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SACRAMENTO – Taking action to help students make wise financial choices and prepare for their future, the California Community Colleges today announced it has partnered with the nonprofit organization National Endowment for Financial Education, to make its free online financial literacy product, “CashCourse,” available to every student in the system.
The product, available at www.cashcourse.org , provides students with financial education resources and aims to build money management skills for users.
The Web site features articles, videos, a financial dictionary, and software to help students understand and build budgets.
Community college faculty and staff will also be able to use the website and NEFE’s resources to help build online and classroom financial literacy courses for students, complete with homework assignments and quizzes.
“Promoting a culture of financial literacy on our campuses is key to fostering student success,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris. “This product is easy to use and has several exciting features to help students track their spending, learn about banking or health insurance, and even offers advice on loaning money to friends, making it useful for everyday life.”
To get started, students must go to www.cashcourse.org and register. They’ll be prompted to enter their student information and community college affiliation.
After registering, students will be brought to the course home page where they’ll find topics like “money 101,” “paying for education,” “making purchases,” “working and earning,” “money and relationships,” and “financial tools.”
CashCourse will be available to every community college student, and those who take out student loans will be strongly encouraged by most campuses to participate in some of the product’s modules to reinforce and enhance loan counseling requirements prescribed by law.
“The vast majority of our students do not obtain massive educational loans thanks to our low tuition rates, which are an effective bulwark against student debt,” Harris added. “In fact, only about four percent of our students take out federal loans. In spite of these numbers, it is important to be proactive on this issue to keep debt from becoming a major issue for our students.”
Nearly 50 California community colleges have enrolled in CashCourse since the product was rolled out systemwide in August and more colleges are enrolling as the word gets out about the benefits for students.
Students at more than 800 schools across the country use CashCourse, which is also free from commercial ties.
Promoting financial awareness among students and youth is an important goal for policymakers in California and in Washington, D.C. Last year, President Obama created the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans.
The council advises the president and the secretary of the treasury on how to promote financial capability among young Americans and encourage building the financial capability of young people at an early stage in schools, families, communities, and the workplace through the use of technology.
“Being able to get an education makes a difference in people’s lives,” said Skyline College President Regina Stanback Stroud, who is a member of the President’s Advisory Council. “The decision to go to college has lifelong consequences; yet, individuals are often faced with figuring out how to pay for it. Gaining financial literacy and money management skills will support smart financial choices so they can go to college, graduate, and move forward with their lives in good financial shape.”
In addition to partnering with NEFE to bring CashCourse to students, the California Community Colleges has been taking other action to promote the financial health of students.
For instance, some community colleges have implemented products that will help manage delinquent borrower contacts and to get students into positive repayment patterns.
Community college staff are also being trained to better understand and identify the indicators of financial risk among borrowers in order to help them avoid default.
NEFE is a 501(c)(3) national foundation that provides financial education for individuals, including youth and adult financial education resources, classroom and workplace training tools, and research and consumer surveys. For more information on NEFE, go to www.nefe.org .
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.
For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/ .
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NORTH COAST, Calif. – At graduation on May 22, Mendocino College had 18 nurses who were excited about their graduation, but nervous to take the National Council Licensure Examination.
The NCLEX-RN test is a required exam that measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as an entry level nurse and must be passed before a nurse receives their licensing.
Mendocino College is proud to announce that all of the testing 2014 Mendocino College Nursing Graduates passed the NCLEX exam on the first try.
“When we received the news that all of our students who graduated in May and took their NCLEX-RN had passed there was a joyous feeling of accomplishment and pride,” said Dr. Barbara French, director of nursing at Mendocino College.
“We know how very hard our students worked through the program and how hard we all work as instructors to prepare them,” French said. “This confirms the hard work for both students and instructors. When a student does not pass for any reason we all try and figure out how we could have presented information differently, addressed student learning needs differently, etc. We take it personally. Our pass rate has consistently been among the best, but finally hitting the 100-percent mark was a great feeling.”
French's statement speaks for the individualized attention, positive instruction and great care that the nursing faculty have for their students.
Through the hard work, determination and expertise of these faculty, Mendocino College has been able to boast a state board examination pass rate of 96 percent in the past, well above the statewide average of 86 percent.
Each fall the Mendocino College Nursing program admits eighteen new nursing students into the two-year program.
Each year when the graduating nursing students are surveyed, their overwhelming response is that their success is attributed to their instructors.
One past nursing student, Regina Santiago stated, “The nursing faculty have all been wonderful. They work at least as hard as we do. Our success really matters to them.”
Another graduate, Theresa Rohr, credited the nursing faculty at MC for inspiring her. “They were fabulous. We were all so close, and they were so important in getting me where I wanted and needed to be.”
Nursing students at Mendocino College receive a lot of specialized attention not only from the faculty, but also from the Mendocino College Foundation.
In consideration of the extra time required for schooling and the loss of income faced by many students, finding the funding for all of the necessary supplies for this degree can be exhausting. That’s where the foundation steps in.
In addition to providing nursing shoes, lab coats and emergency funding for student needs – to name a few – the foundation has a big surprise for each graduating class.
In 2012, the Mendocino College Foundation – through the generosity of Albert Beltrami – surprised each of the nursing graduates with a $400 check to fund their state board examination fees.
Since then, the foundation has tirelessly fundraised to provide the same opportunity for each of the graduating class of nurses.
“For every month a nursing candidate waits to take their state board examination, their ability to pass goes down 24 percent,” French said. “It is absolutely critical that our graduates take the examination immediately following graduation, and this annual gift guarantees that they will.”
On average, once students begin the nursing program their annual income drops by over 43 percent due to the intensity of the program.
With continued excellence in the classroom, the nursing faculty is striving toward matching its 100-percent pass rate again next year.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Under the careful tutelage of Connie Pagulayan, AA, business office manger of Rocky Point Center, 16 medical assistant students undertook the challenge of understanding the financial aspects of the ambulatory care setting.
Sept. 13 proved memorable for the wary but open-minded class.
For eight intense hours Pagulayan presented the basics and more in the complicated world of billing and medical insurance in the health care arena.
She emphasized the importance of accuracy, timeliness and understanding the procedures required.
Pagulayan reiterated the necessity to be able to explain the forms, reports and requirements to the patients involved in the process.
Her message was clear: be precise, be honest, be sensible and be sensitive.
The topic of managing money in a clinic or physician office is just one of approximately 50 areas of study the future medical assistants are undertaking as they prepare for the national certification exam next spring.
They agreed this subject presented a particularly difficult test of their abilities since finance in health care can defy even the experts.
The Lake County Office of Education is appreciative of Pagulayan and so many of the community guest speakers who are donating their time and talent to assist this class towards their efforts of achieving national certification.
The expertise of these citizens lends an added value to the rich educational program created for adult learners by the Lake County Office of Education Career & College Readiness Department.
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SACRAMENTO – In an historic first for public higher education in the state, Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed legislation that allows California community colleges to award bachelor’s degrees in fields not currently served by the California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC).
The legislation, authored by Sen. Marty Block (D-San Diego), directs the California Community Colleges system to establish a pilot baccalaureate degree program in 15 college districts by no later than the 2017-18 academic year.
The state Chancellor’s Office, in consultation with UC and CSU, will decide which districts are chosen to host programs, subject to California Community Colleges Board of Governors approval.
Districts will be selected according to their ability and interest in establishing rigorous undergrad programs that confer degrees in high demand among regional employers.
Achieving a geographical balance of districts to maximize student enrollment will be another factor.
“Thanks to the governor, Legislature, and college educators who supported this bill, like Chancellor Constance Carroll of San Diego, the country’s largest system of higher education joins the ranks of community colleges in other states that offer four-year degrees,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris. “Employers in California seek candidates with advanced credentials and many struggle to fill positions in some of the fields that will be covered under the new program. This law will help us to meet California’s workforce needs, does not duplicate CSU or UC degree programs, and gives more Californians access to affordable higher education that can enable them to obtain well-paying jobs.”
The new four-year degree programs could be offered in vocational occupations where an Associate of Arts degree had been acceptable in the past for employment but now increasingly require a bachelor’s degree to be competitive.
These fields and occupations can include dental hygiene, industrial technology, allied health technology, emergency medical technicians, and data management for health care.
Under the new law, community colleges would charge only $84 more per unit for upper-division baccalaureate coursework than they currently charge for lower-division courses.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office will conduct an interim evaluation of the bachelor’s degree program in 2018, and a final evaluation by July 2022. The pilot program will end in the 2022-23 academic year, unless extended by the Legislature.
“California community colleges are well placed to educate students who may have been unable to earn a four-year degree due to our low tuition rates and numerous and easily accessible locations throughout the state,” Harris added.
The California Master Plan for Higher Education outlines the roles UC, CSU, and the community colleges play in educating the state’s population.
Under the original plan, enacted in the 1960s, UC awarded doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s degrees, CSU awarded bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and the community colleges offered lower-division coursework and associate degrees or certificates. The plan has been adjusted to meet workforce needs in recent years.
For instance, CSU can now award doctoral degrees in education, nursing, and physical therapy.
Nationwide, more than 50 community colleges operate almost 500 baccalaureate programs in 21 states.
Gov. Brown also signed AB 2558 earlier this month. The legislation establishes the Community College Professional Development Program, which aims to increase professional development activities for all community college employees.
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.
Community colleges supply workforce training, basic skills education and prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions.
The Chancellor’s Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.
For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/ .