Roane State wins $511,000 education grant
Federal money to help jobless adults improve skills, prep for college
Knoxville News Sentinel
By Bob Fowler
October 7, 2009

Federal grants to help unemployed adults train for new careers have been awarded to Roane State Community College.

The area's high jobless rate was a key factor in winning the $511,000 in Department of Education funding, said Deb Miller, with the college's grant development office.

"We designed our projects because we have so many dislocated workers in the area," she said.

"As the economy continues to find its footing once again, these grants will be an asset for folks locally in helping to improve opportunities for gainful employment," said U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Pall Mall.

Roane State President Gary Goff credited Davis for helping to obtain the funding.

Workshops to help jobless adults and dislocated workers improve computer skills and study techniques will begin next spring, Miller said.

Those sessions will be conducted live and over the Internet at all eight Roane State campuses and area technology and career centers.

"Going back to school was like entering a foreign world," said Barbara Eubanks, a dislocated worker from Morgan County who recently returned to school at an area technology center.

"Starting out with good information about basic study skills, time management and other tools would have been a tremendous help."

The grants will pay for a new full-time Roane State staff member to coordinate workshops at the college and the technology and career centers.

A special magazine and Web site will be available to help dislocated workers decide "whether they want to return to school and which career field they want to pursue," Miller said.

Some training will involve practice tests as a lead-up to college entrance exams. That will be especially helpful to students wanting to enter nursing programs, Miller said.

A new study skills course will be offered for free at Roane State in fall 2010. Startup costs for that program are covered by the grants, officials said.