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June 17, 2005

BOARD OF REGENTS AWARDS GENDER NONTRADITIONAL GRANTS

(TOPEKA) – This week the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) awarded four grants totaling $150,000 to four regional centers to address the participation and completion rates of gender nontraditional students in approved career and technical education programs in Kansas.

Barton County Community College, Coffeyville Community College, Highland Community College and the Smoky Hill Education Service Center in Salina will each receive $37,500 to support their grant activities.

“I am pleased to recognize the efforts of these four centers in the area of gender nontraditional workforce development,” said Reginald Robinson, President and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents. “These programs go a long way in enhancing workforce and economic development efforts in Kansas.”

Occupational information coordinators at each of the four centers conduct activities and provide services and resources that enable students, faculty, counselors, parents and members of the community to connect prospective students with high-skill, high-wage careers in areas which may be nontraditional to their respective genders. Examples of gender nontraditional programs include females enrolled in mechanical engineering technology or airframe/powerplant programs, or males enrolled in nursing or medical laboratory technology programs. The federal Carl D. Perkins legislation requires initiatives that are focused on this particular population of students.

Each center utilizes input and implements recommendations from an advisory council comprised of nontraditional workers, business/industry representatives, students and educators to address regional workforce needs and recruitment activities. Many of the centers’ activities are conducted through partnerships formed with One-Stop Centers, area high schools, postsecondary institutions and other agencies within the four regions. Resources, such as videos, books, curriculum enhancements, website links and newsletters, distributed through the centers increase the availability of career awareness and planning information to students and potential workers. With sponsorship from business and industry, the centers also conduct a scholarship program, regionally and statewide, for students enrolled in an approved career and technical education program nontraditional to their gender to assist with their educational costs.

These grants are made possible by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, a federal program that was established to assist with improving student achievement as well as preparing students for learning through educational reform, innovations and continuous improvement in career and technical education

The KBOR Office of Career and Technical Education assists the 30 postsecondary institutions benefiting from Carl D. Perkins funding with federal and state compliance issues, continuous improvement through data-based decision making and professional development to encourage and enhance innovative career and technical educational programming to meet the needs of the communities they serve and the state of Kansas.

June 17, 2005 Release PDF

For more information contact:
Kip Peterson, Director for Government Relations & Communications, at (785) 296-3421.

Visit the Kansas Board of Regents on the Web at www.kansasregents.org.