Grants Provide More Opportunities for Our Students
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Community colleges, such as Coastal Bend College, are pivotal institutions of higher education in American society - crucial to our economic competitiveness and our efforts to bring back the American Dream. An open-access institution located close to where students live and work, Coastal Bend College is uniquely situated to jumpstart social mobility for those who aspire to continue their education. Through grant funding, Coastal Bend College has a Cougar Zone Go Center, a mobile unit complete with computers, printers, and Internet connectivity. Because of its mobility, the Cougar Zone Go Center can provide information about the college in a more acces-
sible way by traveling to venues that are non-traditional. The Cougar Zone Go Center provides the following services: · College Admission Awareness · College Application Assistance · Financial Aid Advising · Career Exploration · Scholarship Assistance · College Advising · College Campus Visits · Academic Advising Along with funding the Cougar Zone Go Center, grant funding has also provided the nursing programs with new mannequins including a fully functional, talking mannequin. The welding labs in both Beeville and Alice have also been
updated including a virtual welder. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of welders is expected to grow by 6 percent between 2016-2026. By renovating both welding labs, Coastal Bend College will be able to train students with the latest technologies which will boost their competitiveness when applying for jobs. Welding lab renovations and purchased supplies include the installation of a plasma cutting table, which integrates a desktop computer to cut out designs from metal. In addition, funds were allocated for new machines, a new venting system, compressors, and other cutting edge welding tools.
