KCC has plans to expand its Eastern Academic Center near Albion, with construction beginning as early as this summer.
Kellogg Community College intends to build a 4,608-square-foot addition at its Eastern Academic Center near Albion, KCC President Dennis Bona announced today.
Because of growing enrollment in college courses in eastern Calhoun County and an ongoing partnership with Marshall Public Schools, KCC has determined that the EAC needs to grow physically in order to accommodate increased use. Marshall operates an alternative high school as well as the Opportunity School, an early-college program for high school students, at the EAC on weekdays.
“It is abundantly clear that there is a strong desire for higher education on the eastern side of Calhoun County and, as a partner and leader in advancing education in our communities, we are determined to meet the needs of all of our students,” Bona said.
The EAC currently serves about 250 students per semester, in addition to approximately 100 high school students from the Albion and Marshall areas who attend as part of the Marshall Alternative High School. Of those 100 high school students, 29 were dual-enrolled in college courses as of earlier this year.
“With this expansion of the EAC, we can offer more day and evening classes to our adult college students and increase the options for students who are dual-enrolled in KCC courses,” Bona said.
Funding for the estimated $1 million project will come from local grants, including a substantial gift from the Marshall-based Cronin Foundation, and KCC’s voter-approved capital millage. Pending approval from the KCC Board of Trustees, construction may begin this summer and the new wing may open in January 2014. The addition will include three classrooms, a seminar room and office space on the north side of the current facility.
The project also will enable KCC to offer classes at the EAC which, for the past year, have been offered in rented space in the former Crowell Elementary School in Albion. Returning those classes to a central location at the EAC will add convenience for students, Bona said.
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