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| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Public Affairs |
| Date: February 15, 2002 |
Congressman Price presents $250,000 technology grant to the NC Community College System
RALEIGH: Congressman David Price presented the North Carolina Community College System a $250,000 technology grant on Friday, February 15. "This funding will have a direct impact on our community colleges’ access to cutting-edge technology," said Price.
Price, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, wrote the funding into the Fiscal Year 2002 Labor/Health and Human Services/Education Appropriations Bill, which was approved by the House late last year.
Accepting the grant, NCCCS President H. Martin Lancaster told Price, "These funds will bridge a budget gap." Lancaster explained a portion would be used to better equip existing North Carolina Information Highway (NCIH) classrooms and pay the increasing costs of line services for the Highway. The money will also be used to provide resources to the Virtual Learning Community, the Internet-based catalog of courses available to all N.C. Community Colleges, and a portion will be held in trust for future needs.
During the 2000-2001 academic year, 53,000 community college students were involved in distance learning using various information technologies. Enrollment in Internet-based courses has increased 301% in the last three years.
To demonstrate the efficiency of the services, two community college campuses participated in the press conference via the Information Highway.
Joe Alley, Dean of Media Services at Fayetteville Technical Community College used the NCIH to share his comments. He told Price that the funds would enable the college to enter the next technological frontier, the use of wireless networks to bring two-way video conferencing into the high schools in Cumberland County.
Tri-County Community College President Norm Oglesby described the cooperative "Grow Your Own" Teacher Training Program that allows his students to take the first two years of a four-year degree at Tri-County, located in Murphy, and then complete their education at Western Carolina, primarily via the NCIH. "There are 18 teacher aides who now have the opportunity to be teachers, " he told Price. "And they will stay in the local community," he added. "They would not have a prayer of getting a four-year degree without the Highway."
Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue, a member of the State Board of Community Colleges, was on hand for the presentation. She had visited Tri-County and met those students who are studying to become teachers. She thanked Price for his leadership in making education available to many through technology. "This is economic development at its best," she said.
College of The Albemarle President Sylvester McKay, who participated in person, has a service area that covers seven counties. McKay told Price he uses distance learning to focus outreach efforts to high school students and serve his college’s students who are in the far reaches of his service area.
Sharon Wright-Watson is typical of the community college student. Married with five children, she also works while attending Piedmont Community College full-time. She told Price that distance learning had helped her move from "WorkFirst to working." Wright-Watson is the student representative to the State Board of Community Colleges and said the flexibility distance learning provided enabled her academic success.
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