Education
Collegiate Collaborations INSTITUTIONS WORK TOGETHER TO PROVIDE MORE PROGRAM OPTIONS TO STUDENTS
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MARTINSVILLE- HENRY COU NT Y
medical assistant, business leader, computer technician or pharmacy technician. According to Joan Blankenship, National College community resource coordinator, the institution has 22 locations in the United States and has been offering courses in Martinsville for 28 years, averaging 275 students per quarter. – Jim Elliott
IAN CURCIO
ompetition? Not among Martinsville-Henry County’s institutions of higher learning, which are strengthening partnerships ultimately to offer a greater number of programs to students. The newest development on the academic landscape here is New College Institute (NCI), an institution created by an act of the state legislature and largely supported by a major pledge from the Harvest Foundation. New College Institute has partnered with a number of four-year colleges to offer thirdand fourth-year classes. Many of its students come from associate degree programs at Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC), which also works closely with NCI to provide classroom space and courses for several degree programs. “The New College Institute is something that’s been sorely needed in this area for a while now,” says Leanna Blevins, associate director. “It makes the last two years of a college education far more accessible to our community.” Also part of NCI’s mission is reaching out to area residents and communicating the importance of post secondary education in today’s knowledge-based economy, as well as how people can access the new educational programs being offered. In 2006, NCI had seven degree programs, four of them bachelor’s and three master’s. In the fall of 2007, NCI is offering three new bachelor’s degree programs. Two of these programs, motorsports technology and industrial technology, are in partnership with Old Dominion University, and the third program, homeland security and emergency preparedness, is offered through a partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University. NCI also collaborates on bachelor’s and master’s degree programs with Averett University, Ferrum College, Radford University, Longwood University and the University of Virginia. NCI’s new industrial technology degree will prepare students for jobs such as manufacturing supervisor, quality systems engineer and plant manager, and the motorsports technology program is a natural for Martinsville, an area known nationally for stock car racing. PHCC already operates the state’s only associate’s degree program in motorsports. “We teach everything about the race car except how to drive it,” says Kris Landrum, public relations director for PHCC. “Students build engines, do bodywork and serve as a pit crew on a race car we run at late model races.” PHCC offers not only a strong transfer program for students who want to continue their education, but also a workforce development program for business and industry. The college provides training in such subjects as computer sciences and other technical programming and customer service, among others. A third institution with a presence in Martinsville is National College, offering career-oriented two-year associate’s degree programs enabling students to pursue careers as a
SEE MORE ONLINE | To learn more about New College Institute, visit the archives at imagesmartinsvillehenrycounty.com/07. Kenneth King works on a late model stock car at Patrick Henry Community College, which operates the state’s only associate’s degree program in motorsports.
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