Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/18418
FTCC, Chapel Hill Partnership Announced COMMUNITY NEWS COMMUNITY NEWS Leaders from Fayetteville Technical Community College and UNC-Chapel Hill met at FTCC’s campus on Oct. 20 to announce a new partnership to help veterans and active-duty military earn associate and bachelor’s degrees. The new program will identify talented veterans and military personnel early during their programs of study at Fayetteville Tech, guarantee their eventual admission to UNC-Chapel Hill provided they complete an appropriate associate degree and successfully complete the program, offer special events and advising at Fayetteville Tech and UNC while pursuing the associate degree, and provide exemplary support and transition services once students complete the associate degree program and enroll at UNC. In two years, once the program is fully phased in, Fayetteville Tech and UNC-Chapel Hill expect 15 to 20 veterans and military personnel to enter UNC each year. “We welcome this partnership with UNC, which will provide the veterans and military personnel in our area an affordable, convenient way to achieve a bachelor’s degree,” said Dr. Larry Keen, president of FTCC. The discipline of these students, combined with the excellent support and guidance they will receive through the program, will ensure that they make a successful transition to UNC.” “We’re proud to be launching this partnership with Fayetteville Tech,” said Chancellor Holden Thorp of UNC-Chapel Hill and a native of Fayetteville. “More important, we’re proud to be serving those who havegiven so much in service to us.” The new partnership is based on the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program (C-STEP), founded at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2006 with a grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. Designed to help low-income students transfer from community colleges to UNC-Chapel Hill and graduate on time, C-STEP has proven to be successful. To date, 86 percent of all C-STEP students have earned bachelor degrees within fi ve semesters of their enrollment at UNC, a rate which equals that of fi rst-year students at the University who are among the best-prepared college students in the nation. Fayetteville Tech and UNC-Chapel Hill will immediately begin working to identify a group of fi ve to ten students who can complete their associate degrees and enroll at UNC in August 2011. The key elements of the Fayetteville Tech/UNC-Chapel Hill partnership include the following: C-STEP at Fayetteville Tech will be led jointly by two faculty or staff members designated by Dr. Keen and representatives from the Offi ce of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill. FTCC faculty and staff leaders will help identify students who would benefi t from the program, serve as advisers and mentors to students in the program, and host regular meetings of these students to foster a sense of community and a strong peer-support network within the group. C-STEP students are guaranteed admission to UNC-Chapel Hill provided they complete the associate of arts or associate of science degree, achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0, complete the UNC-Chapel Hill foreign-language graduation requirement while enrolled at Fayetteville Tech, and participate as fully as possible in C-STEP activities, including those held at UNC-Chapel Hill. To foster engagement with UNC-Chapel Hill and to underscore a strong sense of community, C-STEP provides peer mentoring for students while they are still enrolled in community college and once they have enrolled at UNC- Chapel Hill. Once enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill, C-STEP students will be guaranteed campus housing and receive support from faculty and peer mentors. They will also continue to meet regularly for events that foster community and provide additional support. Currently UNC-Chapel Hill is home to more than 300 military veterans or their family members who are enrolled in both undergraduate and graduate programs at the University and receive support from the GI Bill. Collaboration among the Veterans Certifying Offi cial in the Offi ce of the University Registrar, the Offi ce of Scholarships and Student Aid and the Offi ce of Undergraduate Admissions offi ce will ease the transition from FTCC to UNC-Chapel Hill. Staff and faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill will collaborate with C-STEP leaders at FTCC and with one another to provide support and transition services to students in the program. Questions about C-STEP may be directed to Steve Farmer at (919) 962- 3992) or Susan Houston at (919) 962-8415 Energy Assistance Program Announced The Cumberland County Department of Social Services soon will accept applications for its annual Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP), created to assist households with heating costs during cold weather months. Applications can be submitted at DSS, located at 1225 Ramsey St., from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, starting Nov. 1 and running through Nov. 12, with the exception of Veterans Day. The offi ce will be closed for the holiday on Nov. 11. However, the offi ce will extend hours on Nov. 10 until 6 p.m. to accept applications. Applicants must bring in verifi cation of income, Social Security, photo identifi cation, and a current bank statement, if applicable. Households that are determined eligible will receive an energy payment in February. For more information on the Low Income Energy Assistance Program, call the LIEAP information line at 677-2821. The line will be active through Nov. 30. A second program, the Crisis Intervention Program may be available for more urgent energy assistance needs as funding is appropriated. The Salvation Army takes CIP applications Town Hall Meeting For Veterans Salted In celebration of Veterans Day, Cumberland County Veterans Services is hosting a town hall meeting at 1 p.m. on Nov. 6 in the Pate Room of Headquarters Library, 300 Maiden Lane. There will be an overview of Department of Veterans Affairs benefi ts and programs, to include the new rules on Agent Orange presumptive conditions and new statutes on applying for post traumatic stress disorder. The program will include a special presentation on PTSD and the Vet Center. After the overview presentations, the fl oor will be opened for questions. This meeting is open to all veterans, relatives, and friends of veterans who would like more information about the VA. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2, 2010 UCW 7