Madisonville Community College receives grant, partners with local school district to provide online college credits
A recent pair of federal grants will be used to expand a partnership between Madisonville Community College and local high schools. Through the partnership, students are able to earn dual credits and work toward certification as EMTs. The grant is geared specifically toward creating synchronous, virtual-learning opportunities for high school students.
Two recently announced Rural Development Grants from the US Department of Agriculture, totaling $142,000, will be used by Madisonville Community College to expand distance learning and telemedicine. The grant will allow MCC to offer classes to high school students from Caldwell, Crittenden, and Christian counties. The students will earn both high school and college credit in the classes which focus on the field of emergency healthcare services. Officials are hopeful that the region will benefit from encouraging students to get a head start on professional training by expanding the workforce in the strapped healthcare field.
MCC has been the recipient of these types of grants before, but this is the first time the grant has been specifically geared toward high school students being able to gain dual credits in a virtual setting. Students connect to the virtual classes from the high school, while the professors teach an in-person class at the college. This builds upon an existing dual credit agreement between MCC, local schools, and local healthcare provider, Allied Health. High school students will be able to earn a certificate as an Emergency Medical Technician, which they can take directly to the workforce upon graduation, or apply to additional studies and degrees. Another huge benefit of the program is that it allows students to accumulate college credits without having to worry about accumulating student loan debt, a significant barrier for many in accessing higher education.
In an article published by The Paducah Sun, State Director of the USDA's Rural Development Kentucky Hilda Legg expressed excitement about what the grant will mean for the students and the community, "We believe strongly that rural communities must be economically vibrant. They must be healthy and they must have job opportunities. When rural communities are strong, America is strong." Legg also emphasized that Kentucky received seven grants out of 116 distributed nationally.