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>> This recent CNN headline read, "Community college grads out earn bachelor's degree holders."
Now, what are the facts and where does Montgomery College fit into that equation? Up next on
"Campus Conversations" we'll spend time and energy talking about how Montgomery College
is preparing students to earn sooner rather than later.
^M00:00:20 [ Music ]
^M00:00:37 >> Hi, I'm Jason Rivera and this is "Campus
Conversations." Every year hundreds of thousands of students graduate from community colleges.
And according to Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, some are out
earning recent bachelor's degree grads. In fact, data from the US and Maryland Departments
of Labor reveal that a quarter of Montgomery Counties associate degree graduates make more
right out of school than bachelor degree grads. Look at this. In our county's allied health
occupation two-year graduates earn nearly 40 percent more than a four-year graduate.
You may only need a two-year degree to get the job. But how do you decide what field
is right for you? Montgomery College now has a tool to help. Take a look.
^M00:01:15 [ Music ]
^M00:01:17 >> Juan Serrano is an MC student who works
full time as a customer sever representative for MC's Workforce Development and Continuing
Education Program for WDCE. His major at MC is business. But he'll be transferring to
UMUC to earn a bachelor's degree in accounting. Not so long ago he found out about the Career
Coach Online Search Tool. >> And for me it's an excellent tool. I went
straight ahead and looked for information about my career.
>> The Career Coach is an online search tool that can help anyone to explore over 800 different
careers all within 100 mile radius from the college.
>> It's a valuable tool because you can immediately see are there jobs in the area related to
the area of study I'm considering going into at Montgomery College. You can see projected
growth in those areas, wages, and you can see real jobs located throughout the area.
>> Kenneth Nelson is the Director of Business and Community for WDCE. He says that the Career
Coach can help students remove any doubts about what their goals are and how they can
achieve them. >> Some students will be able to look at that
particular tool, find out not only that they have the job that their seeking, it's one
job, but they can also see other job opportunities. And when they look at those other job opportunities
it really gives them a lot of hope and energy to continue with their studies and to do well
on the jobs that they will get. >> Career Coach gives you information about
jobs in our area. >> Emily Luedtke is a Transition Support teacher
from Montgomery County public schools, which has a partnership with Montgomery College.
She has used the Career Coach Search Tool with her class and feels that the best thing
about the Career Coach is accessing information about a variety of careers which are not always
related to a four-year degree. >> But also programs that require only a little
bit of vocational training and they directly link it to what's available here at Montgomery
College. >> To use the Career Coach Online Search Tool,
go to the Montgomery College web page. Click on Counseling and Advising. Under Counseling,
choose Career Counseling and then under Career Exploration choose Career Coach. Then click
on Go To Career Coach. For Campus Conversations I'm Daniel Stescki.
>> What a great resource. It's a one-stop shopping for everything you want to know about
the job market, earning potential, and course requirement. Montgomery College has always
prided itself on keeping a finger on the pulse of local industry. We train the students of
today to have the new skills that meet the business and economic needs of tomorrow. And
when our industry partners see a need for skills-based training, they come first to
our Workforce Development and Continuing Education Unit. With me now is George Payne, the college's
Vice President for Workforce Development and Continuing Education. I guess the question
here, George, is about employability. So how is it that Montgomery College is working to
turn out employable grads? >> Well, it's a great question. Probably the
heart of it. Program design is working good, close relationships with our employer base.
So we have advisory committees that give us input to the skills and technical training
requirements of the job and help us then formulate a curriculum. We have collaborations for internships,
apprenticeship programs, job placement, career resources. Many times these same employers
provide practitioner faculty that actually populate the programs. So by this ongoing
relationship with the employer community, we have sort of a direct connection to the
occupations that are in high demand. And then making sure that the programming is relevant
and it's going to be valuable for the students who complete it.
>> So what kinds of programs do we offer? >> Well, there's more than 100, you know,
career building, salary building, and educational opportunity connection building programs.
Just a few come to mind. A popular one that's been most recently developed is what we call
a Certified Apartment Maintenance Technician Program. It's collaboration with the National
Apartment Owner's Association, and it's less than 100 hours. The student learns how to
maintain the rental properties. And since Montgomery County has such a high-rental population,
the job opportunities are very significant. So as the student gets certified in the national
curriculum, and then we also add a EPA Certified Refrigerant Handling Certification. So they
leave with two certification programs. They're in high demand. They pay very well. We have
end of course job recruitment - job fairs. And the employers actually come and many of
the students are hired like right on the spot. So that's been very popular. At the other
end of the spectrum for people with bachelor's degrees we have a new program called Clinical
Trials Project Management. And this is just being an example how a program can evolve
to meet a local need. So there's the whole process of getting pharmaceuticals approved,
and the FDA requires a lot of project management. So you have your researchers, but you need
project managers who can shepherd the program through a very time sensitive and highly demanding
regiment to get the products approved. So we partnered with Amerex, a local clinical
trials firm to design a program that actually produces students who can enter this high-paid
occupational area. And maybe the third one I would just mention, it sounds like it's
been around for a long time, but the opportunities are really very cross cutting. And would be
an Apprenticeship Program that we have in our Guldesky Institute that allows students
to get a US Department of Labor Certification. And take that later through an articulation
agreement and get transfer credit towards an associate degree. And ultimately they could
go to a bachelor's in construction management if they wish. So the idea is that these things
are connected to in-demand occupations, and the other theme is you can just start here
with a short-term program curriculum and get that immediate certification. And then later
on when the time and money and recourses allow, you can continue your studies. So those are
kind of - there three examples of programs of this nature.
>> So those are programs. Do we also offer courses--
>> Sure. >> --for retooling--
>> Yes. >> --re-skilling.
>> Absolutely. So people of course students are in a hurry. Resources are tight. Family
obligations. Community requirements. All the things that keep us busy working adults. So
students are interested in things that can be chunked into manageable pieces. By having
a shorter course, it makes the tuition more manageable.
>> Right. >> And also it's easier for the student to
block out a period of time that they can commit. So it's very important that you have the resources,
but you also make the commitment of time to study it. So these work well. So in as few
as ten weeks some of the Health Career Programs are that concise and compact. You can actually
exit with a new certification in a job-ready occupational area and enter that workforce
with that new credential. So short courses connected to full programs is really a unique
aspect here with the college. So you can, again, start with a small piece and we would
call it career pathways or stepping stones, essentially. Move from a small piece to a
larger piece to a larger piece. And then just continue that educational period, you know,
through your working career. >> That sounds terrific. So this apprenticeship,
I just want to go back to that really quickly. We're a little sort on time so I'll ask the
question quickly. Are they able to get a full salary while they're in that type of apprenticeship?
>> Well, it's a graduated - it's an agreed upon progress rate of hourly pay. So it's
incremental each year; they get more. But they also have the full benefits. They have
transportation, they have an education resource. And most importantly, the employer is footing
the bill. So it's hard to beat that. >> Yeah. I would say. Well, we're just about
out of time. I do want to thank you for taking the time to join us today. I think the programs
that we're offering are really a value to our community. And we'll continue to do the
wonderful work that Montgomery County does with our Workforce Development and Continuing
Education Unit. >> Good. Thank you.
>> Montgomery College's Workforce Development and Continuing Education has a wide array
of programs and classes that arm students with the skills for today's supercharged industries.
Our producer, Marcus Rosano went on location to learn more about how one of those programs
is training students to work on hybrid cars. ^M00:10:08
[ Music ] ^M00:10:10
>> I'm with Mike Carretta, Associate Professor of Automotive Technology, and as you can see
we are not behind a desk today. That is a good thing. I like to get out of the office
once and a while. We are the Guldesky Center's Automotive Lab, and in a couple of minutes
Mike will be teaching a Hybrid Electric Vehicle course. And I guess to start off for us mechanical
novices, tell me a little bit about what a hybrid actually is.
>> A hybrid electric vehicle is a vehicle that has two means of propelling the car down
the road. It has a internal combustion engine whether it be a diesel or gasoline engine.
And then it has an electric motor powered by a battery that can also propel it down
the road. >> So the students that come here to take
the HEV - Hybrid Electric Vehicle course - what types of folks are you seeing here? You're
not talking about just the person like me that doesn't know much about cars that's going
to come in here and take the course. Who's in your class tonight?
>> We're getting people who are out in the industry working on the vehicles currently.
We're getting a lot of people that work on fleet vehicles that have these in their fleet.
County - we've got some DC Public Work students coming in today and from other county organizations
that have them in their fleet. And these technicians need to learn how to work on them. Because
even though they still have an internal combustion engine, they are still quite different than
just a typical car. And they need to know the differences between those.
>> Okay. So they are in a sense mechanics. >> Correct.
>> Talk a little bit about - we are discussing earlier off camera about the progression.
You said you were working in high school in '87 you were work on cars.
>> Yeah. Right. >> Talk a little bit about the progression
and actually where the vehicle world stands today.
>> Well, when I started working on cars in 1987, you know, fuel injection was still kind
of in its infancy and, you know, we were just kind of getting into the electronics, moving
away from carburetors into fuel injection. So it was kind of a little bit easier back
then. Maybe had one or two computers that had to manager all the, you know, electronics
on the car. Where nowadays you can have 5 to 25 computers on a car managing, you know,
all the systems on the car nowadays. Trans controllers, body controllers, engine controllers,
you know. You know, memory seat heater controllers that control the seats, the power seats, and
the mirrors and the windows that tie all that stuff together. So, they're very complicated
nowadays. >> And there is - you were telling me again
a little bit off camera. There's a difference between the hybrid electric vehicle. And then
there's another car behind me. Tell us a little bit about the intricate difference between
these vehicles that you guys are going to be working on in a little while.
>> Right. Well the hybrid electric vehicle, like I said, has the two means of propelling
it. Either battery operated or by the internal combustion engine and a pure electric vehicle
like the Nissan LEAF that we have right here behind you is strictly electric. So you'd
have to plug it in. >> Literally plug it in?
>> Yeah. You literally plug it in usually when you get home. If they have a plug-in
station maybe somewhere where you work. May be they have something like that. So that's
the main differences. A pure electric vehicle just has one means of propelling the car down
the road where the hybrid have two. So when the battery gets low in your Prius, then the
internal combustion engine will kick on and can drive the car down the road and, you know,
recharge the battery while it's driving or while it's breaking.
>> Okay. And the course itself it's not - this is a short course. And just tell us about
how long the course is and what you're going to kind of receive when you finish the course.
>> Right. We do it over the course of three consecutive evenings. Well, three weeks. We
do it on Mondays. So we do one Monday and then, you know, two after that. And it's four
hours each so it's 12 hours total. And this is just a very basic class. I mean we kind
of just scratch the surface onto what these vehicles are about. And it's just like I said.
Just kind of pointing out the difference between a hybrid and a regular car. I mean, you know,
for example, on this hybrid here, you know, if you're sitting in a traffic light the engine
will cut off. Well, if it's the summer time and it's 100 degrees outside where am I going
to get an air conditioning [background discussion] from? Right?
>> Right. >> So the AC compressor also has to be driven
electrically. And the other thing is electric power steering and just electric water pumps.
So there are some differences between the two, and that's kind of what we go over in
the class. And then we have a hybrid transmission we take apart so the students can take a look
at the electric motors that are inside of it. And then on our final day we go over battery
safety, and just, you know, working on these things because it's high voltage here. Three
hundred volts-- >> Wow.
>> --if it hits you right, it can kill you. >> Okay.
>> So we go over safety with them. And then we have them take them out in the parking
lot. And we hook scan tools up to them and let them drive them around so we can see what
the motor gear one is doing. Motor gear two is doing and things like that. So they kind
of understand, you know, where the power flow is coming from. Is it coming from the engine?
Is it coming from one of the motors? Is it recharging? You know, what's taking place
inside of there? And we can look at that with our scan tools that we have here at the school.
>> And when you're done with the 12 hours you get a Workforce Development and Continuing
Education Certificate. >> Correct.
>> And a lot of folks are actually doing that from the public sector.
>> Hmhm. >> And doing it for their jobs to get that
certificate. So I think that's about all the time we have today, Mike. I want to thank
you-- >> No problem.
>> --for letting us some in here into this good garage and getting me away from my desk
[laughter]. So I appreciate that. For "Campus Conversations," I'm Marcus Rosano.
^M00:15:15 [ Music ]
^M00:15:17 ^M00:15:20
>> Check out more Montgomery College programming at youtube.com/ Montgomery College.
^E00:15:25 ^B00:15:31
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>> [Background Music] One, two, three! Together! ^M00:16:00
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>> Like us on Facebook. Go to facebook.com/ montgomerycollegetv.
^M00:16:36 [ Music ]
^M00:16:39 >> Montgomery College has been offering its
Apartment Maintenance Technician Program for the past several years through its Workforce
Development and Continuing Education Unit. >> The industry generates it. Hey, look. We
need technicians. We can't get enough people to fill this job. They took the initiative
to develop a curriculum and a certification process. They sold us on this because they
said look our industry is hurting for employees. We have a good working relationship with the
National Apartment Associate in this project. And they've been supportive of us and they've
gone the extra mile to make sure that everything is working smoothly.
>> [Background discussion] and what's unique about this course is that teachers are using
the MIBEST or the Maryland Integrated Basic Education Skills Training Model, which was
developed to serve students who lack basic English and math skills.
>> [Background discussion] What's nice about this is that it integrates the basic skills
into the Technical Training Program. We have two instructors in the classroom. One deals
with basic skills; one deals with the technical content. And they team teach.
>> Fifteen minutes teach and stop. Another 15 minutes the English teacher check everybody,
every student. How much they understand. How can they explore? If it is okay, we forward
the lesson. Very good technique. >> So it really is a way to get the students
the technical training they want, keep their interest level high, and at the same time,
give them the basic skills that they really need to succeed.
>> This is very important for us. That means we have a good opportunity to get the proper
job. >> MIBEST is one of the many programs at Montgomery
College that is designed to get grads into the workforce with the skills they need to
succeed. In getting there with less debt is one of the greatest benefits of starting a
career within an associate's degree. With me now is Melissa Gregory, Montgomery College's
Chief Enrollment Services and Financial Aid Officer. Melissa, I'm sure you've read the
CNN article. Tell me, how we as a college are helping our students graduate with less
debt? >> Well, priority number one for Montgomery
College is to keep our tuition as low as possible. I know that's a priority for community colleges
around the country. At MC we're very fortunate that next year, academic year 2013-14, tuition
will not increase. So that's-- >> That's good news.
>> --that's really good news [laughter]. Especially for many, many of our students. So that's
the first priority. >> Okay.
>> The second priority is to make sure all of our students who would still have a difficult
time paying that low tuition know how to apply for financial aid. How to get the resources
particularly in grants and scholarships to pay those direct costs. And then we can keep
them away from loans as long as possible or as much as possible.
>> Okay. So how would our students go about learning the different types of financial
aid or resources that are available to them? >> We have a lot of different outreach activities
that we do. We start as early as middle school. I think it's probably going to start in elementary
school eventually [laughs]. But outreach to parents, outreach to students. This is how
you apply. Here are the basics: Things about deadlines, applications, the different programs.
So going out into the community, into high schools, into middle schools. Not just financial
aid staff, but our recruiters also doing all of the basics. Sitting down and helping the
students complete the free application for federal student aid -the FAFSA. That's the
basic form the every school in the country will use. And walking folks through the intricacies
of those forms. Big events that we have like "College Goal Sunday" to bring families in.
Sit down with experts that can give them advice on completing the form. So all of those things
are very important. And then when you get here, many, many remainders about applying
for financial aid. Apply for scholarships. Meet your deadlines. Always incredibly important
with most of our programs. >> Tell me more about those deadlines because
I know that there's something like a priority deadline. Why do we have those types of deadlines
for our students? >> Well, every school has deadlines and [laughter]
priority deadlines can vary from school to school and what they mean. But you really
need to think about it as first come, first serve. So the first applications are going
to get processed. Sometimes for the best financial aid. So if I have a limited pot of grant money
that I'm going to help students with, and at Montgomery College we're very fortunate.
We have a lot of grant money. Our own institutional money to supplement Pell Grants. That's the
major grant program - Federal Grant Program in the country. And scholarships through our
Montgomery College Foundation. But there's only so much money to go around. So if you're
applying early and applying about what we say as our priority deadline, you've got shot
at some of that money. If you apply after the priority deadline, I may have already
spent it on everybody else. And you might get some money, but only if it's turned down
by people in the first group. >> Right.
>> So you want to be in the first group. And that's whether you're coming to MC or transferring
to another school. >> So how do you learn about these deadlines?
How do you find out when let's say, MC's deadline is or when the federal government's deadlines
are for financial aid? >> We'll post things all over campus. Our
website, of course. We're always rolling things on My MC and on the colleges just general
website. Also, Montgomery College uses a service called Financial Aid TV, and it's a series
of very short videos. No longer than two minutes that go through everything you can think about
with financial aid. How to complete the FAFSA. What is a Pell grant? There are specific videos
just for Montgomery College. What are Montgomery College's deadlines? What forms do you require?
There's a great video on how to complete a good scholarship application. How to get good
essays. How to get good references for a scholarship application that will attract the attention
of a scholarship committee. So a lot of things that are out there on the web. And also in
print. Things that we mail to students. Post cards reminding you, "Hey, it's time to apply
for financial aid again." Yes, you have to do it every single year. But you practically
could trip over all the information [laughs] that's out there that we're providing to students
to make sure they make those important deadlines. >> Well, that's actually very good. So tell
me, on our website, how would students know where to go on our website to find this information.
>> Well, our website address for financial aid is very simple. It's montgomerycollege.edu/
finaid . And when you go to the financial aid site, you'll see a big box for Financial
Aid TV. Click here for Financial Aid TV. There's other sections about specifically grants and
scholarships. Information about loans. We're fortunate that most of our financial aid,
for example, last year we did about 62 million dollars in financial aid. But over 70 percent
of that was grants and scholarships. Not as much in students loans. Loans are increasing,
and we're seeing that students are using them more for their living expenses than tuition
and fees. But it's something that we're trying very hard to keep down. So sending students
to those resources and making sure they know all the options that are available to them.
That's a really important step. >> Great. Is there anything that you think
is critical for people to know about financial aid before we finish out our segment?
>> I think the most important thing is to read all of your directions [laughs]. Meet
deadlines. That's probably the most important thing, but also read the directions. And sometimes
we skip over things. We think we've completed it, but we really haven't. When you do a form
like the FAFSA, it's a smart form, and it won't let you skip anything that's critical.
But paper forms aren't smart. >> Right.
>> You can skip over a box. Even an admission application. You can skip over something that's
very critical. So be careful. Go through things. If you're doing the scholarship application,
put some thought into it. Don't just write, "I really need this money. Please give me
a scholarship." >> Right.
>> Say something about yourself. What makes you unique? What makes you different and special?
>> Well, let me thank you. I think the information that you provided is really going to be valuable
for our potential students and our students who are currently here and the community.
>> Great. I'm happy to be here. >> Thanks again. Clearly, Montgomery College
and community colleges across the country help many get a quality education with less
debt. This, of course, supports part of the Montgomery College Mission "To empower our
students to change their lives." MC's Quarterly Insights Magazine highlights Montgomery College
students and alumni who have done just that. Writer, Diane Bosser, offers us a glimpse
into one of her stories. >> [Background Music] The story in "Insights
Magazine" about Lilly Landau is really pretty interesting. She is somebody that has re-tooled
herself by attending Guldesky Institute. ^M00:25:06
She actually has a master's degree. She was a teacher for about five years in the public
school system. And she took time off to have a family, and decided when it was time to
go back to work that she wasn't quite sure that was a good fit for her any more. And
she investigated career options. And being a Montgomery County resident, Lilly was very
familiar with Montgomery College and the options that she had locally. She actually enrolled
at MC. Sat with a counselor. Took an assessment test on her skills. And her top five results
were engineering and electrical wiring because she has a math aptitude. So engineering would
have taken too long back in school, and she opted for a faster track. The trade unions
have a strict or challenging exam. A heavy component of it is math and algebra skills.
And Lilly passed with flying colors, and got herself a spot in the union. And she says
she uses math every day on the job. You not only have to be good at math, you have to
like it. ^M00:26:22
[Background Music] Lilly's in a five-year Apprentice Program. She will become a full-fledged
journeyman in 2017. So she knows she has a lot of work ahead of her, but she's also happy.
Very happy to be working full time as she does this. She's thrilled to be an electrician.
She loves it. She hopes that she will just do this until she retires.
^M00:26:47 [ Music ]
^M00:26:50 >> That was a great piece, Marcus.
>> Yeah. Diane's conversion with Lilly struck me in a sense that she took a total different
career path her second time around. She wanted to raise a family so she stopped being a teacher.
She wanted to take a profession that you wouldn't bring the workplace home. And you pretty much
can't bring a construction site home with you [laughter], which is another positive.
But what really struck me, and which I think is great for Montgomery College, is that she
took the leap, and she took the leap to Montgomery College.
>> Great story. We're about out of time. Marcus, where can people go if they want more information
about any of these great programs? >> Sure. Just log on to our website www.montgomerycollege.edu.
Or you can look us up on Facebook, which is facebook.com/ montgomerycollege. Or just e-mail
us at campus.conversations@montgomerycollege.edu. >> From all of us here at Campus Conversations,
thanks for watching. ^M00:27:40
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