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| Summer 2012
Maine's community colleges offer affordable, customized training and continuing education that give businesses and employees the skills they need to compete. Here's a snapshot of what we've been doing lately and what we can do for you.
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 MMA Prep: A new path from community college to Maine Maritime Academy
Students interested in obtaining a four-year degree in engineering, management, science, or transportation at Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) in Castine can now begin that journey at a Maine community college.
MMA Prep is designed to serve students who are interested in attending the Academy but have not yet met its rigorous academic requirements. Students can enroll at one of Maine's seven community colleges and take a prescribed set of courses designed to prepare them for the Academy. Those who earn grades of C or better and successfully complete MMA's admissions process will gain entry to the Academy.
"We're delighted to work in partnership with Maine Maritime to provide these highly motivated students with the foundation they need to pursue four-year degrees in areas that hold great career promise," said MCCS President John Fitzsimmons in announcing the agreement.
Students interested in learning more about the program should contact the admissions office at Maine Maritime: [email protected] or 1-800-464-6565.
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EMCC launches fine woodworking program to support Maine's boatbuilding industry
EMCC is partnering with The Hinckley Company to offer a fine woodworking and cabinet  making program that will provide students the skills they need to become finish carpenters in Maine's boat building industry.
Funded by a U.S. Department of Labor grant, the program will begin this fall and will operate within EMCC's building construction program.
The Hinckley Company added 80 employees at its Trenton boat building plant in 2011 and expects to hire an additional 50 employees this year.
"This program has the capacity to be a strong feeder school for all of Maine's boat builders," says Andy Fitzpatrick, Hinckley's plant manager in Trenton. "This is an age-old industry very special to Maine. To have a college [like EMCC] that can keep up with carpentry/boat building advancements and continually supply marine and other specialty construction tradespeople is exciting."
EMCC is accepting applications for the 18 slots in the program. For more information or to apply, go to www.emcc.edu/academics/programs-of-study/woodworking or contact Liz Russell, director of admissions, at (207) 974-4684 or [email protected].
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How does your business grow?
"If you could take two or three key people from every small business in Maine and put them through the workforce training program at SMCC, they would learn the skills and have the confidence to grow their business by 10 or 20 people. It is a difference maker for the business and could be a difference maker for Maine's economy."
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Bond on November ballot to expand access to MCCS trade and technology programs
Maine voters will consider an $11.3 million bond for higher education in Nove mber 2012 that would provide $1 million to expand degree programs in precision manufacturing at CMCC, KVCC, and YCCC. Currently, many highly-skilled, good-paying jobs in Maine's precision manufacturing sector are going unfilled due to a lack of skilled labor.
The bond will also enable Southern Maine Community College to renovate a major classroom building at its new MidCoast Campus, located at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. The 20 acres and five buildings at the new campus are valued at over $75 million and were transferred to the MCCS at no cost from the Federal government. The bond will enable the college to make the renovations and adaptations necessary for an additional 2,000 students to make full use of the new facility. |
MCCS Board of Trustees holds the line on tuition
Fourteen years ago, tuition at Maine's technical colleges was the second most expensive in the nation. In June, the MCCS Board of Trustees voted to keep tuition and fees at their current levels, the eighth time in 14 years it has done so. The result: the cost of attending one of Maine's seven community colleges is now close to the national average and the lowest in New England.
According to MCCS President John Fitzsimmons, the system's growth is due, in large part, to the affordable educational pathway it offers students: "At a time when Maine families and the state's economy are struggling, it is critical that our colleges remain affordable so that people are able to get the skills they need, and that our businesses require, to prosper."
For a full-time, in-state student, the average cost to attend will remain at roughly $3,300 a year.
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Unemployment motivated Michelle Longley to finish her degree.
NMCC prepared her to reach her career goals.
 Michelle Longley of Presque Isle says she reached a point in her life where she needed to make a decision: continue her unsuccessful job search or go back to college and expand the employment options available in her rural community. She says she always wanted to finish her degree and work in the medical field but, having been out of school for six years, she needed an affordable and supportive option that would allow her to re-enter the workforce quickly.
This spring she graduated from NMCC and was honored for her academic accomplishments, with dual majors in medical office administration and medical coding. The college, she says, provided her "a foundation to work from." Her goal now is to earn her bachelor's degree. She will be attending the University of Maine at Fort Kent this fall to pursue her degree in business management in healthcare administration, and she is optimistic about her future.
"NMCC is a great place for non-traditional students, or for someone needing a fresh start, to begin a career or prepare them for a university, as it has for me," says Michelle. "The knowledge of human relations, business communications, production formatting, even basic grammar and spelling has been a solid foundation for me to build on."
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 The Maine Quality Centers (MQC) program provides no-cost workforce training to qualified Maine businesses seeking to expand. If you are interested in learning more about how MQC and your local community college can help your firm grow, contact Jim McGowan at 767-5210. Tell us what Maine's Community Colleges can do for you. Please note, our office has recently moved to a new location. |
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Briefs...
Several leaders of The Foundation for Maine's Community Colleges (FMCC) have been recognized recently for their professional achievements and civic involvement. They include FMCC Leadership Council member Brenda Garrand who, in 2011, received the Tribute to Women in Industry award from the Maine Women's Fund and was inducted into Junior Achievement's Maine Business Hall of Fame. In 2012, MCCS President John Fitzsimmons, a member of the FMCC Board, was selected as one of three laureates to join Junior Achievement's Hall of Fame. In addition, the past two winners of the Muskie Access to Justice Award have both provided ongoing leadership to the FMCC: Dan Wathen (2011 honoree) and Beth Newlands Campbell (2012). Rich Petersen, a member of the FMCC Board, was presented with the Boy Scouts Distinguished Citizen Award by the organization's Pine Tree Council in December 2011. Board member Donald Sussman, was honored in November 2011 with the Spurwink Humanitarian of the Year award.
Dr. William H. Cassidy has returned to WCCC to serve as interim president for the 2012/2013 academic year. He replaces Dr. Joyce Hedlund who announced her retirement in January and officially retired on June 30. A native of Calais and resident of Robbinston, Dr. Cassidy served as the college's president from 2003-2009.
Maine's community colleges have been in the news recently for all kinds of good reasons. Take a listen: Maine Higher Ed Partnership Aims to Boost Ranks of Engineers, a story about the two- and four-year engineering programs being offered at the new MidCoast Campus in Brunswick (MPBN). Or read about the successes of three SMCC students in a down economy (The Portland Daily Sun).
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For more information about the training and workforce development programs offered by Maine's community colleges:
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323 State Street
Augusta, ME 04330
www.mccs.me.edu
[email protected]
 
The MCCS is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution and employer. For more information, please call the MCCS Human Resources Director at 207.629.4000. The complete Notice of Non-Discrimination is available at: www.mccs.me.edu/nondiscrimination.html. |
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