Edison State College Monitoring President's Plan to Boost Community College Funding
Jul 14, 2009
President Barack Obama today announced a $12 billion proposal to support community colleges through his economic recovery plan.
“We are actively monitoring the President’s plan,” said Dr. Noreen Thomas, Edison State College Executive Vice President. “As a college we are poised to utilize many of the same strategies proposed by President Obama to boost student scholarships, enhance facilities and grow our on-line offerings. All with the ultimate goal of providing more people with access to higher education.”
Providing pathways to education has been the long-time mission of Edison State College President, Dr. Kenneth Walker. In the 1990’s Walker became concerned by Florida’s low ranking among students who earn a bachelor degree. As part of Walker’s Edison Educational System, he envisioned expanding community college course offerings to include baccalaureate (bachelor) degrees.
“A baccalaureate degree enriches the lives of students and considerably increases an individual’s lifetime income," Walker said. "The result will be more Florida students completing four year degrees, and at a significant savings to students and taxpayers."
In 2008, Walker was among nine Florida community college presidents to successfully persuade the state legislature to allow community colleges to expand course offerings to better meet modern workforce needs. The foresight of this group led to what is now the State College System in Florida. The group’s ultimate goal is to increase the number of college graduates in Florida.
With the federal support outlined in President Obama’s plan, Edison State College will aggressively pursue additional opportunities to further enhance student success and further the Edison Educational System. One component Edison State will look at is increasing its online presence.
“We are intrigued by the new online model that is being proposed,” said Thomas. “We are looking forward to learning how we can expand our already successful online program and begin to offer more baccalaureate level courses online.”
Next week representative from Edison State will travel to Washington D.C. to meet with key legislators. The goal is to learn more about President Obama’s recovery proposal and how that money can best serve students in Southwest Florida.
Edison State College is Southwest Florida’s largest, most established, most accessible and most affordable school of higher education serving more than 18,000 students in 5 counties with campuses in Lee, Collier and Charlotte, and a center serving Hendry/Glades. Many classes are available on-line.
For media inquiries contact, Catherine Bergerson Director of Communications and Marketing, 239-489-9460 or mbergerson@edison.edu.
Last Updated: July 14, 2009
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