Have you ever taken a course at the Blount County Campus of Pellissippi State Community College?

Sat

Nov 17 2007

08:37:am

By: bizgrrl shortURL

Topics:

Pellissippi provides a great service

Submitted by Wendy Pitts Reeves on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:43.

Hello, everyone,

Just wanted to tell you that I've been referring clients to Pellissippi for years. I've always thought they do an outstanding job, especially with (1) adults who've been out a long time and who are hesitant about diving back in, and (2) students who may have a learning disability or other issue that sometimes gets in the way of success at school.

In fact, I keep a huge stack of business cards at my desk for my favorite PSTCC counselor, Betsy Boyd, who will do whatever she can to help a student be successful in their pursuit of a college education. Every week, I'll tell someone in my office, "Just call Betsy. She'll get you started..."

Now, there are kids (or adults) who really should go straight for the 4-year university experience with all that that entails. Nevertheless, community colleges in general, and Pellissippi in particular, provide an irreplaceable service that meets a huge unmet need. We are incredibly lucky to have them right here at home.

~Wendy

Wendy Pitts Reeves, L.C.S.W.
Blount County Commissioner, District 4, Seat C

General Education courses

Submitted by Will.I.am on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 09:57.

A student is able to obtain all credits needed at the Blount campus in order to transfer to a four-year institution. That being said, they may need to be creative with their scheduling in order to do so. By that, I mean that there are instances when a web class or TWAV (two-way audio visual) may be the best option. Many of the students that make the trip down the parkway do so in order to maintain some "normalcy" in their schedules and don't interfere with other responsibilities that they have such as families and jobs. The hope is that the new facility will bring more classes and programs to Blount County.

Thanks, Will.I.am. Will

Submitted by bizgrrl on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 10:52.

Thanks, Will.I.am. Will these credits also provide a 2 year degree from Pellissippi?

If you enroll at PSTCC and

Submitted by Will.I.am on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:19.

If you enroll at PSTCC and are under an articulation agreement with a four-year institution, you would obtain an A.A. or A.S. after completeion of the first two years.

Thanks again.

Submitted by bizgrrl on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:27.

Thanks again.

Thanks, commissioner, and

Submitted by bizgrrl on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 07:37.

Thanks, commissioner, and congrats to your son. I know you are proud.

I was thinking it would be the case, that you could not get the necessary credits at the Blount County campus to obtain the 2 year degree and transfer to a 4 yr college.

Transfer

Submitted by commissionerwalker on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 09:40.

There are some course areas that will transfer to UT, Pellissipi has done a good job in signing agreements in certain areas to have their credit hours accepted to different schools for different areas of study.

Son

Submitted by commissionerwalker on Sun, 11/18/2007 - 23:31.

My son has taken his 1st year at the Blount Campus and his 2nd at Hardin Valley due to the availability of classes. He will be transferring to Tusculum (sp)during the next semster for his 4 year degree.

I'm sorry, I was speaking of

Submitted by bizgrrl on Sun, 11/18/2007 - 07:17.

I'm sorry, I was speaking of a 2 year degree that would get you enough transferable credits for the first 2 years of a 4 year degree.

Fourteen miles is fourteen miles. Not everyone has readily accessible transportation to get to the main campus, especially the poor.

Accessibility

Submitted by Blount Countian on Sun, 11/18/2007 - 13:13.

That's true. When I went there many years ago, I had a Pell Grant index number of "0", so I definitely fit into that category. I carpooled with some other students to get to and from, plus was able to get enough financial aid to cover my expenses. It would be worth talking to a financial aid officer to see what kind of aid might be possible - sometimes a good financial aid officer can be really, really helpful. Also, PSTCC has some "distance learning" options that might be doable for some people:
(link...)

They also have an arrangement with Tennessee Tech and ETSU where you can get a 4-year degree without having to physically go there, which might be helpful for some people:
(link...)

I've been reviewing their

Submitted by bizgrrl on Sat, 11/17/2007 - 09:31.

I've been reviewing their website. Do you know if you can complete a 2 year degree with classes from the Blount campus?

Degree

Submitted by Blount Countian on Sat, 11/17/2007 - 22:43.

It might make a difference what the major is. I'm sure that there are some degrees for which some of the classes are only held at the main campus, but I'm not sure if that is true for all degrees. OTOH, the main campus is really pretty accessible - it's basically right off the Pellissippi Parkway, not hard to get to at all.

never thought about it

Submitted by mello on Sat, 11/17/2007 - 10:16.

The kidlet is just doing classes that count for both high school and college so we never even considered what the degree program is locally.

Blount County is lucky to have PSCC

Submitted by mello on Sat, 11/17/2007 - 09:25.

Before my kidlet enrolled at the Blount Campus I had no idea just how many people use this campus. It is not just BC residents. There are kids and adults there from Monroe and Knox counties and probably many other areas. Good luck finding a parking spot!

With the up and coming / new and expanded campus looking for a location, I have to once again plug the concept of finding a way to merge the cities' and the county's vocational education classes to the new Pelli campus.

If it were simply about education- this merger could be easily done. My guess is it is more about control of purse strings.