SLCC official: Coreil will expand, not reduce, progrrams

A South Louisiana Community College official, speaking at joint meeting of the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club, assured the large crowd that the Coreil Campus would not close.
Instead, SLCC officials are looking for ways to increase programs at the school, although state budget cuts have affected programs there. Dr. David Volpe, vice chancellor for student affairs, said there are now 86 students at Coreil Campus and he expects that number to increase to 120 students in the fall. Also in the fall, new funding options will be available for SLCC students to pay for the cost of attending SLCC, which is just over $1,600 per semester, he said, adding that is a “true bargain,” compared to other post-secondary educational institutions.
State funding cuts affect the amount of money available for salaries, which can cause instructors to be tempted to go to private industry or to states where technical schools can pay more.
Volpe said the school also is finding creative ways of expanding programs. He gave the example of videoconferencing that allows students and instructors to see and talk to each other while not on the same campus. Some instruction, such as welding, would not be appropriate for videoconferencing, he said.
Another issue covered during the meeting was “dual enrollment,” where a student receives some instruction at the technical school level while still in high school. There are now more than 100 students in the program in Evangeline Parish, Superintendent of Schools Toni Hamlin said.
Volpe said he hopes that eventually, every high school student who intends to pursue a degree or certification beyond high school can earn some credit.
He said SLCC is revamping the dual enrollment program and that it issued a “memorandum of agreement” last week on changes that will be made to the program.
Some of the changes involve qualifying more high school teachers to give instruction at the community college level.
Other changes include offering new ways for students to fund their education at SLCC, and shortening the time it takes for students to complete programs, Volpe said.
He also said due to the implementing of new programs during the spring, there has been less activity at Coreil Campus and other SLCC facilities, but that doesn’t mean SLCC is considering cuts to the school.
Mayor Jennifer Vidrine said students in Ville Platte have told her they were considering dropping plans to atttend Coreil Campus because there is no transportation to its facility, which is in the Evangeline Parish Industrial Park north of the city.
Volpe said transportation “is on our radar,” and that earlier that day, he talked about the need for transportation with Carleen Jones, who has been the campus administrator since November. Issues relating to transportation discussed during the chamber meeting included the cost, including the cost of insurance.
Hamlin said the school board is also making changes, particularly in the curriculums, and that she understood Volpe’s explanation about slower activity during the spring on Coreil Campus. “Nothing is quite the way it used to be,” in education, she said.
People at the meeting also discussed the “chicken or the egg” situation, as state Representative Bernard LaBas described it, between needing enough students to hire instructors and having enough instructors to attract students.
Another SLCC official at the meeting, Willie Smith, vice chancellor for economic and work development, insisted “nothing is changed,” concerning keeping Coreil Campus operating. He said SLCC will soon be hiring adjunct instructors for its facilities to augment instructional staff.
Volpe stressed that although there are some small classes during the spring, he expects SLCC to have more students in the future. He also said SLCC needs to work closely with the Acadiana communities it serves to help to attract and expand industry.