THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501190009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By JOHN MASSEY
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Much has been written lately regarding the status of the Tidewater Community College Norfolk campus. ``A deal's a deal'' (editorial, Jan. 8) stated clearly the case for the campus. We look forward to the final resolution of this matter by the commonwealth and the continuation of construction toward an opening date in 1996.
Efforts to secure funding for the Norfolk campus have been under way for 20 years. In 1990 Tidewater Community College established the Norfolk Center with the approval of the State Council of Higher Education and the Virginia Community College System. But what is the Norfolk Center and who are its students?
The Norfolk Center offers registration, counseling and classes downtown. Enrollments have increased from less than 100 students in the spring of 1993 to nearly 1,000 students today. Spring-semester enrollment is up 35 percent over the same semester last year. Classes meet as early as 7 a.m. and as late as 10 p.m. six days a week. To meet the demand, the only computer lab is open seven days a week. This semester 30 classes are filled, and many others are near capacity.
The Norfolk Center offers a limited selection of courses because we have only seven classrooms which we rent in a downtown office building. We also use Granby High School in the evening. Despite this space limitation, the Norfolk Center has the highest percentage of full- time students in the college. We have students who go out of their way to tell us how glad they are that we are in Norfolk and they can take advantage of our student support services such as tutoring sessions and a student work/study program. Our students are largely residents of Norfolk, 75 percent to be exact. They come from 17 ZIP codes throughout the city. A greater percent are new students than at any of the other TCC campuses. More than 60 percent are female and just under 50 percent are minority people. More than 80 percent of our students are employed either full or part time.
Students are enrolled in English as a Second Language as well as art, music and literature. They study basic reading, basic writing, basic mathematics as well as advanced computer languages and elementary calculus. Among our students are business executives learning about quality-management techniques and how to use their computers. In the past several months more than 800 people have learned to use the Internet.
Many students are at the Norfolk Campus because they can keep their jobs, live at home in Norfolk and still attend college. They include at least one mother of eight whose young husband's death left her homeless and without support. Her children refused to let her quit her classes. She succeeded last semester and is enrolled this semester. Our staff assisted her in finding a place for her family.
We have numerous students just out of high school who must ride the bus to get to class, and we have senior citizens enrolled in our introductory computer classes. Our students come from all over the city, including Ghent, Diggs Town, Ocean View and Park Place. We also have students from 12 other cities.
The need for a community college in Norfolk is great. The city has the lowest median income in the region and the lowest education level of adults in the region. Our mission is to help people learn and to prepare for a long-term future.
On Dec. 20, 1994, Norfolk was selected as an Enterprise Community and awarded a $3 million grant to improve employment and jobs-skills-training opportunities. The Norfolk Center will play a key role in this approach to creating jobs and training people to work. Working together, Tidewater Community College, Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, social service agencies, community support agencies and Norfolk public schools will implement a program that incorporates a series of work and education experiences for people who are unemployed, underemployed or who have limited work skills. This program is at the core of the Enterprise Community grant. Major Norfolk employers have committed more than 1,500 jobs for the program.
This same approach will be used in preparing low- to moderate-income residents of Norfolk for a number of the 3,000 new jobs created by the MacArthur Center shopping mall. The $33 million grant recently awarded to the city for construction of the Nordstrom department store stipulates that 51 percent of those interviewed for jobs at Nordstrom must be from low to moderate incomes and must be qualified for the jobs. The Norfolk campus will provide the training and education which will make these residents eligible for employment.
Public support in favor of the Norfolk campus has been outstanding. The business community sees us as an economic-development engine. Most important, in neighborhoods all across Norfolk, people see us as the first step out of poverty, out of the project, out of a dead-end job. They see us as the first step to a future that includes more education, a better job and a real career path. Our challenge is to help them succeed on their journey toward a better long-term future. We believe we can and will. MEMO: Mr. Massey is director of TCC's Norfolk Campus Development Project. by CNB