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Penn Highlands To Host Virtual Workforce Symposium

On Wednesday, May 19^th, from 8 AM to 10 AM, Penn Highlands Community College will host a virtual Workforce Development Symposium. This symposium will bring together local business, industry, and community leaders to discuss their workforce needs with Penn Highlands.

Sheila Ireland, the Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary of Workforce Development, will kick-off the event with a keynote address. Below is an agenda of the day’s events:

• Introduction (Dr. Steve Nunez, President of Penn Highlands Community College)
• Keynote Address (Sheila Ireland, PA Deputy Secretary of Workforce Development)
• Panel Discussion #1: Meeting Your Training Needs
• Breakout Session
• Panel Discussion #2: Using WEDnetPA Funding and Participating in the Program
• Questions
• Adjournment

Penn Highlands hopes to identify and help solve the following pain points that our local employers currently possess through immersive panel discussions on the following during the event:

• Technical training opportunities
• Soft skill training opportunities
• Customized short-term certificates and two-year degrees that fill employment gaps
• Partnerships that boost overall regional effectiveness through synergy
• WEDnetPA funding and how to participate

“Penn Highlands is excited to bring our region’s business and industry leaders together in one forum to discuss their workforce training needs,” stated Dr. Steve Nunez, President of Penn Highlands Community College. “We hope this event will allow us to identify additional opportunities where Penn Highlands can deliver relevant, highly trained employees for their needs.”

• Click here to learn more.
• Click here to register.

Four Students Named To The All-PA Academic Transfer & Workforce Pathway Team

The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges recently announced the 27th Annual All-Pennsylvania Academic Team. This honor recognizes an exceptional group of community college students who have achieved academic excellence and demonstrated a commitment to their colleges and communities.

Four of those honored were from Pennsylvania Highlands Community College. The following students were honored and are members of the All-Pennsylvania Academic Transfer and Workforce Pathway Team:

• Maddelyn Hoover, of Patton, will graduate in May 2021 with a degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences (A.A.).
• Isabella Nagy, of Portage, will graduate in May 2021 with a degree in Psychology (A.A.).
• Madison Piatak, of Portage, will graduate in May 2021 with a degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences (A.A.).
• Sydney Wells, of Indiana, will graduate in May 2021 with a degree in Child Development (A.A.S.). Sydney is the Workforce Pathway Scholar for Penn Highlands Community College.

Overall, the 2021 awardees included 46 outstanding community college transfer scholars and 15 exceptional workforce pathway scholars from across the Commonwealth. Transfer students must have completed at least 36 credits at a community college and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher to be considered for these awards. Workforce students must have a minimum of 12 college-level credit hours at a community college and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Pennsylvania’s community colleges partner with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities to provide scholarships to eligible All-Pennsylvania Transfer Team members at PASSHE institutions, providing two years of tuition at any PASSHE school.

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College congratulates these students on their academic achievements and looks forward to what each of their futures will hold.

About Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges
The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges is a voluntary membership association for Pennsylvania’s community colleges. Its members include the college presidents, members of the colleges’ boards of trustees, and key college administrators. The Commission represents the interests of and advocates for the collective needs of the community colleges to federal and state policymakers. For more information, please visit www.pacommunitycolleges.org.

Commencement To Be Live Streamed

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College will be holding two separate graduation ceremonies and will live stream both events to comply with COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings in Cambria County. The 26th graduating class will celebrate their success with this two-day in-person event where only the students and their (2) guests may attend. The ceremonies will live stream via YouTube and the college’s website.

On Friday, May 14th at 7:00 PM, Penn Highlands will honor these graduates:

• Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.) Degrees
• Certificates
• Diplomas

On Saturday, May 15th at 10:00 AM, Penn Highlands will honor these graduates:

• • Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) Degrees

To watch this year’s live stream of Commencement, visit the following links:

• College’s Website
• College’s YouTube Channel

Student Senate President Elizabeth Ruszkoski will be giving this year’s Commencement Address. Ms. Ruszkoski will be receiving an Associate of Arts in Psychology degree during the ceremony.

For additional details on Commencement, such as guest information, safety measures, and the event’s program, please click here to visit the official Commencement page.

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College looks forward to honoring over 300 graduates as a part of the Twenty-Sixth Graduating Class.

Gender Inequity In Higher Education: Not What You Think

The original column appeared in the Tribune-Democrat , written by Dr. Steve Nunez. Click here to see original sourced column.

When you think of post-secondary outcomes and potential gender inequities, what is your first thought?

You may think that at best, men and women are enrolling and graduating from community colleges equally. At worst, men are dominating the higher education landscape and females are lagging behind.

Traditionally, during the past century and longer, men have been the dominant force in higher education enrollment which has led to men having higher-paying and more-prestigious jobs (creating gender pay inequities) – and dare I say more power, politically and in business.

Something interesting happened at community colleges in the late 1970s. Enrollment, proportionally, of women, began to climb while enrollment for men began to dissipate. In 1975, males made up 55% of the community college enrollment. But by 1980, male enrollment had slid by 10%.

Today, men make up only 43% of the enrollment at community colleges.

But even more astounding than the recent enrollment declines of men was the dramatic shift in educational outcomes.

One might expect that the number of degrees earned each year would be directly proportional to the percentage of enrollees as it was in 1980 where men made up 45% of the enrollment and earned 46% of the degrees. However, in 2020 men made up 43% of the enrollment but only earned 39% of the degrees.

There is a perceptible gap in achievement between the genders that is strongly slanted toward women.

I hate to bore you with a bunch of statistics, but the take-home message is this – men have become less interested in enrolling into an institution of higher education, and if they do enroll, are graduating at lower rates.

The male-female post-secondary attainment gap is real and has been for decades.

My own doctoral dissertation confirmed this enrollment and attainment gap at Sauk Valley Community College (SVCC). On average at SVCC, males enrolled in significantly fewer numbers (males were only about 40% of the student population), were less prepared for college-level work (as determined by ACT/SAT scores and high school grade point averages), dropped out of college more often than females, and thus graduated less frequently.

This is a trend seen throughout the country at nearly every community college. Need proof? Go to just about any educational award ceremony and you’ll see that women are dominating the “competition.”

At one time, the Illinois Community College Board made all community colleges complete an annual survey of attainment of at-risk and underrepresented groups. The survey hadn’t changed in decades – the same questions and population classes were represented year after year.

Annually, when completing the survey, I laughed when I read that women were still being considered an at-risk or underrepresented group. Maybe in the early 1970s – but certainly not now, as women are killing it. Males are the underrepresented group and have been at community colleges for decades.

So what?

It is estimated that nearly 70% of near future jobs will require some post-secondary education. And yet I’m hearing from our business and industry friends that they cannot find qualified applicants.

How frustrating is it that we have hundreds of good, high-paying jobs right here in central-western Pennsylvania and we cannot fill them with qualified technicians and a highly educated workforce?

While this post-secondary enrollment and attainment gap is not as apparent at many four-year universities, community colleges enroll 5.5 million students annually. This disparity in attainment will have lasting effects for decades to come.

Ultimately, convincing more men to aspire to enroll and graduate from a post-secondary institution, such as a community college, is a must if we want to drive economic prosperity.

Written By Dr. Steve Nunez, College’s Fifth President. This monthly series appears in The Tribune-Democrat, and will allow Dr. Nunez to provide his perspective on the value of education and of a community college. 

College Finalizes Richland Campus Purchase

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College is officially the owner of the Richland Campus facility, located at 101 Community College Way in Johnstown, PA, as of April 29, 2021. This is the college’s first owned property since it was established in 1994.

“We are beyond excited to own our main campus in Richland Township,” stated Dr. Steve Nunez, President of Penn Highlands Community College. “This purchase allows us to renovate certain areas and expand our current offerings, ensuring our students receive the quality education they deserve in a state-of-the-art learning environment.”

The Richland facility has been considered the main campus of Penn Highlands Community College since the lease began in 2007. The facility houses 101 employees and an annual average of 1,390 part-time and full-time students.

The finalized sale of the main campus building includes approximately 15 acres of property from the Richland School District for $6,000,000. The additional acreage purchase will allow Penn Highlands to expand the facility and incorporate any future programming, if needed.

“This is an exciting time for Penn Highlands Community College,” stated Lorraine Donahue, Vice President of Finance and Administration. “This marks the first time that the college has owned its own facility, and it shows the commitment we have to this region and its students.”

This purchase allows Pennsylvania Highlands Community College to further its mission, which is to provide students with affordable opportunities to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in their work and day-to-day lives.