Kellogg Community College is the recipient of more than $442,000 worth of federal Perkins funding to support career and technical education for local students through the 2020-21 academic year.
The Perkins V 2020-21 Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Grant was awarded in October and totals $442,328 to help the College better meet the needs of students in its occupational programs, which includes students in its health, human services, law enforcement, industrial trades, office information technology, teacher education and other programs, including creative fields like photography/multimedia and graphic design.
Dr. Chet Dalski, director of simulation education and special projects at KCC, said the Perkins grant is helping the College obtain equipment that can be used in such occupational programs, particularly for special population students who have experienced various barriers to educational achievement.
This includes specialized equipment including:
- A DEXIS digital radiography sensor and ultrasonic scalers for students in the Dental Hygiene Program
- Stryker Power-PRO XT stretchers and LIFEPAK 15 defibrillators with accessories for students in the Emergency Medical Services and Paramedic programs
- Defensive tactics mats for students in the Law Enforcement Program
- Apple Mac computers for students in the Photography and Multimedia Program
- A Rifton TRAM (transfer and mobility device), skeletal and muscular models and ambulatory equipment for students in the Physical Therapist Assistant Program
Multiple programs, including the Cybersecurity Program, also received laptop and/or desktop computer equipment upgrades and associated accessories thanks to the funding. Additional funds are allocated for the professional development for KCC employees in the relevant areas.
The current Perkins grant is just the latest award to the College over the past three decades, Dalski said.
“The Perkins grant has been instrumental in supporting our special population students so they can be successful in their chosen occupational programs,” Dalski said. “Because of the Perkins grant, KCC occupational students are using state-of-the-art equipment preparing them for their chosen career.”
According to the State of Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, which facilitates the federal Perkins funding in Michigan, the funding is designed to provide the recipient “the opportunity to improve their occupational education programs by supporting program improvement, curriculum development, assessment/evaluation, professional development, and support services to students.”
Dalski, who was primary author of the KCC grant proposal, said the award was granted to KCC on the strength of the College’s demonstrated commitment to special populations, nontraditional and dual enrollment students; its many partnerships with area workforce organizations; its plethora of work-based learning opportunities for occupational education students; and continued opportunities for employee professional development.
KCC’s advancement through new and growing program opportunities were also a factor, Dalski said. These include a Medical Assistant Program launched in 2018 and the new Cybersecurity Program that started last fall, as well as a trades expansion to the College’s Eastern Academic Center campus in Albion that will allow students on the east side of KCC’s service area to complete modules in welding and other trades without having to travel to KCC’s Regional Manufacturing Technology Center in Battle Creek.
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