HCC Active During Legislative Session

More than 160 students, faculty, staff and community leaders of Hopkinsville Community College traveled to Frankfort on January 20 and 21 to voice their support for community and technical colleges.

The group attended committee meetings, spoke to their legislators, visited the governors office, toured the capitol, andwere introduced on the floors of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

You hear do more with less, more with less, more with less, said HCC President James Selbe. Eventually youre doing everything with nothing. HCC supporters are taking the message of all that the college does to Frankfort to advocate that funding remain the same for all KCTCS colleges. HCC has experienced an enrollment increase of more than 16 percent from fall 2008 to fall 2009 while state appropriations have continued to decline. We will also be talking with our legislators about possible funding for construction of an allied health building, he said. Allied health is a growing field. Our students have an incredible need for these programs. We need to meet their needs.

Hopkinsville Community College is part of a statewide KCTCS advocacy campaign that will have an active presence throughout the legislative session. The grassroots advocacy campaign is bringing community and business leaders, students, and faculty and staff from each of the 16 KCTCS colleges and the system office to Frankfort during the General Assembly.

In addition to meeting with their legislators, stakeholders from the different KCTCS colleges and system office will visit the state capitol each week to show the diverse programs and opportunities offered through KCTCS. The showcase will demonstrate how KCTCS programs are transforming the Commonwealth and its residents, enabling them to find high growth, high wage jobs. HCCs showcase was set up in the Capitol Annex on Wednesday, January 20 and featured nursing and industrial maintenance technology programs.

The 2010 KCTCS legislative agenda has two primary components the biennial budget request and legislative priorities, including transfer legislation that is designed to eliminate the barriers KCTCS students face when transferring to Kentuckys public universities.

For more information on the campaign, visit http://transform.kctcs.edu and join the campaign today.