MCC Selected for Plus 50 Encore Completion Program

MCC SELECTED FOR PLUS 50 ENCORE COMPLETION PROGRAM

Madisonville Community College has been chosen to join the Plus 50 Encore Completion Program offered by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The program is a national effort to train 10,000 baby boomers over the next two years for new jobs in health care, education and social services, while helping them complete certificates or degrees.

Madisonville Community College is excited to be a part of the AACC Plus 50 Encore Completion program. Adults returning to upgrade skills and pursue new career pathways have been an important part of our college s mission for many years. Our involvement in the Plus 50 program will allow the college to develop new tools to help adult learners as they seek new opportunities in today s changing workforce, stated MCC Chief Student Affairs Officer Dr. Jay Parrent.

The college will assist adults age 50 and over in completing degrees or certificates in high-demand fields such as medical unit coordination, electronic health records, and human services. With many age 50 and over adults out of work or seeking to transition to a new career, the program offers skill updates and career makeovers for baby boomers.

Since 2008, AACC and its network of Plus 50 Initiative colleges have supported baby boomers coming to college and helped them prepare for new careers. It s a program that works. Eighty-nine percent of students participating in AACC s Plus 50 Initiative told an independent evaluator that college workforce training helped them acquire new job skills, and 72 percent attributed landing a job to such training.

Baby boomers who are out of work or want to transition into new career fields need to update their skills. Community colleges are affordable and working to help baby boomers, even if they ve never stepped on a college campus before, said Mary Sue Vickers, director for the Plus 50 Initiative at AACC.

Vickers added that many of the plus 50 adults who participate in the program also find great meaning and purpose in their work after they get hired. Jobs in health care, education and social services give baby boomers a way to give back to society, so plus 50 adults find these careers to be particularly rewarding, said Vickers.

In addition to providing grant funds that augment college workforce training programs, participating colleges gain access to toolkits and extensive marketing resources tailored to reach baby boomers. They also benefit from the advice and support of staff at other community colleges that have successfully implemented programs for older learners and understand the unique needs of the plus 50 student population.

The Plus 50 Encore Completion Program is funded with a $3.2-million grant to AACC provided by Deerbrook Charitable Trust. The Plus 50 Encore Completion program supports AACC s work to increase the number of students who finish degrees, certificates, and other credentials. In April 2010, AACC committed alongside other higher education organizations to promote the development and implementation of policies, practices and institutional cultures that will produce 50 percent more students with high quality degrees and certificates by 2020.

To learn more about career training opportunities at Madisonville Community College, please call the Enrollment Center at 270.824.8621.