Category: ECC Rolla

College President to Chair State Higher Ed Advisory Committee

October 7, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

East Central College President Dr. Jon Bauer recently was named the chairperson of the state’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) Presidential Advisory Committee.

In that role, Bauer will be the voice of presidents and chancellors of community colleges and four-year institutions to the CBHE. The CBHE oversees the state’s Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development.

“This is an opportunity to advise the state board on matters that directly impact East Central, community colleges, and high education in general across the state,” Bauer said. “I am thankful for this opportunity to serve.”

Bauer will be Advisory Committee chair for two years. Kristin Sobolik, chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, was appointed as vice chair of the committee.

The Presidential Advisory Committee consists of 32 members – the president, chancellor or chief administrative officer of each of the community colleges, and the public four-year colleges and universities in Missouri.

Also on the committee is the president of State Technical College, as well as representatives from privately supported college and universities, according to state statute.

ECC Enrollment Up for Third Consecutive Semester

October 6, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

Enrollment at East Central College is up this fall, bucking the national trend of declining enrollment among public colleges and universities.

The number of credit hours taken by ECC students is 3 percent higher this semester compared to the Fall 2021 semester — students this semester are taking 26,640 credit hours, 772 more than the 25,868 credit hours taken last fall.

In addition, there are 35 more students this year, 2,692, compared to last fall when there were 2,657 students enrolled. That is a 1.3 percent increase in total students enrolled (headcount).

Increasing enrollment has been a challenge for colleges throughout the country, according to ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer.

“For the second year in a row — and going against the trend across the country — we have seen enrollment gains in both credit hours and headcount,” he said. “Everyone at East Central has a part in this work, and everyone should be thrilled with these results.”

ECC’s enrollment over the past two years has challenged the shift toward decreasing populations.

“Although the general trend nationwide is continued declines in enrollment,” Bauer added, “around Missouri, the results at community colleges are mixed.

“Some have seen gains this fall, while others are experiencing declines, while some are flat.”

ECC can attribute some of the enrollment increase to strong gains in dual credit enrollment, employee focus on retention and growth at ECC in Rolla.

Bauer noted that the college’s Full-Time Equivalency (FTE) is 1,776, up from 1,725 last fall. FTE is a calculation based on total credit hours that shows how many students would be attending college if they all were full time. This year’s FTE also is higher than in 2020 when it was 1,642.

A majority of ECC students are planning to complete their Associate of Arts degree, while others are looking to directly begin their career upon completion of their program’s certificate and/or degree.

Below is a list of the top 10 programs for the fall 2022 semester:

Associate of Arts — 1186
Nursing — 94
Education — 81
Industrial Engineering Tech — 50
Computer Information System — 49
Transfer Engineering — 48
Fine Arts — 40
Culinary Arts — 36
Radiological Technology — 29.

ECC, Southeast Agree to New Mentor Transfer Program

September 23, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

East Central College students planning to transfer to Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, will have a helping hand every step of the way.

That’s thanks to a Transfer Mentor Program agreed upon ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer and Southeast President Dr. Carlos Vargas on Sept. 19.

The new program provides ECC students with a guided plan for success while at ECC, and an easy transition plan to Southeast to complete their four-year degree.

“It takes two institutions to make an agreement work,” said Bauer. “It’s important to have processes in place so students know the answers without having to search for them. This partnership will work for the students.”

ECC students will track their degree program at Southeast from their very first semester of college. Students who participate will be assigned a transfer mentor at Southeast who will give them individual support for their two years at ECC, and through their first semester at Southeast.

“The Transfer Mentor Program allows Southeast to treat ECC students as if they were our very own,” said Vargas. “This agreement will give students support and advising to ensure courses are transferable as they make progress on their associate degrees.”

In addition, ECC students will have access to academic advising and the web-based degree management system at Southeast. The program also provides students opportunities for concurrent enrollment and reverse transfer to earn their associate of arts degree at ECC.

Every semester, ECC will send an official college transcript to Southeast at no cost to the student. This will allow the student, and staff at ECC and Southeast to share information, manage progress towards the degree and have access to transcripts in a web-based degree management system.

With the institutions working directly together on behalf of the students, Southeast’s Office of Admissions can create a clear pathway for the ECC students’ ultimate goal of a four-year degree while helping ensure there are no non-transferable credits, giving them guidance, and providing mentorship to succeed.

ECC Recognizes Employees for Years of Service

September 23, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

Each year, East Central College recognizes the hard work and commitment of its employees during the Annual Service Awards Recognition banquet.

The banquet, held Sept. 22, is an opportunity to show that the college values the employee’s dedication to students’ needs and educational goals, and to the community ECC serves.

The service award banquet also is an opportunity for administrators to individually recognize each employee and the work that they do for the college and students.

This year’s banquet honored those who have been with ECC for 5, 10, 15, 25 and 30 years.

The ECC Culinary Department provided dinner and service for award winners and their guests under the direction of Chef Joe Hovland and Chef Gail Witt.

Service Award Winners

30 Years — Kevin Dixon

25 Years — Jennifer Willis (Not pictured is Cynthia Cubas)

20 Years — Jennifer Judd, Wendy Pecka and Bethany Lohden

15 Years — Dennis Pohlman, Curtis Elliott, DeAnne Fiedler, Charles Warmack and Josh Stroup
(Not pictured are Megan Elbert, Becki Heimann and Paul Lampe)

10 Years — Carol Bailie, Tom Schickler, Eric Clapper and Denise Walker
(Not pictured are Ehren Curnutte, Lisa Haag, Cole Halfaker, Nanette Sayles and Dave Steffens)

5 years — (First photo) Connie Wissbaum, Melissa Willmore, Tot Pratt, Hannah Masek, Melissa Richards and (second photo) Chef Joe Hovland, pictured with ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer.

(Not pictured are John Ghirardi and Audrey Schlote)

ECC Hosting 2023-24 Financial Aid Workshops

September 20, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

East Central College’s financial aid department will hold a series of workshops to help students fill out the 2023-24 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) over the course of several evenings.

Attendees must RSVP for the workshops. To RSVP for one of the workshops, or for more information, call 636-584-6574 or email FinAid@EastCentral.edu.

FAFSA Nights will be held in Buescher Hall, Union, room 103 and 214 from 5-6:30 p.m. on the following dates:

Tuesday, Oct. 4

Tuesday, Oct. 18

Tuesday, Nov. 1

Tuesday, Nov. 15

Tuesday, Nov. 29

To get the most out of the workshop, students are encouraged to bring their Social Security number, driver’s license, W-2 forms, 2021 federal income tax return, bank account balances, value of investments, value of business and/or investment farm.

Amazon Wishlist Created for ECC Food Pantry

September 20, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

There is a new, easier way to help East Central College students who need help putting food on the table, or those who can’t afford school supplies.

The ECC Food Pantry is available to all students in need at the College. It offers food, common household items and supplies for school.

And now, those things can be purchased on Amazon.com, where a “Wishlist” has been created, according to Abbie Bishop, wellness navigator at the Falcon Career Center.

“Our staff is trying to build up the inventory so that we are able to provide plenty of food and other items when students reach out to the pantry,” Bishop said. “If you would like to donate, we have created an Amazon Wishlist that will ship the items directly to ECC.”

Click here, Amazon Wishlist, to visit the list and purchase items to be used by students.

Donors also can contribute the “old-fashioned” way, by dropping items off at the College. To do so, contact Bishop at 636-584-6632 or abigail.bishop@eastcentral.edu beforehand.

“If you would like to drop off any donations that you may already have around your house, don’t hesitate to reach out,” Bishop added. “We greatly appreciate it!”

Those in Need

The Food Pantry is only available to ECC students — in Union and Rolla — who must present a student ID when picking up items.

To find the request form, students can visit www.eastcentral.edu/current/ and click the “Food Pantry” tab under Support Services. The form can also be found here.

Students will be asked their email address and name which will only be used for the form. No records of the pantry visit are maintained. Students also will be asked to select a date, time, and which campus pantry they would like to visit.

Summer Learning Academy Grows in 2022

August 26, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

East Central College’s Summer Learning Academy (SLA) saw a significant increase in students this year compared to 2021.

There were 566 students in classes during this year’s offering — 418 in Union and 148 in Rolla. That’s compared to 320 students last year, including 198 students at the Union campus and 112 in Rolla classes.

Through the SLA, children and teens ages 5 to 18 were in classrooms on the Union campus and Rolla sites exploring fun and creative activities. SLA ran from July 5 through Aug. 12.

The goal of academy was to provide a wide array of enriching and exciting classes for the entire college service region, according to Pam Kaiser, program coordinator for the Center for Workforce Development.

“Every class is designed to be fun and exciting for whatever age group it is geared toward — these classes can be enriching and empowering,” she said. “It is an opportunity for students to develop talents and encourage exploration, and personal growth.”

SLA was Facilitated by ECC’s Community Education program. Kaiser organized, advertised and oversaw the entire Academy. She was assisted this year by Jennifer Eagan.

SLA Sponsors

SLA was free for participants this year thanks to the generosity of sponsors, including Edward Jones offices in Washington, Union and Rolla; local Jimmy John’s restaurants and the ECC Foundation.

“Sponsors made a world of different this year, and they are a reason that we had so many participants,” Kaiser added.

There was a wide selection of varying classes, including some unique classes. Students participated in classes like, Nursing (how to care for babies), Science by Brewer, Hogwarts Wizardry, Junior Welding, Youth Theatre, Fishing, Robotics, Computers, Cheerleading and a Cardboard Sculpture class.

Kaiser noted that the cardboard sculptures showed just how creative and talented SLA students can be. The class was taught by Miguel De Aguero, who recently retired from ECC. He worked with the students to use their imagination and create animals, masks, vehicles and many other things from only cardboard, tape and a few other supplies.

Kaiser added that a large amount of cardboard was donated to SLA by Short Run Boxes, a Union area store that specializes in custom and stock cardboard boxes and moving supplies.

SLA featured new classes this year, including multiple Escape Rooms, two culinary arts classes, Pizza from Scratch, and baking class Decorating Fun Foods; Laugh Your Way to Improv and Forensic Camp, all in Union.

In Rolla, new classes included: All Things You Cannot See, a class where students worked with microscopes; Exploring Egyptology, Winter Sowing and WEDO Robotics.

Rolla ELA Student and Husband Sworn in as U.S. Citizens

August 25, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

Ramaz and Tsiala “Manana” Alaverdashvili were sworn in as U.S. Citizens Friday, Aug. 12, during a ceremony at the Old St. Louis Courthouse.

Since 2016, Manana has been attending English Language Acquisition (ELA) classes in Rolla through East Central College’s Adult Education and Literacy program — her primary goal was to become a U.S. citizen.

“American people love family,” she said. “I love the friendly relations in the USA.”

Manana grew up in Gori, Georgia and then moved to Tbilisi with her husband, Ramaz. Georgian is her native language, and she also speaks Russian fluently and can read and write German.

Ramaz, her husband, works at Missouri State University. He is a physicist who works in Science and Technology.

Life In Georgia

While living in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Ramaz worked as a physicist and Manana was the principal librarian for 56 branches of libraries. She held this position from 2004 to 2015.

Prior to this, she worked as a kindergarten teacher and held various positions at Tbilisi State University.

Since moving to Rolla in 2016, Manana has also worked to serve those in need. From 2016-2017, she worked with the Salvation Army. Since March 2018, Manana has volunteered at the Rolla Mission.

At the Rolla Mission she helps serve breakfast and lunch. She washes the dishes for 30-35 people and cleans the facility. At times, she helps sort the items that are donated to the Mission.

Manana genuinely cares about the welfare of others.

“There are homeless people at the Mission. Some of them have physical or mental disabilities, therefore they need help,” she said. “I like very much when I am helping people in need.”

Manana and Ramaz have two children, a daughter, Elene, who is a Chemist living in Georgia and a son, Bachana, who is a Physics professor living in Santa Clara, Calif.

They also have two grandchildren living in Georgia, Andrea who is 7 and Anastasia who is 4. Although the couple do not get back to visit them, they often see one another remotely online.

Manana’s story was featured in the Phelps County Focus, which was noticed by State Rep. Don Mayhew. Mayhew sent Manana a note in recognition of her hard work and determination.

Learn more about or sign up for the AEL program.

ECC Grad Switches Programs, Changes Career Trajectory

July 25, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

French is called the language of love, and many say Spanish and Italian languages are the most “romantic,” but for East Central College graduate Emily Stevens, her love language is SQL.

In fact, Stevens said, Structured Query Language — a computer language used in coding — completely changed her trajectory at ECC and he career.

Stevens, who lives in Columbia, was introduced to SQL during a class in the Health Information Management (HIM) program. She was taking the course online.

“I’m really grateful for the single intro to SQL assignment at the end of the Microsoft Access course,” she said. “That one assignment was so fun and interesting that I told my fiancé, ‘I wish that had been the whole class.’ His reply was, ‘well it can be.’ ”

Stevens took that advice and switched programs to ECC’s Computer Information Systems (CIS) — she graduated from the program in May with an associate of science degree.

Initially, Stevens was attracted to ECC’s HIM program because of the college’s affordability and the program is fully online. When she learned the CIS program also is fully online, Stevens had no doubt it was the program for her.

“The need for affordable classes is what drew me to ECC,” she said. “I am really grateful that I found ECC, and I ended up in the online CIS program.”

Stevens added that Anna Schwein, recently retired CIS faculty member, went above and beyond when teaching students in her CIS classes.

“She clearly cares about student learning and was so encouraging and motivating along the way,” Stevens commented. “She’s a perfect model of a teacher and I am so grateful for the experience of being her student.”

Website Build

According to Jason Durbin, assistant professor of CIS and business, Stevens enrolled in a “CIS Internship class,” which is not required for the degree but afforded her the opportunity for real-life experience.

Durbin noted that a new business in the Union area, Empowered Health Advocacy, reached out to him in need of assistance building a website.

“They were starting a new business and they needed a website, at the same time, Emily was looking for an internship — it worked for both of them,” Durbin said. “Emily was an outstanding CIS student, and she built the website from scratch.”

Empowered Health Advocacy provides doula services, and advocates for patients while bridging the gap with providers.

Stevens said she met with the company owners to learn what they wanted out of a webpage, and then she got to work designing and making the site user friendly.

“We talked about what they had in mind, and what type of content they wanted on the site,” she said. “We discussed options, what website designs they liked and what they were not fans of.”

After meeting with the owners, Stevens developed framework for the site, then began to build the site and make edits along the way.

She began work on the project in December 2022 and completed work in March, adding that she stopped counting the hours of work on the site after 300.

“That includes a lot of self-learning and research,” Stevens said. “I have always been confident working alone and figuring things out.”

She added that she will use that confidence and ability to self-teach to launch her career.

“Turning ideas into creations describes a majority of my interests,” she wrote on the site. “Whatever that is I’ll jump in letting my mind and hands create something new, fun, better, or even just different.”

CIS Program

ECC offers both a certificate and degree in CIS, as well as a new “IT Helpdesk: Certificate of Specialization.”

In addition, ECC has a 2+2 agreement with the University of Missouri-Columbia where students can ultimately earn a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.

It is designed for students to complete two years, or four semesters, of classes at ECC, and then two years of courses at the University of Missouri.

To learn more about ECC’s CIS program, people can visit Career and Technical Education and click the CIS options.

LPN-RN Bridge Program Deadline Extended

July 20, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

The East Central College Nursing Program has extended its deadline for the LPN-RN Bridge program, located at our Rolla North location.

The Licensed Practicing Nurse to Registered Nurse Bridge program is an opportunity for LPNs to gain the skills and knowledge to continue their education and become RNs.

The deadline for applications has been extended to Sept. 1, and classes will begin January 2023 and finish in December 2023.

The evening and every-other-weekend format will allow for LPNs to continue working while taking courses toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in nursing.

LPNs considering the move toward an RN can see the program-specific criteria and find a printable application at https://www.eastcentral.edu/allied-health/nursing/#1486613442402-6db17562-b2aa.

For more information, contact Nancy Mitchell at 636-584-6616 or Nancy.Mitchell@eastcentral.edu; or call the Rolla North Nursing office at 573-202-6950.