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State of the College - Northeast
Alabama Community College
Interest in educational opportunities is at an all-time high at
Northeast Alabama Community College. Below, NACC President, Dr.
David Campbell, discusses the importance of education in today’s
economy and gives a broad overview of what’s new and exciting at
the College.
 “In
the challenging economic times that our country, state, and area
are now in, we at Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC)
consider our educational services to the community more
important than ever. Northeast, like other colleges in the
Alabama Community College System (ACCS), has a three-fold
mission—providing academic transfer courses and programs, adult
education, and workforce training and development. On all three
fronts, we want Northeast to be an institution that those in our
area can use to better their opportunities in these challenging
times.
“In regard to our academic transfer
programs, NACC continues to provide strong educational programs
that build the foundation for any four-year or professional
degree. Our core courses automatically transfer to any public
institution of higher education in Alabama as a part of an
articulation contract. So many of our students transfer from
Northeast and go on to achieve outstanding academic records at
four-year institutions. Indeed, our students are at the top
within the ACCS in their grades when they transfer.
Consistently, four-year colleges find that our transfer students
do better than those who started at their institutions. This is
accomplished at a very reasonable financial cost to students as
well. Tuition at NACC is approximately half that at four-year
colleges, and of course by staying at home or in their
communities living expenses for students are much less as well.
For more information about our outstanding academic programs,
please contact Dr. Joe Burke, Vice President/Dean of
Instruction, or Mrs. Tonie Niblett, Dean of Student Services.
“Students may also obtain their four-year degrees in certain
majors without leaving Northeast through the Athens University
Center that is located on campus. Northeast recently signed an
agreement with Troy University through which our students can
receive baccalaureate degrees in nine majors through this
university online. The dual enrollment programs and courses that
we have established with the Fort Payne, Scottsboro, Jackson
County, and the DeKalb County School Systems also, we believe,
help give area high school students a solid foundation along
with their high school curriculum prepares them for college
careers. Providing high-quality academic transfer courses and a
tradition of excellence in these programs remains at the center
of what we do at Northeast.
“Our adult education program, Northeast Alabama Adult Education,
continues to play a vital role in the area. Indeed the program,
led by Director Randall White, was selected the best program in
Alabama this past year. Mr. White and his staff serve some 1,600
students yearly at locations in three counties – DeKalb,
Jackson, and Marshall. Our personnel with Northeast Alabama
Adult Education operate the largest English as a Second Language
(ESL) program in the state. As the economy has worsened in our
area, more and more people are turning to the adult education
program as a pathway to new jobs and careers. The work of the
Northeast Alabama Adult Education program is vitally important
to so many in our area. Moreover, acquiring education and
certification through adult education is extremely important to
building a workforce that can attract and sustain industry that
might expand or locate here.
“We also are putting great emphasis on another very important
component of our mission – workforce development. Area residents
are using Northeast programs and training to transition into new
jobs and careers. We are pleased that we will soon begin
renovations on a building to house our new Industrial Systems
Technology (IST) program. The IST program will offer options in
instrumentation, machine technology, welding technology, and
industrial maintenance. We already have begun our IST program at
the DeKalb County Technology Center and the Pruett Center of
Technology in Jackson County. Mr. Mike Kennamer, Director of our
Division of Workforce Development and Job Skills Training, and
his staff have done excellent work in setting up job training
and retraining programs. Our staff, in particular, has worked
diligently to provide educational opportunities to those who
have lost their jobs due to factory closings.
“We are fortunate in our area that there are real possibilities
for economic growth and development. The construction of the
nearby Volkswagen Plant in Tennessee, the possible construction
and opening of the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in Jackson County,
and the relocation of BRAC workers to the Redstone Arsenal all
hold great economic and job potential for our area. To be ready
for the future, Economic Development Agency directors Jimmy
Durham in DeKalb County and Dus Rogers in Jackson County
recently negotiated an option on some seven hundred acres of
property adjoining Northeast as an industrial park site. The
college is working closely with economic development officials
on this project. Although this is only in the beginning stages,
our plan is to attract a high-tech type company to the park for
which Northeast can provide initial worker training and
education. The college also recently obtained a grant from the
Appalachian Regional Commission to begin a Career Center on
campus. This Center will be used to prepare students for jobs of
the future, hopefully resulting from the previously mentioned
projects and the proposed industrial site. The Career Center
will also be able to utilize career coaches for technology
careers through a grant provided through the Alabama Region 2
Workforce Development Council. I might also add that through a
program initiated with the Governor’s Office of Workforce
Development and the Alabama Department of Postsecondary
Education, Northeast is now providing tuition scholarships to
students taking dual enrollment in technical programs.
“As always, the Northeast campus is an exciting place. Please
visit us when you can for one of our outstanding Theatre
productions, or for concerts by our Choral Music, Jazz Band, or
performance group Encore. Our Theatre Department’s production of
Miss Saigon this spring is sure to be a hit and the college is
honored that Northeast was selected as a site for this
performance. We appreciate so much the support the college gets
for our theatre and fine arts programs from our community and
businesses.
“As a part of our goal to provide cultural events for our area,
we also continually hold special events on campus, such as the
annual Alabama Band’s Songwriter’s Showcase, the Music on the
Mountain Bluegrass Festival, the Latino Festival, the very
popular Christmas Pageant, our Humanities Speakers’ Forum, and
our Health Care Lecture Series. For more information about these
activities, contact our Event Planner, Ms. Susan Barron, or
visit our Web site at www.nacc.edu. We do consider it an honor
to be able to work with and serve the residents and leaders of
DeKalb and Jackson Counties and the surrounding area. We look
forward to seeing each of you in the future.”
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