serve the Mahoning Valley in the fall of 2010, he said.

It also helped keep tuition costs down. Eastern Gateway will charge $96 per credit hour, one of the lowest community-college rates in the state.

Church said Eastern Gateway will hire some of its own staff but is relying on its educational partners — who are providing courses — to also provide the instructors. Everyone will share in the college revenue, based on what they provide to the operation, whether it be space or instructors, he said.

Fingerhut said the program offerings are designed to link to four-year degree programs at Youngstown State University and Kent State University. The overall goal is to increase enrollment in post-secondary education, he said.

Officially, Eastern Gateway won’t exist until about Oct. 17, 90 days after the governor signed House Bill 1 (the state budget bill) into law.

But that technicality hasn’t stopped the launch of basic-education summer classes for the LPN/RN program.

Laura Meeks, president of Jefferson Community College and assistant to the chancellor for the development of Eastern Gateway, said 40 students are taking those classes.

Both Lorain and Jefferson are providing some of the educational programming for Eastern Gateway, and Jefferson is giving up its autonomy to become the Jefferson Campus of the new college.

Church said an advertising effort involving billboards, cable television, direct mail and more will be launched to inform the public of programs Eastern Gateway has to offer.

Fingerhut took the kickoff at TCTC as an opportunity to do some campaigning of his own for the new college, touring some adult-education classrooms to speak with students taking classes there, advising them of the link to Eastern Gateway that will allow them to earn college credit for the courses they already are taking.

“I think it will allow a lot of students to work on their RN courses while earning their LPN degree,” said Karlene Vadino of Hubbard, one of those interested in enrolling.

She works as a nurse’s aide now and said she was excited to get a phone call telling her about the new LPN/RN initiative.

Fingerhut said the collaboration of the universities, community colleges, career-technical education centers and others have made it possible to expand the talent and training pipeline to provide the educated work force the region’s companies and industry demand.

gwin@vindy.com

ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAMS

Alternative-energy technology — wind turbine

General education (arts, science)

Computer-engineering technology

Electrical trades

Entrepreneurship

Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nurse

Power-plant technology

Respiratory therapy

Teacher education (early childhood, middle childhood and intervention specialist)

Welding technology

CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

Alternative-energy technology — wind turbine (one-year certificate, short-term certificate)

Emergency Medical Services technology

Entrepreneurship certificate of proficiency

Welding operator

Welding technology (short-term certificate)

Source: Eastern Gateway Community College